JP2000124094A - Substrate-treating apparatus and method for predicting failures thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent failures caused during the operation of a substrate-treating apparatus to improve the productivity by predicting the failure time of drive components. SOLUTION: The number of driving times or driving time of a drive component of a unit constituting a substrate-treating apparatus is stored as a fatigue degree parameter in a fatigue degree accumulating memory 11. Life parameters of individual driving components are stored in a life memory 15. A failure predicting arithmetic unit 14 computes the predicted failure times of the driving components, based on the life parameters and fatigue degree parameter accumulated values. The computed result is displayed on a display 22 and, in computing the predicted failure time, an error history memory 13 and an error-related table 16 are referred to take into account the involvement of the driving components to errors.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer,
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that processes various substrates to be processed such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device and a glass substrate for a plasma display panel (PDP), and a failure prediction method for such a substrate processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, for example, a substrate processing apparatus is used to form a thin film on a surface, clean the surface, or perform a heat treatment on a glass substrate. Such a substrate processing apparatus is used for holding and moving the substrate, supplying the processing fluid to the substrate, moving and rotating members related to the supply of the processing fluid, and physically participating in the processing fluid itself. And various drive components. For example, a cylinder that operates a chuck mechanism that grips a substrate, a motor that moves a substrate transfer robot, a motor that rotates a spin chuck that holds and rotates a substrate, a valve that opens and closes a processing liquid supply path, and a nozzle that discharges a processing fluid Cylinders for raising and lowering and rotating the pump, pumps for applying pressure to the processing fluid and pumping it, and ultrasonic oscillators for applying ultrasonic vibration to the processing liquid are classified into this type of driving parts. You.

[0003] With such a drive component, fatigue is accumulated as the number of times of drive or the drive time increases, and the function is reduced or damaged, resulting in failure. Therefore, conventionally, whenever a drive component fails, the failed drive component is repaired or replaced each time. When a failure occurs, the substrate processing apparatus displays an error code and a message associated with the error code on a display device, and stops the operation. A maintenance worker who is familiar with the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus can empirically identify which part of the substrate processing apparatus failed in which part from the error code or the like.

Therefore, a maintenance worker refers to a parts list attached to the substrate processing apparatus, and
In addition to searching for information such as the part name, manufacturer name, model, and part number of the failed drive part, based on that information, the part is repaired or a replacement part is ordered. .

[0005]

Normally, a drive component accumulates a degree of fatigue as it is used, and its function gradually decreases, eventually leading to failure. However, since the substrate processing apparatus does not generate an error code until a certain degree of function deterioration occurs, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus is continued for a considerable period of time with the functions of the driving components being reduced. Become. During this time, there is a problem that the drive component having a reduced function exerts abnormal stress on peripheral components mechanically interlocked with the drive component, thereby shortening the life of these peripheral components.

In addition, since the operation of the substrate processing apparatus is unexpectedly stopped due to the failure of the driving parts, there is no means for predicting the failure of the driving parts in advance. The entire system must be stopped.
Moreover, as described above, the identification of a failed component based on an error code or the like largely depends on the experience of the worker.
Even if a failed part is specified, it is necessary to search for information on the part from the parts list. Therefore, complicated preparatory work is required to perform the required repair, and it takes time. In addition, since replacement parts are not always provided, if a replacement part is ordered after the occurrence of a failure, the operation must be stopped for a long time. These factors hinder the improvement of the productivity of the substrate processing apparatus.

In addition, when an error code is generated and the apparatus is stopped, even if a failed drive component can be identified, is it the life of the drive component itself?
Alternatively, it is difficult to determine whether the cause is an external factor such as damage to peripheral components or loosening of a mounting screw.There is also a problem that it takes time to determine the cause of the stoppage of the operation of the substrate processing apparatus. In addition, this is a factor that lowers the productivity of the substrate processing apparatus.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems and to prevent a failure during the operation of the substrate processing apparatus by predicting a failure time of a driving component. Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can contribute to an improvement in productivity. Another object of the present invention is to provide a failure prediction method for a substrate processing apparatus that can contribute to improvement in productivity of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for driving a predetermined member for processing a substrate, the method comprising the steps of: , A life parameter storage means for storing a fatigue parameter accumulation value corresponding to the life of the driving component as a life parameter, and a fatigue parameter accumulation value accumulated by the fatigue parameter accumulation means. A failure prediction time calculation means for calculating a failure prediction time at which the drive component is predicted to fail based on the life parameter stored in the life parameter storage means and the number of substrates to be processed per predetermined unit period. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by including:

[0010] The fatigue parameter may be the number of times or the driving time of the driving component. Similarly, the life parameter may be the number of life driving times or the life driving time of the driving component. For example, the number of times of driving is appropriate to indicate the degree of fatigue and the life of a cylinder or a valve, and the driving time is appropriate to indicate the degree of fatigue and the life of a motor or an oscillator.

