Management of multiple types of empty carriers in automated material handling systems
First Claim
1. An automated material handling system, comprising:
- a plurality of material carriers including a plurality of empty carriers classified into at least two empty carrier types;
at least one stock area, each including a plurality of bins for storing material carriers, wherein each stock area is associated with at least one threshold for each empty carrier type;
a control system coupled to a first one of the stock areas for computing an empty percentage for the first stock area for each empty carrier type, the empty percentage for a particular carrier type being the percentage of bins of the first one stock area which contain empty carriers of the particular type; and
a transportation system responsive to the control system for selectively moving an empty carrier of a certain empty carrier type between a staging area and the first stock area based on a comparison of the empty percentage for the certain carrier type to the at least one threshold of the first stock area for the certain empty carrier type.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Management of multiple types of empty carriers in automated material handling systems. In one embodiment, an automated material handling system (AMHS) includes a plurality of material carriers including a plurality of empty carriers classified into two or more types and one or more stock areas, each including a plurality of bins for storing material carriers. Each stock area is associated with one or more thresholds for each empty carrier type. The AMHS further includes a control system coupled to a first one of the stock areas for computing an empty percentage for each empty carrier type. The empty percentage for a particular empty carrier type is the percentage of bins of the first one stock area which contain empty carriers of the particular type. The AMHS also includes a transportation system responsive to the control system for selectively moving an empty carrier of a certain carrier type between a staging area and the first stock area based on a comparison of the empty percentage for the certain carrier type to the one or more thresholds of the first stock area for the certain carrier type.
58 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An automated material handling system, comprising:
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a plurality of material carriers including a plurality of empty carriers classified into at least two empty carrier types;
at least one stock area, each including a plurality of bins for storing material carriers, wherein each stock area is associated with at least one threshold for each empty carrier type;
a control system coupled to a first one of the stock areas for computing an empty percentage for the first stock area for each empty carrier type, the empty percentage for a particular carrier type being the percentage of bins of the first one stock area which contain empty carriers of the particular type; and
a transportation system responsive to the control system for selectively moving an empty carrier of a certain empty carrier type between a staging area and the first stock area based on a comparison of the empty percentage for the certain carrier type to the at least one threshold of the first stock area for the certain empty carrier type. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for managing empty material carriers in an automated material handling system including a plurality of material carriers including empty material carriers and at least one stock area each including bins for storing material carriers, the method comprising:
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classifying at least the empty material carriers into at least two empty carrier types;
associating each of the stock areas with at least one threshold for each carrier type;
computing an empty percentage for each empty carrier type for a first one of the stock areas, the empty percentage for a particular empty carrier type being the percentage of bins of the first one stock area which contain empty carriers of the particular type; and
selectively moving an empty carrier of a certain empty carrier type between a staging area and the first stock area based on a comparison of the empty percentage for the certain carrier type for the first stock area to the at least one threshold of the first stock area. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An automated material handling system, comprising:
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a plurality of wafer carriers including a plurality of empty carriers classified into at least two empty carrier types;
at least one stock area each including a plurality of bins for storing wafer carriers, wherein each stock area is associated with a predetermined quantity for each empty carrier type;
a control system coupled to a first one of the stock areas for computing an empty percentage for the first stock area for each carrier type, the empty percentage for a particular carrier type being the percentage of bins of the first one stock area which contain empty carriers of the particular type; and
a transportation system responsive to the control system for selectively moving an empty carrier of a certain empty carrier type between a staging area and the first stock area based on a comparison of the empty percentage for the certain carrier type to the predetermined quantity of the first stock area for the certain carrier type.
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20. A system for managing empty material carriers in an automated material handling system, the material handling system including a plurality of material carriers that include a plurality of empty material carriers and at least one stock area each including bins for storing material carriers, the system comprising:
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means for classifying the empty material carriers into at least two empty carrier types;
means for associating each of the stock areas with at least one threshold for each empty carrier type;
means for computing an empty percentage for each empty carrier type for a first one of the stock areas, the empty percentage for a particular empty carrier type being the percentage of bins of the first one stock area which contain empty carriers of the particular type; and
means for selectively moving an empty carrier of a certain empty carrier type between a staging area and the first stock area based on a comparison of the empty percentage for the certain carrier type for the first stock area to the at least one threshold of the first stock area for the certain empty carrier type.
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Specification