Substrate processing system and data retrieval method

• US 8,312,333 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2011
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kokusai Electric Corp.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Incorporated (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Koshimaki, Toshiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Wilson
• Application Number:
  US12/929,229
• Publication Number:
  US 20110113033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 673 Days
• Field of Search: 707755-766, 707780-782, 707802-810, 714735-742
• US Class Current: 714/738
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2454 Optimisation of common expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results

Abstract

An operation terminal, which includes an operation terminal, when connected to a group administration apparatus for administering a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses for processing substrates, generates a data acquisition request format that sets forth retrieval conditions and types of display items classified in individual tables for the substrate processing apparatuses, and then transmits it to the group administration apparatus.

Claims

1. A data processing method for a substrate processing apparatus comprising:

a group administration apparatus for administering a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses for processing substrates; and

a plurality of operation terminals each for, when connected to said group administration apparatus, generating a data acquisition request format that sets forth retrieval conditions and types of display items classified in individual tables for said substrate processing apparatuses, and then transmitting the data acquisition request format to said group administration apparatus,

the method comprising;

accumulating data from a substrate processing apparatus in a data accumulation area;

at a time of data acquisition request from said plurality of operation terminals, expanding the data acquisition request format for said plurality of substrate processing apparatuses;

merging display items to be retrieved with a same retrieval condition which is included in retrieval conditions set forth in the expanded data acquisition request formats to generate a merge table for substrate processing apparatuses; and

retrieving the data accumulation area by the retrieval condition using merge tables to transmit retrieved results to the operation terminal.

2. The data processing method according to claim 1, wherein the group administration apparatus generates the merge tables for said substrate processing apparatuses and merges information of the merge tables and the data acquisition request formats which comprises display item information of said operation terminals to generate a merge data administration table.

3. The data processing method according to claim 2, wherein said group administration apparatus includes a data retrieval result storing table for storing the retrieved results, generates an operation terminal retrieval result storing table used for transmitting data to said operation terminal by said data retrieval result storing table and said merge data administration table, and transmits contents to a corresponding operation terminal.

4. The data processing method according to claim 1, wherein said group administration apparatus periodically searches said data accumulation area so as to generate an operation terminal retrieval result storing table, and transmits contents to a corresponding operation terminal.

5. A data processing method for a substrate processing system comprising a group administration apparatus for administering a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses for processing substrates and a plurality of operation terminals to generate data acquisition request formats for said substrate processing apparatuses,

the method comprising:

accumulating data from a substrate processing apparatus in a data accumulation area;

expanding the data acquisition request format for each of said substrate processing apparatuses for each of said operation terminals which is included in said data acquisition request formats acquired by each of said operation terminals;

merging display items to be retrieved with a same retrieval condition which is included in retrieval conditions set forth in the expanded data acquisition request formats to generate a merge table for substrate processing apparatuses; and

retrieving the target data accumulation area by the retrieval condition using merge tables to transmit retrieved results to the operation terminal.

6. The data processing method according to claim 5, wherein the group administration apparatus generates the merge tables for said substrate processing apparatuses and merges information of the merge tables and the display item information of said operation terminals to generate a merge data administration table.

7. The data processing method according to claim 5, wherein said group administration apparatus includes a data retrieval result storing table for storing the retrieved results, generates an operation terminal retrieval result storing table used for transmitting data to said operation terminal by said data retrieval result storing table and said merge data administration table, and transmits contents to a corresponding operation terminal.

8. The data processing method according to claim 5, wherein said group administration apparatus periodically searches said data accumulation area so as to generate an operation terminal retrieval result storing table, and transmits contents to a corresponding operation terminal.

9. A data processing method for a substrate processing apparatus, the method comprising:

accumulating data from a substrate processing apparatus in a data accumulation area;

at a time of data acquisition request from an operation terminal, acquiring data acquisition request formats in which a retrieval condition to retrieve display items to be displayed on an operation terminal of a displaying target and data types of the display items are formatted;

merging the display items to be retrieved with a same retrieval condition which is included in retrieval conditions set forth in a data acquisition request format acquired from the operation terminal to generate merge tables; and

retrieving the data accumulation area by the retrieval condition using the merge tables to transmit the retrieved results to the operation terminal.

10. The data processing method according to claim 9, further comprising:

generating the merge tables for the substrate processing apparatuses; and

merging information of the merge tables and display item information of the operation terminal.

11. The data processing method according to claim 10, further comprising:

storing a result of retrieval of the data using the retrieval condition performed by using the merge table into a first retrieval result storing table; and

comparing the first retrieval result storing table with a merge data administration table generated by merging the data acquisition request format and the merge table so as to generate a second retrieval result storing table used for transmitting the data, and then transmitting contents of the second retrieval result storing table to a corresponding operation terminal.

12. The data processing method according to claim 9, wherein the substrate processing apparatus includes a group administration apparatus for administering a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses for processing substrates.

13. The data processing method according to claim 12, wherein the group administration apparatus generates the merge tables for said substrate processing apparatuses and merges information of the merge tables and the data acquisition request formats which comprises display item information of said operation terminal to generate a merge data administration table.

14. The data processing method according to claim 13, wherein said group administration apparatus includes a data retrieval result storing table for storing the retrieved results, generates an operation terminal retrieval result storing table used for transmitting data to said operation terminal by said data retrieval result storing table and said merge data administration table, and transmits contents to a corresponding operation terminal.

15. The data processing method according to claim 12, wherein said group administration apparatus periodically searches said data accumulation area to generate an operation terminal retrieval result storing table, and transmits contents to a corresponding operation terminal.