Further, in order to use the accumulated value of the fatigue degree parameter in the calculation by the failure prediction time calculation means,
A fatigue parameter accumulation value storage unit for recording the accumulation result by the fatigue parameter accumulation unit may be further included. Further, a life parameter input operation means for inputting the life parameter may be further provided.

Further, there may be further provided an operation means for inputting the number of substrates to be processed for inputting the number of substrates to be processed per the predetermined unit period. According to the present invention, the failure time of a drive component is predicted based on the degree of fatigue of the drive component, its life, and the number of substrates to be processed per unit period. Therefore, it is possible to know in advance the time of failure of the drive component.

For example, in this type of substrate processing apparatus, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus is stopped systematically for periodic inspection and the like. Therefore, for example, if a drive component that is predicted to fail by the date and time of the next periodic inspection (the next periodic inspection) after the most recent periodic inspection (the next periodic inspection) is confirmed, the replacement part can be checked. Are prepared in advance, and those driving parts can be repaired and replaced at the next periodic inspection. Since appropriate measures can be taken in advance in this way, a failure does not occur unexpectedly during the operation of the substrate processing apparatus, so that the productivity of the substrate processing apparatus can be significantly improved.

In addition, since the drive component can be repaired or replaced at a stage where the function of the drive component has been reduced or before the function is reduced, peripheral components related to the drive component are also adversely affected. Is suppressed. Thereby, it is possible to contribute to prolonging the life of peripheral components. Also, by predicting the failure time of the drive component itself, even if an unexpected failure occurs, it is possible to quickly determine whether the cause is the life of the drive component itself or an external factor. Can be determined efficiently and quickly.

[0015] The invention according to claim 2 further includes an error history storage means for recording an occurrence history of an error relating to the drive component, and the failure prediction time calculating means includes an error history storage means for storing the error recorded in the error history storage means. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a failure prediction time of the driving component is calculated in consideration of an occurrence history. In this case, the failure prediction time calculating means, when an error occurrence history related to a certain drive component exists, the fatigue parameter cumulative value of the drive component is based on the life parameter of the drive component. When the value falls within a certain range,
It may be calculated as a failure prediction time. Since the distribution of the failure time of the drive component generally follows a normal distribution, it is preferable that the above-mentioned certain range is about three times the standard deviation in the normal distribution of the failure time.

The failure prediction time calculating means determines that the drive component has reached the failure time when the number of error occurrence histories related to a certain drive component has reached a predetermined threshold value. It may be. Further, the failure prediction time calculation means may be configured such that, if a time interval of an error occurrence history related to a certain drive component is less than a predetermined threshold,
It may be determined that the drive component has reached the failure time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the history of occurrence of errors related to the drive components is added to the calculation of the failure prediction time. In general, when a function of a driving component is deteriorated, a predictive failure often occurs before the driving component completely fails. Such a predictive failure is a failure that can be recovered by initializing the substrate processing apparatus or the like, and does not fatally impair the productivity of the substrate processing apparatus.

Therefore, if the above-mentioned predictive failure is detected as an error, it is possible to indirectly detect a decrease in the function of the drive component. Then, by adding this detection result to the calculation of the failure prediction time, it is possible to more appropriately calculate the failure prediction time. For example, if the life parameter is set to be shorter than the average life of the drive parts in consideration of safety and the failure time is predicted using only the life parameter and the accumulated value of the fatigue degree parameter, the drive parts that can be used continuously should be replaced. It will be a kimono.

Therefore, for example, by setting the life parameter equal to the average life of the driving parts and taking the above-mentioned predictive failure into account,
By correcting the variation in the life of each drive component, the failure prediction time of the drive component can be properly calculated. The invention according to claim 3 further includes association data storage means for storing association data for associating a drive component with an error corresponding to the drive component, wherein the failure prediction time calculation means stores an error occurrence history related to the drive component. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a search is performed from the error history storage unit based on the association data stored in the association data storage unit.

According to this configuration, the knowledge indicating the association between the error and the drive component is stored in the association data storage means as the association data, and the association between the error and the drive component is specified based on the knowledge. You. Therefore,
The occurrence of an error can be reliably added to the calculation of the failure prediction time of each drive component. The invention according to claim 4 further comprises a failure prediction time display means for displaying a failure prediction time calculated by the failure prediction time calculation means. Device.

