Patent Application
20060271216
This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 2005-0046063, filed on May 31, 2005, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. §119, and the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference.
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a SRW communication system and a method of operating the system, and in particular, to a short-range wireless (SRW) communication system in a production line for automatically performing a manufacturing process including a manufacturing process for semiconductors or thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (referred to hereinafter as “TFT-LCDs”).
(b) Description of the Related Art
The TFT-LCD manufacturing process has recently been automated so as to increase production efficiency. For instance, various processing steps of doping, diffusing, thermal oxidizing, chemical vapor depositing, etching, light-exposing, etc., are conducted within the respective facilities located along the production line an a step-by-step manner. When it can be intended to conduct the work in a specific facility separately, a cassette mounting the workpieces (such as wafers or glass) to be processed therein can be transferred to that facility by an automatic guided vehicle (“AGV”), and loaded to the facility such that the desired work can be automatically conducted. A plurality of workpieces mounted in the cassette are processed through several facilities such as a tester, a repairer, a cleaner, an oven, and a sealer, thereby completing TFT-LCDs. The respective facilities are connected to a host via facility servers connected thereto, and are controlled such that the relevant process related thereto can be automatically conducted.
Meanwhile, in order to make the process automation fluent, workers are placed at the respective facilities to manage the process. However, a typical semiconductors or LCDs production line may encompass an area can be so large that the workers may not be able to communicate well enough with each other to fluently cooperate in workpiece production. A manufacturing process that hinders fluent cooperation can be at risk for deleterious productions conditions, such as a manufacturing system shut-down. Undesirably, when all or part of a manufacturing system fails, processed materials undergoing fabrication, including wafers or glass, may be irreparably damaged, or the relevant facilities may become damaged so that the resulting production interruption generates can be an enormous economic loss and a costly deterioration of overall production yield. Furthermore, when a production line failure occurs, it may be difficult to manage an orderly departure of production line workers.
In an attempt to offset such problems, it may be desirable to install at the respective facilities a production line worker communication interface, such as a display device, e.g., a monitor, or an input and output device, e.g., a device bearing a speaker and a microphone, such that the workers can communicate with each other through such a production line worker communication interface device. However, when such devices are fixed to the facility, the worker may communicate only in predetermined areas, and thereby hindering fluent reciprocal communication and efficient work cooperation.
A short-range wireless (SRW) communication system is provided that fluently effects reciprocal communication and work cooperation between workers in a manufacturing production line for facilitating a semiconductor or TFT-LCD manufacturing process, and that safely and speedily performs the relevant processing steps based on fluent and simultaneous communication among relevant workers. Present embodiments provide a SRW communication system that can speedily issue notification of a facility abnormality in the production line to effect correction. According to another embodiment, a SRW communication system can be provided in a production line for automatically conducting the process of manufacturing semiconductors or TFT-LCDs. According to one present aspect, a SRW communication system can be connected to a plurality of SRW access points arranged at predetermined locations in the production line. The SRW access points can communicate with a plurality of SRW terminals given to the respective workers in accordance with a SRW communication protocol to effect a signal transmission with each other. The SRW communication system includes a worker database for storing worker-related information containing at least one of identification numbers assigned to a plurality of groups of workers in the production line, information of the workers belonging to the respective groups, identification numbers of the terminals of the respective workers, and locations of the workers. The SRW communication system may further include an access point database for storing point-related information with at least one of locations of the access points installed within the production line and communication radii of the respective access points, and a call switching unit for conducting call switching between the SRW terminal of a first worker of at least one first group and the SRW terminal of a second worker of at least one second group.
