JP2000317778A - Carry destination control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carry destination control method capable of determining an optimum product to be a subject for carry after the operation rate of equipment and the priority of the product are taken into consideration. SOLUTION: The addition of time parameters 11 to a termination scheduled time Ta for a carry destination station, allows a termination scheduled time Tx for a product retrieval object to be computed (103). The addition of a carrying time T2(n) required to be carried from the present position of a product to the carry destination station to a termination scheduled time Tb(n) at the origin of carry, which is turned out to be a scheduled time required by the product to be carried to the carry destination station by means of the following process, allows a scheduled time Ty(n) for the arrival of the product to be computed (107). A product to be a subject for carry is determined out of subject condidates for carry, which are the products satisfying an inequality of Tx>Ty, based firstly on priority, and secondly on Ty.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus (equipment).
, A production shop formed by a combination of an inspection device (equipment) and a supply storage device (equipment), that is, a plurality of stations (generally a generic term for a carrier delivery port in a manufacturing device or an inspection device. In a production shop (such as a semiconductor factory or a color liquid crystal factory) having an inter-process buffer, the transfer of products between a plurality of stations and inter-process buffers (by a transport vehicle). A transfer system (diffusion line system in a semiconductor factory or a TFT (Thin Film T) in a color liquid crystal factory) that automatically performs transfer.
(Transistor) line system etc.).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of transfer destination control method, when it is determined that a product cannot be received at a transfer destination station, the transfer destination is changed to an inter-process buffer. The indicated transfer instruction has been issued to a transfer vehicle (for example, an unmanned transfer vehicle that transfers semiconductors in carrier units).

In such a conventional transfer destination control method, a transfer instruction to change the transfer destination is issued when it is determined that the product cannot be received at the transfer destination station. Even when the transfer destination station has changed to a product receivable state, the transfer can be performed only via the inter-process buffer. For this reason, the transfer destination control method has a problem that an extra transfer time is required, which causes a reduction in the transfer efficiency of the transfer vehicle and a reduction in the operation rate of the transfer destination station.

Here, a prior art (transport destination control method) for solving such a problem is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-52001.

[0005] The transfer destination control method described in this publication is
Scheduled end of production (generally, "work") of the product in process at the destination station (product ready to be worked at the destination station) and estimated end of production of the product at the source station And calculate
The destination is determined by comparing these calculation results.
The aim is to improve the transfer efficiency of transfer vehicles and the operation rate of transfer destination stations.

[0006]

However, the destination control method described in the above publication has the following problems.

The first problem is that the operation rate (transportation efficiency) of equipment (transportation destination station or transport vehicle) cannot be sufficiently improved.

The reason that such a problem occurs is that the time required for the transfer from the transfer source to the transfer destination (the transfer time) is not taken into consideration, so that the planned production end time of the product set in the transfer destination station and the transfer time In the method of determining the destination by comparing the scheduled production end time of the product in process at the original station, the product to be transported cannot arrive at the destination station accurately at the production end time at the destination station. This is because the product may arrive at the transfer destination station after a useless time after the end.

A second problem is that work cannot be assigned to a product to be worked most (a product with a high work priority) at a time when work at the transfer destination station is possible. is there.