In this case, it is preferable that the failure prediction time display means displays the component identification data representing the driving component and the failure prediction time of the driving component in association with each other. It is preferable that the component specifying data includes at least one of a component name, a model, and a product number. In addition, together with the component identification data, one or an arbitrary combination of one of a unit name to which the drive component belongs, a subunit name, a maker name of the drive component, a cumulative value of the fatigue degree parameter, and a value of the life parameter. The above items may be displayed together in the failure prediction time display means.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the failure prediction time is displayed, the operator can easily know the replacement time of the drive component. Therefore, at an appropriate time before a failure occurs, the driving parts can be replaced in advance or replacement parts of the driving parts can be ordered, and the substrate processing apparatus suddenly stops operating. Can be avoided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an extracting means for extracting a drive component whose failure predicted time calculated by the failure predicted time calculating means arrives before the designated time, and a drive extracted by the extracting means. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a failure prediction component display unit that displays component identification data representing the component.

It is preferable that a designated time input operation means for inputting a designated time is further provided. According to the present invention, the component identification data of the drive component whose failure prediction time comes before the designated time is displayed on the failure prediction component display means, so that the drive component that needs repair / replacement is quickly identified. be able to.

For example, if the maintenance and inspection of the substrate processing apparatus are to be performed regularly, the next periodic inspection date is designated as a designated time, so that the drive which may be broken down by the next periodic inspection date is performed. Since the component is displayed on the failure prediction component display means, the drive component to be repaired or replaced in the next periodic inspection can be immediately specified. By performing such repair and inspection, unexpected stoppage of the substrate processing apparatus during the period until the next periodic inspection date can be effectively avoided, and productivity can be significantly improved.

The part specifying data preferably includes at least one of a part name, a model, and a product number. In this way, even if a part list is not searched,
Information necessary for ordering parts and the like can be obtained immediately. Thereby, the complexity of the maintenance and inspection work is reduced, and the work can be made more efficient. The invention according to claim 6 is a step of accumulating a fatigue degree parameter related to a fatigue degree of a driving part for driving a predetermined member for processing a substrate, and the step of accumulating a fatigue degree parameter corresponding to a life of the driving part. Calculating a failure prediction time at which the driving component is predicted to fail based on the life parameter, which is a cumulative value of the fatigue parameter, and the number of substrates to be processed per predetermined unit period. This is a failure prediction method for the substrate processing apparatus.

According to this method, the same effect as that described in relation to the first aspect of the invention can be obtained.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. This substrate processing device is a device that performs a process for applying a photoresist to the surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, and is a loader for removing unprocessed substrates from a cassette and supplying them one by one. 1, a plurality of processing units are arranged between an unloader 2 for storing processed substrates in a cassette. That is, in order from the loader 1 side, a cleaning unit 3 for cleaning the substrate, a baking unit 4 for performing a heating process for drying the cleaned substrate and then performing a cooling process for the substrate,
An application section 5 for applying a photoresist to the surface of the substrate, and a baking section 6 for heating the substrate to evaporate a solvent in the photoresist and then cooling the substrate are arranged. Substrates delivered from the loader 1 are sequentially processed through these processing units, and then received in the unloader 2.

Each of the loader 1, unloader 2, cleaning unit 3, bake unit 4, coating unit 5 and bake unit 6 includes:
Individual control units (CPU) (not shown) are provided, each of which is connected to a central control unit 10 via a line 8. The central control device 10 is a device including a microcomputer and a memory as main components.
The necessary functions are realized by performing data writing / reading to the memory and arithmetic processing according to a predetermined operation program. However, FIG. 1 illustrates the configuration of the central control device 10 in the form of a functional block.

A keyboard operation unit 21 and a display unit 22 are connected to the central controller 10. When necessary information is input from the keyboard operation unit 21, the contents corresponding to the input information are displayed on the display unit. 22. The central control device 10 accumulates a fatigue degree parameter representing a fatigue degree of each drive component provided in each of the units including the loader 1, the unloader 2, and the plurality of processing units 3 to 6, and the accumulated fatigue degree is A fatigue accumulation / storage section 11 for recording parameter accumulation values is provided. In addition, the central control device 10 includes an error history storage unit 13 that receives an error occurrence notification from the plurality of units and records the history. And the accumulated fatigue level
Data stored in the storage unit 11 and the error history storage unit 13 are provided to a failure prediction calculation unit 14 as necessary.

The failure prediction operation unit 14 further includes a life storage unit 15 storing the life parameters of the individual drive components,
For each type of error, an error association table 16 storing association data indicating an association between an error and a drive component related to the error, and data from the keyboard operation unit 21 are provided. ing. Further, the failure prediction calculation unit 14 is connected to a component data storage unit 17 that stores component identification data such as a component name, a standard / model number, a manufacturer, and a component code (part number) of each drive component.