According to another present embodiment, a SRW communication system can be connected to facility controllers installed at the respective facilities in the production line and to a plurality of SRW access points arranged at predetermined locations in the production line. The SRW access points communicate with a plurality of SRW terminals given to the respective workers in accordance with a SRW communication protocol to effect a signal transmission with each other. In this case, the SRW communication system may include a warning message database for storing warning messages per the respective warning codes at the respective facilities, a warning processor for transmitting a warning message to the SRW access point under the application of a warning notification request such that the warning message can be transmitted to the relevant SRW terminal, a warning database for storing information of persons in charge per the respective warning codes at the respective facilities, and a warning unit for receiving information of a facility abnormality from a facility controller containing the facility identification number and the warning code for the error, extracting information of the person in charge from the warning database based on the warning code, and requesting the warning notification while transmitting the warning code and the information of the person in charge. The warning processor transmits a warning message corresponding to the warning code to the SRW terminal of the person in charge that can be identified based on the information transmitted from the warning unit to notify the facility abnormality thereto.
According to another embodiment, a method of effecting call switching using a SRW communication system can be performed in a manufacturing production line for automatically conducting the manufacturing process for semiconductors or TFT-LCDs. The SRW communication system can be connected to a plurality of SRW access points arranged at predetermined locations in the production line. The SRW access points communicate with a plurality of SRW terminals given to the respective workers in accordance with a SRW communication protocol to effect a signal transmission with each other.
In this case, the method of effecting call switching using the SRW communication system includes the steps of: (a) transmitting an interrogation message for the targets to be switched to a first SRW access point from the system when the call switching can be requested from the SRW terminal of a first worker of a first group through the first SRW access point; (b) searching for the identification number of the SRW terminal of a second worker of at least one second group with the system when the switching target information of the second worker of the second group can be transmitted through the first SRW access point; (c) searching for the second SRW access point corresponding to the location of the SRW terminal of the second worker of the second group with the system, and requesting the call switching to the second SRW access point while transmitting the identification number thereto; and (d) forming at least one communication channel through the first and the second SRW access points with the system when the response signal to the call switching can be transmitted through the second SRW access point such that the communication between the SRW terminal of the first worker of the first group and the SRW terminal of the second worker of the second group can be effected.
According to still another embodiment, a method of notifying of an abnormality of a facility with a SRW communication system can be performed in a production line for automatically conducting the process of manufacturing semiconductors or TFT-LCDs. The SRW communication system can be connected to facility controllers installed at the respective facilities in the production line and to a plurality of SRW access points arranged at predetermined locations in the production line. The SRW access points communicate with a plurality of SRW terminals given to the respective workers in accordance with a SRW communication protocol to effect a signal transmission with each other.
In this case, the method of notifying of the abnormality of a facility with the SRW communication system includes the steps of: (a) upon receipt of facility abnormality information from any of the facility controllers with a warning code for the generated error and a facility identification information, extracting the person in charge that can be capable of coping with the warning code from the warning database storing the persons in charge per the respective warning codes of the facilities; (b) identifying the location of the terminal of the extracted person in charge; and (c) transmitting a warning message corresponding to the warning code to the SRW access point where the terminal of the person in charge is located, and to the terminal of the person in charge.
The present invention will become more apparent by describing embodiments thereof in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Provided herein are apparatus and methods for a short-range wireless (SRW) communication system configured to effect fluent reciprocal communication and work cooperation among workers and proxies in a production line that implements an automated manufacturing process, including at least one of a semiconductor manufacturing process and a TFT-LCD manufacturing process. As used herein, the term short-range wireless technology (SRW) can include apparatus and methods that provide SRW communication and networking functionality at a range of from up to about 10 meters, to up to about 100 meters. An exemplary SRW technology can include technology operable according to the families of wireless technology specifications including without limitation BLUETOOTH® wireless technology specifications, IEEE 802.15 wireless technology specifications, and similar specifications supporting short-range, near-field, and wireless personal area (WPAN) communication and networking. BLUETOOTH® can be a registered U.S. trademark of the BLUETOOTH® Special Interest Group, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., USA. A proxy can be an semi-autonomous or autonomous production line apparatus, for example, a robotic apparatus, capable of communicating with human production line workers using SRW apparatus and methods. SRW apparatus can include, without limitations, one or more of a wireless access point, a wireless terminal, a display, an interface, a sensor, an effector, a processor, a server, and a client that can be configured, disposed, or coupled to intercommunicate communicate, at least in part, using SRW methods. Selected embodiments of the SRW communication system herein can effect 1:1, 1:N, and N:N communications. An SRW communication system embodiment may be configured to wirelessly communicate text data, audio data, and video data within a local area of between about 10 m-100 m at a selected communication rate, e.g., 1 Mbps.
FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate the specific structure of the respective structural components shown in
As shown in
SRW terminal 100 may be formed in various shapes, and in this embodiment, it has the shape of a headset. It can be possible that a SRW terminal in the shape of a headset can be provided to the respective workers, and that a terminal with another shape (such as an IP telephone terminal) can be provided to the respective managers. It will be explained in relation to present embodiments that a wireless headset-shaped SRW terminal communicable according to a SRW technique can be provided to the respective workers, and an IP terminal capable of telephoning through a central control server can be provided to the respective managers.
Meanwhile, the central control server 300 can control the SRW access point 200 and the terminal 100 such that the SRW communication between the terminals can be effected. For this purpose, as shown in
In order to automatically process the call switching, ARS processor 310 may include message database 311 for storing situational information messages. Warning processor 330 may also include warning message database 331 for storing warning messages pursuant to the abnormalities of the respective facilities (such as warning codes). Message database 311 may be realized independently of ARS processor 310.
In general, management server 400 registers and manages the SRW access points, the SRW terminals of the workers, and the IP terminals. Accordingly, the management server 400 can include a worker database 410 for storing much information obtained through the registration and management, an access point database 420, and a work area database 430. The worker database 410 classifies the workers in the production line into a plurality of groups, and stores the group identification numbers assigned to the respective groups, the information of the workers belonging to those groups, the terminal identification numbers of the respective workers, and the work areas of the workers. Other indicia pertinent to the production operation also may be stored in and managed by database 410. Various indicators that are capable of identifying the groups such as a number and a name may be used as the group identification numbers. In access point database 420 can be stored information concerning production line access points, such as the installation locations of the access points and the communication radius of the relevant access point. The work area database 430 can store the identification information of the worker terminals corresponding to the identification information of the SRW access points relevant to the work areas of the workers. The information stored in the work area database 430 can be used in judging of the departure of the worker from the work area.
The structural components of the respective devices are classified depending upon the functions thereof, but they are not limited thereto. An operation of a SRW communication system in a production line according to present embodiments will now be explained based on the above-described structure. The SRW terminals assigned to the respective workers in the line first attempt to access the SRW access point 200 at the relevant area in accordance with the user request, or irrespective thereof. The connector 121 of the SRW terminal 100 performs an inquiry process for receiving a packet containing a predetermined operation frequency sent from the SRW access point 200 corresponding to the location of the relevant terminal. The access processor 211 of the SRW access point 200 broadcasts an inquiry using an ID packet for a predetermined period of time to detect a terminal that can be newly introduced into the communication area thereof. The ID packet contains an operation frequency to tune the operation clocks and frequencies of the SRW facilities to each other.
Upon receipt of the ID packet containing an operation frequency from the SRW access point 200, the connector 121 of the terminal controller 120 can perform an inquiry scan process synchronized with the operation frequency contained in the received packet, and can transmit the packet containing the clock information thereof to the SRW access point 200. The access processor 221 of the SRW access point 200 can perform a page process for transmitting the control packet for clock synchronization to the terminal 100. When the connector 121 of the terminal 100 is clock-synchronized in accordance with the control packet and performs the page scan process for transmitting the response packet thereto, a link capable of transmitting and receiving a signal can be formed between the terminal 100 and the access point 200. As described above, the process of accessing the access point with an inquiry, an inquiry scan, a page, and a page scan can be performed in a cyclic way, pursuant to the user request, or at a predetermined time so that a link may be formed between the SRW terminal 100 and the SRW access point 200. With the link for communication, the call switching service given to the SRW terminals assigned to the workers will be now explained. Only a method of interconnecting a plurality of workers using SRW terminals will now be explained.