The reason why such a problem occurs is that the product to be transported cannot arrive at the destination station accurately at the production end time of the product being processed at the destination station (before the production end time). At the time when the product arrives at the destination) and T1 (the waiting time at the destination station until the work of the product is started is defined as T1) to the time at which the product is determined to be transported. Even if a product with a higher work priority than the product concerned can become a transport target at an earlier time, it is not possible to determine the product with the higher priority as the transport target, and it is not always necessary to select the “optimal product to be transported”. Is not determined.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned points (in order to solve the above-mentioned problems), an object of the present invention is to determine the operation rate of equipment and the priority of products from a plurality of products that can be transported to a destination station. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer destination control method capable of determining an optimum product in consideration of a transfer target.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a transfer destination control method for a transfer system for automatically checking a state of a transfer destination station in a transfer system for automatically transferring products between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer. Based on the station state confirmation processing step and the confirmation in the destination station state confirmation processing step, the destination station end scheduled time T, which is the scheduled time at which the remaining number of products in operation at the destination station becomes less than the number of products that can be accepted.
a destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step for calculating a, and a time parameter t1 registered in advance is added to Ta calculated in the destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step to obtain a product search target end scheduled time Tx. A time parameter addition processing step to be calculated, a next process destination station product search processing step for searching for a product whose next process is a destination station, and each product detected in the search in the next process destination station product search processing step A scheduled source end time calculating step for calculating a scheduled source end time Tb, which is a scheduled time at which transfer to the destination station is possible, and the respective products calculated in the scheduled source end time calculation processing step Transfer time from the current location of each product to the destination station at Tb 2 and arrival time calculation processing step of calculating the arrival time Ty of each product added,
A transport target candidate presence / absence determining step of determining the presence / absence of a transport target candidate that is a product of Tx>Ty; and determining a product to be transported from the transport target candidates first based on priority and second based on Ty. A transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing step for reconfirming the state of the transfer destination station at the reconfirmation time for the product to be conveyed determined in the transfer target determination step, and the transfer destination station A transfer destination that changes the transfer destination of the transfer target product to the inter-process buffer when it is determined based on the reconfirmation of the status reconfirmation processing step that the transfer of the transfer target product to the transfer destination station is impossible. A change processing step and a transport instruction processing step of instructing the transport vehicle to transport the product to be transported to the finally determined destination. To.

Further, according to the transfer destination control method of the present invention, in a transfer system for automatically transferring a product between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer, a time parameter for registering a time parameter t1 based on an external instruction is provided. A registration processing step, a destination station state confirmation processing step for confirming the state of the destination station, and a confirmation of the destination station state confirmation processing step. A destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step for calculating a destination station end scheduled time Ta which is a scheduled time as follows: t1 registered in the time parameter registration processing step is calculated as the destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step Products in addition to Ta calculated in A time parameter addition processing step of calculating a scheduled search end time Tx; a next step transfer destination station product search processing step of searching for a product whose next step is a transfer station; and a next step transfer destination station product search processing step. A scheduled source end time calculation step for calculating a scheduled source end time Tb, which is a scheduled time at which each product detected by the search can be transported to the destination station; and a source end scheduled time calculation processing step. The transfer time t from the current location of each product to the transfer destination station is added to Tb of each product calculated in
2, a scheduled arrival time calculation processing step of calculating a scheduled arrival time Ty of each product obtained by adding 2, a transport target candidate presence / absence determining step of determining the presence / absence of a transport target candidate that is a product of Tx> Ty, In the transfer target determination processing step of determining a transfer target product based on the priority first and secondly based on Ty, the reconfirmation time for the transfer target product determined in the transfer target determination processing step is selected. It is impossible to transport the product to be transported to the destination station based on the destination station state reconfirmation processing step for reconfirming the state of the destination station and the reconfirmation of the destination station state reconfirmation processing step. If it is determined that the destination of the product to be transported to the inter-process buffer, a destination change processing step,
It is also possible to include a transport instruction processing step of instructing the transport vehicle to transport the product to be transported to the finally determined destination.

More generally, a transfer destination control method according to the present invention relates to a transfer system for automatically transferring a product between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer.
A first step of calculating a scheduled end time Ta of the transfer destination station; and adding a time parameter t1 to the Ta calculated in the first step, and adding a scheduled end time T of the product search target.
a second step of calculating x, and a search for a transfer target candidate which is a product that can be operated at the transfer destination station by the time Tx calculated in the second step from the product whose transfer step is the next step. And selecting a product having the highest priority among the transfer target candidates detected in the third step as a transfer target, and when there are a plurality of products of the selection result, select the product. A fourth product in which the product with the earliest estimated arrival time Ty is determined as a transport target and transported in the transport system based on the selection / determination.
And the following steps.

Further, the transfer destination control method of the present invention provides a computer for implementing a transfer destination control unit in a transfer system for automatically transferring products between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer. First step for calculating time Ta, time parameter t1
A second step of calculating the scheduled end time Tx of the product search target in addition to the Ta calculated in the first step, and the second step from the products whose next step is the transfer destination station.
A third step of searching for a transfer target candidate that is a product that can be operated at the transfer destination station by Tx calculated in the step, and the highest priority among the transfer target candidates detected in the third step. Is selected, and if there are a plurality of products as a result of the selection, the product having the earliest scheduled arrival time Ty is determined as a transport target from among the products, and the transport in the transport system is performed based on the selection / determination. It can also be realized as a recording medium on which a program for executing step 4 is recorded.

