Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Product assembly or manufacturing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-24
2002-05-21
Grant, William (Department: 2121)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Product assembly or manufacturing
C700S115000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06393333
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a production management system for, in a production line for manufacturing products by performing a series of working steps on workpieces, performing progress management of the working steps on the workpieces, and particularly relates to a production management system with which information relating to working steps can be sent and received between operators and engineers.
2. Related Art
For example, in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, a semiconductor device process support system is employed wherein multiple working steps are set as a process flow while processing conditions in each of the working steps are determined, this process flow is stored in a database, and lot progress management and working machine control are carried out on the basis of information of the process flow. Engineer's terminals for carrying out process flow editing and the like and operator's terminals located inside clean rooms are connected to computers making up the process support system. Work instructions from engineers to operators, or comments such as “Please contact me.”, “I will come and be present during the work.”, or “Pay attention to tools.” can be sent between these terminals.
However, according to the conventional process support systems, there has been the problem that an engineer having inputted a comment such as “Please contact me.”, “I will come and be present during the work.”, or “Pay attention to tools.” cannot confirm whether or not the workpiece concerned has actually arrived at the working step concerned and the comment has been displayed on the operator's terminal.
However, according to the conventional process support systems, there has been the problem that an engineer having inputted a comment such as ‘Please contact me.’, ‘I will come and be present during the work.’, or ‘Pay attention to tools.’ cannot confirm whether or not the workpiece concerned has actually arrived at the working step concerned and the comment has been displayed on the operator's terminal.
A system for solving this problem is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H.8-36538. In this system, there is provided communication management means for, in the execution of a plurality of mutually related tasks allocated to different workers, centrally managing communication processing carried out among the different workers accompanying instructions and inquiries about the contents of the tasks. This communication management means is structured in such a manner that when there is an enquiry relating to a second task from a worker with responsibility for a first task, it finds the worker to whom that second task has been allocated and opens communication between the two workers.
That is, an enquiry from a worker is a condition of communication being started.
However, semiconductor devices manufactured through complicated processes made up of over ten steps, or several tens of steps, or in recent years as many as three hundred steps, have appeared. Further, a large number of workpieces for manufacturing numerous different kinds of semiconductor devices are put in and flows on a manufacturing line having many steps like this. Therefore, some semiconductor devices require a long process time of several months to completion. In the manufacture of this kind of semiconductor device, checking which step a certain workpiece is currently in (what the contents of the current task are) is difficult. As a result, it is, in practice, problematic that engineers who have made comments contact the operators in charge for the working step concerned with optimal timing to carry out necessary communication even when the communication management means as mentioned above is utilized.
That is, for example when an engineer wants to communicate a comment of “Please contact me.” to an operator of a certain working step, the engineer who inputs the comment must passively wait for the operator to see the comment and contact him. The problem arises that if the operator fails to contact the engineer the workpiece concerned ceases to progress through the manufacturing process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to solve the problems described above and provide a production management system with which, when it is confirmed that a workpiece has arrived at a working step to which a comment has been assigned concerning the workpiece, predetermined information such as notification that the workpiece has arrived at the working step can be automatically sent to specified persons such as engineers and the like.
To achieve this and other objects, the invention provides a production management system for performing progress management of working steps applied on a workpiece in accordance with a working step flow for manufacturing a product. The production management system comprises a comment storing device for storing a comment having contents relating to a specified working step in the working step flow, an address storing device for storing address information relating to an author of the comment, and a transmitting device for, when it is confirmed that the workpiece has arrived at the specified working step, transmitting predetermined information to an address obtained from the address information stored in the address storing device.
Therefore, if, for example, address information of a design engineer is stored in the address storing device, when the workpiece has arrived at the specified working step the predetermined information is transmitted to a terminal of that design engineer. Thus, the engineer can for example go to the site of the working step and give suitable instructions to the operator in charge for the working step concerned.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5050088 (1991-09-01), Buckler
patent: 5329690 (1994-07-01), Tsuji
patent: 5414494 (1995-05-01), Aiken
patent: 4-8459 (1992-01-01), None
patent: 5-80645 (1993-11-01), None
patent: 6-162038 (1994-06-01), None
patent: 8-36538 (1996-02-01), None
patent: 9-174390 (1997-07-01), None
Denso Corporation
Frank Elliot
Grant William
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
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