Upon receipt of the call switching request, the ARS processor 310 transmits signals containing automatic information messages interrogating about the switching targets to the terminal 101 via the access point 200 (S140-S150). The call switcher 122 of the terminal controller 120 processes the automatic information messages contained in the received signals, and outputs them through a speaker 112. For instance, an information comment can be output, such as “Speak the name of the group to be switched.” Accordingly, when the first worker speaks the identification number of the second group to be switched, the relevant audio data are processed by the call switcher 122 and transmitted to the ARS processor 310 via the access point 200 (S160-S170). The ARS processor 310 searches for the information of second workers belonging to the second group to be switched (such as the terminal identification number), and attempts to effect the call switching to the terminals of the second workers of the second group (for explanatory convenience, the terminals of the second workers of the second group are collectively indicated by 102 (S180).
In this case, the ARS processor 310 can send the identification information of the terminals 102 of the second workers to the SRW access points 200 at the area corresponding to the locations of the second workers of the second group to request the call switching. However, if any of the second workers depart from the proper work area and leave the communication radius of the relevant SRW access point 200, the call switching through that SRW access point 200 cannot be made. In order to prevent such a case, the ARS processor 310 identifies the locations of the second workers of the second group to be switched based on the information identified by the location identifier 330, and finds the communicable SRW access points at the current locations of the second workers, followed by requesting the call switching to those SRW access points (S190). When the call switching request signals from the SRW access points are transmitted to the terminals 102 of the second workers of the second group, the call switcher 122 of the respective terminals 102 informs of the call switching request through the speaker 112. When the second workers of the second group click the response button to respond to the call switching request, the call switchers 122 of the terminals 102 transmit the response signal to the central control server 300 through the SRW access points 200 so that communication channels are effected between the terminal 101 of the first worker and the terminals 102 of the second workers of the second group (S200-S210). In this way, the 1:N communication between the first worker and the workers of the second group can be made through the plurality of communication channels shown in
With the step of designating the group to be switched, the first worker may select and designate only particular workers from the group to be switched. That is, instead of designating all the workers of the second group, only some particulars of the second workers of the second group can be designated. Even in this case, the first worker sequentially designates the second group and selects the particular second workers of the second group based on the information message received through the ARS processor 310 of the central control server 300. Thereafter, the ARS processor 310 makes the call switching request only to the terminals of the selected second workers.
The first and second groups are divided for explanatory convenience to represent the communication between different workers, and may be identical with each other or different from each other. In the case that the first and second groups are identical with each other, the workers belonging to one group intend to communicate with other workers of that group. In this case, with the S180 step, the ARS processor 310 selects the workers belonging to the same group except for the first worker, and makes the call switching request to those workers in the way described above.
Furthermore, an N:N communication between a plurality of workers and another plurality of workers may be made. The information flow with an N:N call switching process embodiment is exemplified in
Meanwhile, with the call switching request, the central control server 300 may certify the terminal requesting the call switching such that the call switching service can be given to the registered terminal. In this case, a certifier 340 of the central control server 300 judges whether the identification number can be registered at the worker database 410 in accordance with the call switching request signals containing the identification number of the terminal transmitted from the SRW access point 200. When it can be registered, the automatic call switching can be made by the ARS processor 310, while when it cannot be registered, information data representing the impossibility of the call switching are transmitted. In addition, a 1:1 communication may be made between the workers. With the call switching according to a present embodiment, the central control server 300 may process the call switching using the process type of multiple processing and the VRS-based P2P together, and further, it effects the 1:N and N:N call switching in the way of a thread so as to minimize system load and data loss.
As described above, the call switching service may be given to the workers through the SRW terminals, and also between the manager and the workers.
The handover processor 212 of the first SRW access point 201 selects one SRW access point for giving the communication service for the terminal 100 from the plurality of SRW access points neighboring thereto based on the received information. With the selection of the handover access point, the movement direction of the terminal may be in consideration. That is, the movement direction of the terminal can be detected, and the access point placed in that direction can be selected to make the handover. The SRW access point to make the handover may be selected in various other manners. It will be explained here that the SRW access point to make the handover can be selected in consideration of the movement direction of the terminal. The handover processor 212 judges in which direction the terminal moves based on the location of the terminal measured by the location measurer 213, and selects the SRW access point placed in the movement direction of the terminal to make the handover (S330-S340). The channel can be formed to the newly selected SRW access point, that is, to the second SRW access point (for explanatory convenience, the second SRW access point can be indicated by 202), and the existent call switching information can be transmitted thereto (S350-S360). The call switching information includes the identification information of the terminal of the worker requesting the call switching, and the identification information of the terminals of the targets to be switched.