[0016]

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a transfer destination control method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a destination control method according to the present embodiment includes a destination station status confirmation processing step 101 for checking the status of a destination station (such as the number of products that can be accepted). A destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step 102 for calculating a destination station end scheduled time Ta, which is a scheduled time at which the number of remaining products during the work becomes equal to or less than the acceptable number of products.
And a time parameter t1 (a parameter for considering a transport time for a product which can be a transport target) registered in advance and Ta to add a time parameter addition processing step 10 for calculating a scheduled product search target end time Tx.
3, a next-step transfer destination station product search processing step 10 for searching for a product whose next step is the transfer destination station
4 and a search product presence determination step 1 for determining the success or failure of the search in the next process transfer destination station product search processing step 104 (the presence or absence of a product whose next process is the transfer destination station).
05, a scheduled source end time calculation processing step 106 for calculating a scheduled time (scheduled source end time Tb) at which each product whose next process is a destination station can be transported to the destination station; Result of calculation in scheduled end time calculation processing step 106 (Tb of each product)
A scheduled arrival time calculation processing step 107 for calculating a scheduled arrival time Ty of each product by adding a transport time t2 from the current location of each product to the destination station;
A transport target candidate presence / absence determination step 108 for determining the presence / absence of a product (transfer target candidate) of> Ty, and a product to be transported is determined from the transport target candidates first based on priority and secondly based on Ty Transfer target determination processing step 109
And the reconfirmation time ("Ty-t
2) or “Ta-t2”), a transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing step 111 for reconfirming the state of the transfer destination station at the reconfirmation time, and a transfer based on the reconfirmation. Transportable state determination step 11 for determining whether or not the target product can be transported to the destination station (transportable state)
2, a transfer destination change processing step 113 for changing the transfer destination of the product to be transferred to the inter-process buffer when the transfer to the transfer destination station is determined to be impossible in the transferable state determination step 112; And a transfer instruction processing step 114 for instructing the transfer vehicle to transfer the product to be transferred to the transfer destination (a transfer destination station or an inter-process buffer) that has been determined.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an example of a transfer system to which the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment is applied.

The transfer system comprises a transfer destination station 201, transfer source stations 202 and 203,
It includes an inter-process buffer 204 and a transfer destination control unit 205. In the transfer system to which the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment is applied, it goes without saying that the number of stations and the like are not limited to those shown in FIG.

Each station (transfer destination station 20)
1 and source stations 202 and 203)
Reports the number of products that can be accepted to the transfer destination control unit 205 when there is a change in the number of products that can be accepted, and reports the number of remaining products when there is a change in the number of products that are being worked on. Report the transport request information when the product you want is generated.

Upon receiving the various reports, the transport destination control unit 205 stores information based on the reports in the storage device. In addition, the transfer destination control unit 205 previously stores standard time information (average working time when a product of a specific type is operated in a specific manufacturing facility or inspection facility) for each type and station in a storage device. deep. Further, the transfer destination control unit 205 sets a time parameter t to be added to the scheduled work end time of the transfer destination station 201.
1 is registered in advance.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a specific operation of the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment.

Next, the operation of the destination control method according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

In the transfer destination control method according to this embodiment,
Under the control of the transfer destination control unit 205, the following operation is performed by a series of processing procedures as shown in FIG. 1 (here, the configuration of the transfer system is assumed to be as shown in FIG. 2). .

First, in the transfer destination station state confirmation processing step 101, information indicating the state of the transfer destination station 201 is extracted, and the state of the transfer destination station 201 (such as the number of products that can be received) is checked.

In the destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step 102, the scheduled end time Ta of the destination station 201 (the number of remaining products is calculated based on the standard time information of each product working in the destination station 201 and the number of remaining products). The estimated time at which the product can be accepted or less is calculated.

Subsequently, in the time parameter addition processing step 103, the time parameter t1 registered in advance in the transfer destination control unit 205 is added to Ta, and the expected end time Tx (Tx = t1 + Ta) of the product search target is calculated. You.

Next, in the next step transfer destination station product search processing step 104, a product whose next step is the transfer destination station 201 is searched.

