Scheduler, substrate processing apparatus, and method of transferring substrates in substrate processing apparatus
First Claim
1. A scheduler for use in a substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of substrate processing sections for processing substrates, a transfer section for transferring the substrates, and a controller for controlling the substrate processing sections to process the substrates and controlling the transfer section to transfer the substrates, the scheduler being adapted to be incorporated in the controller for calculating a substrate transferring schedule, the scheduler comprising:
- a function to successively calculate substrate transferring schedules for substrates which are newly supplied to the substrate processing apparatus;
a function, in an event of a fault occurring in the substrate processing apparatus and a state of the fault being taken as an initial state, to calculate the substrate transferring schedules which remove a substrate from one of the substrate processing sections which suffers the fault, and transfers the removed substrate to another one of the processing sections which is normal to continuously process the removed substrate, or retrieve the removed substrate and place it into a substrate cassette after the removed substrate is washed with water and dried; and
a function to recalculate the substrate transferring schedules which makes the one of the substrate processing sections which suffers the fault unusable and supply new substrates to the substrate processing apparatus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A scheduler generates not only normal substrate transferring schedules for substrates newly supplied to a substrate processing apparatus, but also substrate transferring schedules for keeping a high production quantity in the event of a failure. The scheduler is used in a substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of substrate processing sections for processing substrates, a transfer device for transferring the substrates, and a controller for controlling the substrate processing units to process the substrates and controlling the transfer device to transfer the substrates. The scheduler is incorporated in the controller for calculating a substrate transferring schedule and has a function to successively calculate substrate transferring schedules for substrates which are newly supplied to the substrate processing apparatus, and, in the event of a fault occurring in the substrate processing apparatus, to recalculate the substrate transferring schedules with an initial state represented by a state including the fault.
51 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A scheduler for use in a substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of substrate processing sections for processing substrates, a transfer section for transferring the substrates, and a controller for controlling the substrate processing sections to process the substrates and controlling the transfer section to transfer the substrates, the scheduler being adapted to be incorporated in the controller for calculating a substrate transferring schedule, the scheduler comprising:
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a function to successively calculate substrate transferring schedules for substrates which are newly supplied to the substrate processing apparatus; a function, in an event of a fault occurring in the substrate processing apparatus and a state of the fault being taken as an initial state, to calculate the substrate transferring schedules which remove a substrate from one of the substrate processing sections which suffers the fault, and transfers the removed substrate to another one of the processing sections which is normal to continuously process the removed substrate, or retrieve the removed substrate and place it into a substrate cassette after the removed substrate is washed with water and dried; and a function to recalculate the substrate transferring schedules which makes the one of the substrate processing sections which suffers the fault unusable and supply new substrates to the substrate processing apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A substrate transferring method for a substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of substrate processing sections for processing substrates, a transfer section for transferring the substrates, and a controller for controlling the substrate processing sections to process the substrates and controlling the transfer section to transfer the substrates, the method comprising:
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successively calculating substrate transferring schedules for substrates which are newly supplied to the substrate processing apparatus; in an event of a fault occurring in the substrate processing apparatus, the state of the fault being taken as an initial state, calculating the substrate transferring schedules which remove a substrate from one of the substrate processing sections which suffers the fault, and transfer the removed substrate to another one of the processing sections which is normal to continuously process the removed substrate, or retrieve the removed substrate and place into a substrate cassette after the removed substrate is washed with water and dried; and recalculating the substrate transferring schedules which makes the one of the substrate processing sections which suffers the fault unusable and supplies new substrates to the substrate processing apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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Specification