In this way, the first SRW access point 201 determines the second SRW access point 202 to make the handover, and gives the information of the second SRW access point 202 to the terminal 100 such that the terminal 100 can have access to the second SRW access point 202. Thereafter, the terminal 100 conducts the process of inquiry, inquiry scan, page, and page scan with the second SRW access point 202, and can be tuned to the second SRW access point in clock and frequency. The terminal 100 can be then continuously given the call switching service through the second SRW access point 202 (S370). Consequently, the worker may continuously hold the communication even while moving. In the meantime, when the worker departs from the work area, the process may not be performed fluently. In this case, a warning message can be automatically transmitted to the departed worker such that he returns to the work area and proceeds with the required work.
An embodiment of a method for issuing notification of an abnormality of a facility using a SRW communication system in the production line will now be explained.
In addition, the information about the person in charge of the facility abnormality for the respective warning codes (for example, an identification number of the person in charge or a terminal identification number assigned to the person in charge) can be stored in the warning database 510 such that the person in charge of the relevant facility abnormality can be directly called to solve the facility abnormality. The warning processor 330 of the central control server 300 notifies of the occurrence of warning to the person in charge, the worker of the abnormal facility, or to the terminal of the worker placed closest to the facility in accordance with the warning request from the warning server 500 based on the warning message database 331 storing the warning messages per the respective warning codes. The warning message database 331 can be not subject to the warning processor 330, but may be realized independently.
An embodiment of a method of notifying of the facility abnormality will now be explained.
Upon receipt of the facility abnormality information, the warning unit 520 of the warning server 500 searches the warning database 510 based on the facility identification number and the warning code contained therein, and judges whether the facility abnormality should be warned (S530). When the warning is necessary, the information on the person in charge corresponding to the warning code can be extracted, and the information, the facility identification code, and the warning code are transmitted to the central control server 300 to request the warning notification (S540-S550). When the facility abnormality warning is not needed, the relevant information may be disregarded (S560).
Upon receipt of the warning notification request from the warning server 500, the warning processor 330 of the central control server 300 identifies the location of the facility where the relevant person in charge is located from the worker database 410 based on the received information, and detects the access point at the area of the relevant person from the access point database 420 based on the identified location (S570). Then, the relevant warning message is read out of the warning message database 331 based on the warning code (S580). The terminal identification number of the person in charge and the warning information message corresponding to the warning code are transmitted to the detected access point 200 (S590). Accordingly, as shown in
Furthermore, in this case, the occurrence of a warning may be notified to the worker placed closest to the abnormal facility based on the location of the worker identified through the location identifier. That is, the worker placed closest to the abnormal facility can be extracted based on the identified worker locations, and the warning information message corresponding to the warning code can be transmitted to the terminal of that worker, thereby solving the abnormality speedily.
As described with the structure above, reciprocal communication and fluent work cooperation among workers can be effected using present SRW communication system embodiments in a manufacturing production line for automatically processing semiconductors or TFT-LCDs. Furthermore, handover can be effected between the access points supporting the local area SRW communication so that even when the worker moves, the required communication service can be continuously given to the worker without any interruptions. The work instruction can be notified to all the workers or many of the workers, and the fluent and simultaneous communication can be effected among all the members of the group for doing specific work so that the work can be completed safely and speedily. Furthermore, if the worker departs from the work area, the warning message can be speedily transmitted to the worker, thereby managing the workers effectively. In the case that any facility abnormality is found, it the person in charge can be speedily notified so that the damage due to the facility abnormality can be minimized. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and substitutions can be made to presented embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2005-0046063 | May 2005 | KR | national |