Further, a step 105 for determining the presence / absence of a search product
Then, it is determined whether or not the search in the next step transfer destination station product search processing step 104 is successful, that is, whether or not a product detected in the search (a product whose next step is the transfer destination station 201) exists.

If it is determined in the search product presence / absence determination step 105 that "there is no product whose next step is the transfer destination station 201", the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in the search product presence / absence determination step 105 that “there is a product whose next process is the destination station 201”, the destination end time calculation processing step 106 is performed in the next destination transport destination. The time at which all of the products obtained as a result of the search in the station product search processing step 104 can be transported to the destination station 201 (for the products working at the source stations 202 and 203, the scheduled end time of the product, the process The scheduled end time Tb (n) of the transporter, which is the current time for the product stored in the interim buffer 204, is calculated. Note that “Tb (n)” is an arbitrary n (n is a positive integer corresponding to 1 ≦ n ≦ i) when i products (i is a positive integer) whose next process is the transfer destination station 201 exist. Tb of the second product (t2 (n) or Ty described later)
The same applies to (n)).

Next, expected arrival time calculation processing step 10
7. In all of the above products, the Tb of each product
The transfer time t2 (n) from the current location of each product to the transfer destination station 201 is added to (n), and the estimated arrival time Ty (n) (Ty = t2 + Tb) of each product is calculated.

Further, a step 1 for determining the presence or absence of a candidate to be transported
In 08, it is determined whether or not there is a product whose Ty is earlier than Tx (a product of Tx> Ty) among the products whose next process is the transfer destination station 201, that is, whether there is a transfer target candidate.

If it is determined in the transfer object candidate presence / absence determination step 108 that "there is no product satisfying Tx>Ty", the process is terminated.

On the other hand, step 10 for judging the presence / absence of a transfer object candidate
If it is determined in step 8 that “products with Tx> Ty exist”, a product group having the highest priority is first detected from among the product groups of the transport target candidates in the transport target determination processing step 109, and furthermore, The product with the earliest Ty is determined as a transport target from the product group.

In the standby processing step 110, regarding the product to be transported determined in this way, "Ty-t2"
Until the later time (the reconfirmation time) between “Ta−t2” and “Ta−t2” is reached, the process of waiting is executed.

At the time when the above-mentioned waiting is completed (at the time when the reconfirmation time is reached), at the transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing step 111, the state of the transfer destination station 201 is confirmed again (transfer destination station state). Confirmation processing step 101) is performed.

Further, a transportable state determination step 112
In the transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing step 111, the transfer destination station 2
The status of 01 is "product acceptable state (transportable state)"
Is determined (confirmed).

If it is determined in the transferable state determination step 112 that “the state of the transfer destination station 201 is in a product acceptable state”, the transfer instruction processing step 11 is performed.
In step 4, a transfer instruction to the transfer vehicle in the transfer system (an instruction to transfer the transfer target product determined in the transfer target candidate presence / absence determination step 108 to the transfer destination station 201) is issued, and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in the transportable state determination step 112 that “the state of the destination station 201 is in a product unacceptable state”, the destination is changed to the inter-process buffer 204 in the destination change processing step 113. After the change to the transfer instruction processing step 114, a transfer instruction for the transfer vehicle in the transfer system (an instruction to transfer the product to be transferred determined in the transfer target candidate presence / absence determination step 108 to the inter-process buffer 204) is issued. Issued and the process ends.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in consideration of the time required for transport (transport time), the transport instruction of the product to be transported is issued at a timing as close as possible to the timing at which the destination station 201 becomes operable. And the operating rate of the equipment can be increased. In addition, by setting a product having a higher priority in the range of the set time parameter t1 as a transfer target, it is possible to more appropriately transfer and work the product with respect to the priority.

As a specific application example of the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment, a diffusion line system in a semiconductor factory and a TFT line system in a color liquid crystal factory can be considered.

