Systems and methods for managing material storage vessels having information storage elements

• US 10,127,094 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2015
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Entegris Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Entegris Incorporated
• Inventors: Elfstrom, Scott, Hanson, Kathleen L., Haumersen, Steven E., Johnson, Thomas D., Nolet, Clari, Smeaton, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Kasenge, Charles R
• Application Number:
  US14/645,975
• Publication Number:
  US 20150186196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,342 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/1247 Means for detecting the presence or absence of liquid
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 80/40 Minimising material used in manufacturing processes

Abstract

Material management systems and methods include material storage vessels with information (e.g., electronic information) storage. Information may be communicated from a storage device to a process tool controller and employed to set or adjust a process tool operating parameter. Material information may be determined by remote analysis and subsequently communicated to an electronic information storage device of a vessel containing such material. Location and movement of material storage vessels within a customer facility may be automatically tracked, with further transfer of material-specific information. Product information may be associatively stored with material-specific information utilized in product manufacture.

Claims

1. A material storage and dispensing assembly comprising:

a material storage vessel having a vessel body adapted to contain a material for subsequent dispensing from the material storage vessel;

a cap; and

a first electronic storage element coupled to the cap and a second electronic storage element coupled to the vessel body, the first and second electronic storage elements each comprising a processor, a memory storing information relating to a material contained within the storage vessel, and a communications link for sending and/or receiving information, the communications link and memory communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the first electronic storage element stores a process tool operating instruction and the second storage element stores information relating to a material contained within the storage vessel indicative of at least one of a material-specific utilization parameter.

2. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a connector configured to be engaged with the cap and including a probe.

3. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first electronic storage element is a short-range electronic storage element, and the second electronic storage element is a long-range electronic storage element and is coupled to the material storage vessel.

4. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the material storage vessel further comprises a removable liner and wherein the vessel body serves as a selectively pressurizable overpack to facilitate controlled storage and controllable dispensing of material from the material storage vessel.

5. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to the material contained within the storage vessel is indicative of a material property.

6. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to the material contained within the storage vessel is indicative of a vessel-specific current or historical environmental condition.

7. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, the memory further storing a unique identifier for the material storage vessel.

8. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1 the memory further storing information related to material acceptability, vessel position, and/or material level.

9. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, further comprising one or more sensors associated with the material storage vessel selected from the group consisting of a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a strain sensor, a chemical sensor, a moisture sensor, an acceleration-responsive sensor and a material level sensor, the one or more sensors configured to transmit a signal indicative of a sensed parameter.

10. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to transmit a signal indicative of a sensed parameter to at least one of the first or second electronic storage elements.

11. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to transmit a signal indicative of a signal indicative of a sensed parameter to a remote data storage repository.

12. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the second information storage element has a greater signal reception range than the first information storage element.

13. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 12, wherein the first electronic storage device comprises an RFID tag and is coupled to the cap and the second electronic storage device comprises an RFID tag and is coupled to the material storage vessel.

14. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the memory of at least one of the first or second electronic storage elements is a dynamically updateable memory capable of receiving and storing information relating to the material contained in the material storage vessel.

15. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first or second electronic storage elements is configured to wirelessly transmit the information relating to a material contained within the storage vessel stored in the memory to a remote device via the communications link.

16. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 15, wherein the information transmitted from at least one of the first or second electronic storage elements comprises information indicative of a vessel position and/or material level.

17. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first or second electronic storage elements is configured to receive information from a remote device via the communications link and to update the information relating to the material contained within the storage vessel stored in the memory based, at least in part, on the information received from the remote device.

18. The material storage and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the information received from the remote device may include a date and/or time stamp.

19. The material and dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the at least one of the first or second electronic storage elements is configured to wirelessly transmit the information relating to a material contained within the storage vessel stored in the memory to a process tool control element.