Next, a specific operation of the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the specific examples shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,
The product to be transported is determined from the following four products a to d. In the following priority, it is assumed that A is higher than B. a. Product whose current location is the inter-process buffer 204 and the priority is B (1) b. Product whose current location is the inter-process buffer 204 and whose priority is A (2) c. A product whose current location is the transfer source station 202 (a station whose next process is the transfer destination station 201) (the work is being performed at the transfer source station 202) and whose priority is B (3) d. The product whose current location is the transfer source station 203 (a station whose next process is the transfer destination station 201) is A and whose priority is A (4)

In this case, in the next step, the destination station product search processing step 104 and the search for the presence / absence determination step 105 of the four products, the next step is detected as the destination station 201 product. Therefore, the products (1), (2), and (3) are selected as the transfer target candidates whose Ty is earlier than Tx in the determination in the transfer target candidate presence / absence determination step 108. Further, in the transfer target determination processing step 109, the product (2) having the highest priority is determined as the transfer target from the three transfer target candidates.

(2) Second Embodiment FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a transfer destination control method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment includes a time parameter registration processing step 100 for registering a time parameter t1 based on an instruction from the outside (such as an operator); A confirmation processing step 101, a transfer destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step 102, a time parameter addition processing step 103, a next process transfer destination station product search processing step 104, a search product presence / absence determination step 105,
Scheduled end time calculation processing step 106, estimated arrival time calculation step 107, candidate presence / absence determination step 108, and determination step 109
, Standby processing step 110, transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing step 111, transferable state determination step 112, transfer destination change processing step 113, and transfer instruction processing step 114. The processing procedure of the destination control method according to the present embodiment is obtained by adding a time parameter registration processing step 100 to the processing procedure of the destination control method according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. (Note that t1 added in the time parameter addition processing step 103 is t1 registered in advance in the first embodiment, but in the present embodiment, t1 registered in the time parameter registration processing step 100 is t1). Become).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an example of a transfer system to which the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment is applied.

This transfer system, like the transfer system shown in FIG. 2, has a transfer destination station 201, transfer source stations 202 and 203, and an inter-process buffer 20.
4 and a transport destination control unit 205.
In the transfer system to which the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment is applied, it goes without saying that the number of stations and the like are not limited to those shown in FIG.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining the specific operation of the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment.

Next, the operation of the destination control method according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

The operation of the destination control method according to the present embodiment is different from the operation of the destination control method according to the first embodiment described above in relation to the time parameter registration processing step 100 under the control of the destination control unit 205. It is the one that added the operation.

In the time parameter registration processing step 100, the value of the time parameter t1 to which an arbitrary value is specified from outside (by the operator or the like) is registered in the transfer destination control unit 205. As described above, using the time parameter t1 whose value is designated by the operator or the like, a series of processes from the transfer destination station state confirmation processing step 101 are performed. In particular, the value of the time parameter t1 added in the time parameter addition processing step 103 corresponds to the value specified externally as described above (the value that matches the purpose of the destination control). Thereby, it is possible to realize a method of determining a transport target according to a desired purpose.

The operation other than the time parameter registration processing step 100 is the same as the operation in the first embodiment (see FIG. 1) (however, the time parameter addition in the first embodiment is performed). The value of the time parameter t1 in the processing step 103 is a fixed value registered in advance), and the description thereof is omitted here.

Next, a specific operation of the transfer destination control method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the specific examples shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the next step is the transfer destination station 201 and Ty
Is determined from the following two products e and f, which are earlier than Tx. In the following priority, it is assumed that A is higher than B. e. Product whose current location is the inter-process buffer 204 and whose priority is B (5) f. The product whose current location is the transfer source station 202 (the station whose next process is the transfer destination station 201) is A, and whose priority is A (6)

First, as shown in FIG. 6, consider a case where t1a (t1 having a relatively small value) is designated and registered as the time parameter t1 in the time parameter registration processing step 100.

In this case, the products (5) and (6) in which the next process is detected as the product which is the destination station 201 in the search in the next process destination station product search processing step 104 and the search product presence / absence determination step 105. ), A transfer target candidate presence / absence determination step 108
As a result, only the product (5) is selected as a transport target candidate whose Ty is earlier than Tx. As a result, the product (5) is determined as a transport target in the transport target determination processing step 109. Therefore, in this case, the product (5), which is a product with a low priority but a small Ty (a product that can increase the facility operation rate), is allocated as a transport target.

Second, as shown in FIG. 7, in the time parameter registration processing step 100, the time parameter t1 is set to t1b (t1 of a relatively large value satisfying t1b> t1a).
Consider the case where is designated and registered.

In this case, the products (5) and (6) in which the next process is detected as the product of the destination station 201 in the search in the next process destination station product search processing step 104 and the search product presence / absence determination step 105 ), A transfer target candidate presence / absence determination step 108
As a result, both products (5) and (6) are selected as transport target candidates whose Ty is earlier than Tx. Further, in the transfer target determination processing step 109, the product (6), which is the product with the highest priority, is determined as the transfer target from the two transfer target candidates. Therefore, in this case, the product (6), which is a product with a high Ty (the equipment operation rate is slightly lower) but a high priority, is allocated as a transport target.

Hereinafter, the specific effects of the present embodiment will be described.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, a product having a lower priority (product (5)) is determined as a transport target, but the operating rate of the equipment becomes higher. On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 7, the operation rate of the equipment is slightly lower (the “free time” in FIG. 7 occurs), but a product with a higher priority (product (6)) is determined as a transport target. As described above, by dynamically registering the value of the time parameter t1 based on the designation of the operator or the like, it is possible to provide a method of determining a transport target according to a purpose.

(3) Third Embodiment FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration for realizing a destination control method according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the third embodiment of the present invention relates to a transfer system having a transfer destination station, one or more transfer source stations, an inter-process buffer, and a transfer destination control unit. Is provided with a recording medium 80 recording a destination control processing program for realizing the destination control method according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. This recording medium 80 may be a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, or another recording medium.

The destination control processing program is executed by the recording medium 8
From 0, it is read into the destination control unit realized by the computer. The operation of the computer (destination control unit) under the control of the transfer destination control processing program includes the destination station state confirmation processing step 101, the destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step 102, and the time parameter addition in the first embodiment. Processing Step 10
3. Step 1 for product search processing at the next destination station
04, retrieval product presence / absence determination step 105, scheduled end time calculation processing step 106, scheduled arrival time calculation processing step 107, candidate presence / absence determination step 10
8, transfer object determination processing step 109, standby processing step 110, transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing step 111, transferable state determination step 112, transfer destination change processing step 113, and transfer instruction processing step 11
4 (see FIG. 1), and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(4) Fourth Embodiment FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration for realizing a transfer destination control method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, a fourth embodiment of the present invention relates to a transfer system having a transfer destination station, one or more transfer source stations, an inter-process buffer, and a transfer destination control unit. Is provided with a recording medium 90 on which a destination control processing program for realizing the destination control method according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. This recording medium 90 may be a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, or another recording medium.

The destination control processing program is stored in the recording medium 9.
From 0, it is read into the destination control unit realized by the computer. The operation of the computer (destination control unit) under the control of the transfer destination control processing program corresponds to the time parameter registration processing step 10 in the second embodiment.
0, transfer destination station state confirmation processing step 101,
Transfer destination station expected end time calculation processing step 10
2. Time parameter addition processing step 103, next step transfer destination station product search processing step 104, search product presence / absence determination step 105, transfer end scheduled time calculation processing step 106, scheduled arrival time calculation processing step 10
7, transfer target candidate presence / absence determination step 108, transfer target determination processing step 109, standby processing step 110, transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing step 111, transferable state determination step 112, transfer destination change processing step 1
13 and the operation of the transport instruction processing step 114 (FIG.
), So the detailed description is omitted.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The following effects are produced.

First, by determining the products to be transported in consideration of the transport time, it is possible to improve the operating rate (transportation efficiency) of the equipment (transport destination station or transport vehicle). Occurs.

Secondly, when there are a plurality of transport target candidates, by deciding the products to be transported in consideration of the priority, it is possible to allocate the work to the product to be worked most. This produces the effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a transfer destination control method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of a transport system to which the transport destination control method illustrated in FIG. 1 is applied.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a specific operation (process) of the transfer destination control method shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a transfer destination control method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of a transport system to which the transport destination control method illustrated in FIG. 4 is applied.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a specific operation (process) of the transfer destination control method shown in FIG. 4;

7 is a diagram for explaining a specific operation (process) of the transfer destination control method shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration for realizing a destination control method according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration for realizing a destination control method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 Time parameter registration processing step 101 Transfer destination station status confirmation processing step 102 Transfer destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step 103 Time parameter addition processing step 104 Next process transfer destination station product search processing step 105 Searched product existence determination step 106 Transfer source end Scheduled time calculation processing step 107 Scheduled arrival time calculation processing step 108 Transport target candidate presence / absence determination step 109 Transport target determination processing step 110 Standby processing step 111 Transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing step 112 Transportable state determination step 113 Transport destination change processing step 114 Transfer instruction processing step 201 Transfer destination station 202, 203 Transfer source station 204 Inter-process buffer 205 Transfer destination control unit 80, 9 Recording media

Claims (6)

[Claims] In a transfer system for automatically transferring a product between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer, a first step of calculating a scheduled end time Ta of a transfer destination station and a time parameter t1 are set by the first step. A second step of calculating the scheduled end time Tx of the product search in addition to Ta calculated in the step, and the next step in which the product is the transfer destination station from the product Tx calculated in the second step. A third step of searching for a transfer target candidate which is a product that can be operated at the transfer destination station; and selecting a product having the highest priority among the transfer target candidates detected in the third step as a transfer target. In the case where there are a plurality of products of the selection result, the product having the earliest estimated arrival time Ty is determined as a transport target among the products,
And a fourth step of performing transport in the transport system based on the selection / determination. 2. A transfer system for automatically transferring a product between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer, a transfer station status check processing step for checking the status of the transfer station, and the transfer station status check. A destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step of calculating a destination station end scheduled time Ta, which is a scheduled time at which the number of remaining products in operation at the destination station is less than or equal to the number of products that can be accepted, based on the confirmation in the processing step; A time parameter addition processing step of calculating a product search target end time Tx by adding a time parameter t1 registered in advance to the Ta calculated in the destination station end time calculation processing step; Next process transport to search for product that is Calculating a transfer source end scheduled time Tb, which is a scheduled time at which each product detected in the search in the next station transfer destination station product search processing step and the next product can be transferred to the transfer destination station. Scheduled source end time calculation processing step and each product obtained by adding the transport time t2 from the current location of each product to the destination station to Tb of each product calculated in the scheduled source end time calculation processing step A scheduled arrival time calculation processing step of calculating a scheduled arrival time Ty of the target, a transfer target candidate presence / absence determination step of determining the presence / absence of a transfer target candidate that is a product of Tx> Ty, Secondly, a transfer target determining step of determining a product to be transferred based on Ty, and the transfer target determining step A destination station state reconfirmation processing step of reconfirming the state of the destination station at the reconfirmation time for the determined product to be conveyed, and a product to be conveyed based on the reconfirmation of the destination station state reconfirmation processing step. If it is determined that the transfer to the transfer destination station is impossible, the transfer destination change processing step of changing the transfer destination of the transfer target product to the inter-process buffer, and the transfer to the finally determined transfer destination A transport instruction processing step of instructing a transport vehicle to transport a product to be transported. 3. A transfer system for automatically transferring a product between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer, comprising: a time parameter registration processing step of registering a time parameter t1 based on an external instruction; A destination station status confirmation processing step for confirming the status, and a destination which is a scheduled time at which the remaining number of products in operation at the destination station becomes less than or equal to the number of products that can be accepted based on the confirmation in the destination station state confirmation processing step. A destination station expected end time calculation processing step for calculating a scheduled station end time Ta; and t1 registered in the time parameter registration processing step is added to Ta calculated in the destination station expected end time calculation processing step. Calculate the search target end time Tx Time parameter addition processing step, a next step transfer destination station product search processing step of searching for a product whose next step is the transfer destination station, and a search of the next process transfer destination station product search processing step for each product detected in the search. A scheduled source end time calculating step for calculating a scheduled source end time Tb, which is a scheduled time at which the product can be transported to the destination station; A scheduled arrival time calculation processing step of calculating a scheduled arrival time Ty of each product by adding a transfer time t2 from the current location of each product to the transfer destination station to Tb;
A transport target candidate presence / absence determining step of determining the presence / absence of a transport target candidate that is a product of Tx>Ty; and determining a product to be transported from the transport target candidates first based on priority and second based on Ty. A transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing step for reconfirming the state of the transfer destination station at the reconfirmation time for the product to be conveyed determined in the transfer target determination step, and the transfer destination station A transfer destination that changes the transfer destination of the transfer target product to the inter-process buffer when it is determined based on the reconfirmation of the status reconfirmation processing step that the transfer of the transfer target product to the transfer destination station is impossible. A change processing step and a transport instruction processing step of instructing the transport vehicle to transport the product to be transported to the finally determined destination. Transport destination control method characterized by. 4. A first step of calculating a destination station end scheduled time Ta by a computer that realizes a destination control unit in a transport system that automatically transports products between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer. ,
A second step of adding the time parameter t1 to the Ta calculated in the first step to calculate the expected end time Tx of the product search target; A third step of searching for a transfer target candidate which is a product that can be operated at the transfer destination station by the calculated Tx, and a product having the highest priority among the transfer target candidates detected in the third step. Is selected, and when there are a plurality of products as a result of the selection, a product having the earliest estimated arrival time Ty is determined as a transport target among the products, and a fourth step of performing transport in the transport system based on the selection / determination is performed. Recording medium on which a program for executing the program is recorded. 5. A destination station state confirmation process for checking the status of a destination station by a computer that realizes a destination control unit in a transport system that automatically transports products between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer. A destination station for calculating a destination station end scheduled time Ta, which is a scheduled time at which the remaining number of products in operation at the destination station is less than or equal to the number of products that can be accepted, based on the confirmation in the destination station state confirmation processing step. Scheduled end time calculation processing step, adding the pre-registered time parameter t1 to Ta calculated in the destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step, and adding the product search target planned end time Tx.
, A next-step transfer destination station product search processing step of searching for a product whose next step is the transfer destination station, and a search of the next process transfer destination station product search processing step. Scheduled source end time calculation processing step for calculating a scheduled source end time Tb, which is a scheduled time at which transfer to the destination station is possible, and the Tb of each product calculated in the scheduled source end time calculation processing step , The estimated arrival time Ty of each product is calculated by adding the transport time t2 from the current location of each product to the destination station. The step of determining the presence or absence of a transfer target candidate, the first among the transfer target candidates, first based on priority, and second based on Ty. Transfer destination determining step for determining a product to be transferred, and a transfer destination station state reconfirmation processing for reconfirming the state of the transfer destination station at the reconfirmation time for the product to be transferred determined in the transfer target determining step Step, when it is determined based on the reconfirmation of the destination station state reconfirmation processing step that the product to be transported cannot be transported to the destination station, the destination of the product to be transported is changed between processes. Recording medium for recording a program for executing a transfer destination change processing step of changing to a buffer and a transfer instruction processing step of instructing a transfer vehicle to transfer a product to be transferred to a finally determined transfer destination . 6. A time parameter for registering a time parameter t1 based on an external instruction in a computer that realizes a transfer destination control unit in a transfer system that automatically transfers a product between a plurality of stations and an inter-process buffer. Based on the registration processing step, the destination station state confirmation processing step for confirming the state of the destination station, and the confirmation in the destination station state confirmation processing step, it is determined that the number of remaining products in operation at the destination station is equal to or less than the acceptable number of products. The destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step for calculating the destination station end scheduled time Ta, which is the scheduled time, and t1 registered in the time parameter registration processing step are calculated in the destination station end scheduled time calculation processing step. Product inspection in addition to Ta A time parameter addition processing step for calculating a scheduled search end time Tx, a next step transfer destination station product search processing step for searching for a product whose next step is a transfer destination station, and a search for the next process transfer destination station product search processing step. The source end scheduled time calculation processing step for calculating the source end scheduled time Tb, which is the scheduled time at which the detected products can be transferred to the destination station, is calculated in the source end scheduled time calculation processing step. Estimated arrival time calculation processing step for calculating the estimated arrival time Ty of each product by adding the transport time t2 from the current location of each product to the destination station to Tb of each of the products, and a product of Tx> Ty. Step of determining whether or not there is a candidate to be transported; Step of determining whether or not there is a candidate to be transported; Second, a transfer target determining step for determining a product to be transferred based on Ty, and the state of the transfer destination station is reconfirmed at the reconfirmation time for the product to be transferred determined in the transfer target determination step. If it is determined based on the reconfirmation of the destination station state reconfirmation processing step and the destination station state reconfirmation processing step that it is impossible to convey the product to be conveyed to the destination station, To execute a destination change processing step of changing the destination of the product to the inter-process buffer and a transport instruction processing step of instructing the transport vehicle to transport the product to be transported to the finally determined destination. Recording medium on which the program of the above is recorded.