The degree of fatigue and life of a drive component is represented by the number of times or drive time of the drive component. Then, the cumulative number of driving times or the cumulative driving time of the driving component is accumulated and recorded as a fatigue parameter accumulation value by the fatigue degree accumulating / storing unit 11, and the average number of driving times until the driving component fails (hereinafter, referred to as “ Lifetime drive count) or average drive time (hereinafter, "lifetime drive time")
Are stored in the lifetime storage unit 15 as lifetime parameters.

For example, for a drive component such as an air cylinder or a valve that operates when receiving a drive command and drives a predetermined member, and then comes to a stand-by state after being stopped, the number of drive times is set as a fatigue degree parameter. Is appropriate, and accordingly, it is appropriate to use the number of times of life driving as the life parameter. On the other hand, for a drive component such as a motor or an oscillator that continuously operates and drives a predetermined member, it is appropriate to use the drive time as the fatigue parameter, and accordingly, the life parameter as the life parameter. It is appropriate to use the drive time.

The fatigue accumulation / storage unit 11 receives information on the number of times of driving or the driving time of the driving component from each unit and accumulates and records the information. (Operation time), and based on the information, the number of times or time of driving each drive component is obtained by calculation, and this is accumulated and recorded. More specifically, if the operation is detected and counted by a sensor attached to a driving component such as a cylinder or a valve, the number of times of driving can be accumulated. If there are no sensors for confirming the operation, the number of times of driving of the driven component can be calculated from the number of processed substrates by checking the number of times of driving of the driven component per substrate in advance.

If the individual control device of each unit is provided with a counter for setting the drive time of a drive component such as a motor or an ultrasonic oscillator, the count value of the counter is used. , Driving time information can be obtained. Further, even if the operation time and the continuous energizing time of the driving components are measured by a counter, the information of the driving time of each driving component can be obtained.

The recording format in the fatigue degree accumulating / storing unit 11 is, for example, a record of each drive component is stored in “unit name”, “subunit name”, “part name”, “number of drive / time”, and “failure prediction”. This is a format composed of each field of “number of times / time”. Here, "unit name"
This is one of the names of the loader 1, the unloader 2, the cleaning unit 3, the baking unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the baking unit 6. The “subunit name” is the name of a partial unit among these units. For example, a cassette stage on which a cassette accommodating a substrate is positioned and placed on the loader unit 1 corresponds to the “subunit name”. I do. The “part name” is a specific drive part name, and corresponds to, for example, an air cylinder that drives a clamp member for holding and positioning a cassette in a cassette stage. The “number of drive times” is the number of drive times or drive time described above. Further, the “predicted number of failures / time” is the remaining number of times of driving or remaining driving time until the drive component fails, and is obtained by subtracting the fatigue parameter accumulated value from the life parameter of the drive component. .

The storage format in the life storage unit 15 is the same as the storage format of the fatigue accumulation / storage unit 11 except that there is no field for the item of the number of times of failure prediction and time. The life parameter stored in the life storage unit 15 may be stored in advance for each drive component, or the operator may input from the keyboard operation unit 21 each time a failure prediction operation is performed. May be.

For example, a coefficient κ (0 <κ <1) in consideration of a driving load and surrounding environmental conditions (particularly temperature) is multiplied by the number of times of life driving described in a parts catalog, and a value obtained as a life parameter is used as a life parameter. You may make it memorize | store in the memory | storage part 15. Similarly, a coefficient κ (0 <κ <1) in consideration of surrounding environmental conditions and the like is multiplied by the life driving time described in the parts catalog, and the obtained value is stored in the life storage unit 15 as a life parameter. You may.

The recording format of the error history storage unit 13 is, for example, that the record for each error is “unit name”, “error name”, “error code”, “occurrence date / time”, and “release year / year”. This is a format composed of the fields of “Month, Day, Time”. Here, the “error name” is a name that briefly indicates the type of failure. For example, when a failure occurs in the clamp mechanism of the cassette stage of the loader unit 1, the error name is “loader cassette stage clamp failure”. And so on. The “error code” is a symbol such as an alphanumeric character corresponding to the error name. "Occurrence date and time" is the date and time when the error occurred,
“Release date” is the date and time when the error was released and the substrate processing apparatus returned to the normal operation state.

The error association table 16 stores data indicating an association between an error and one or a plurality of drive components used at the location where the error has occurred. The recording format of the error association table 16 includes, for example, a record for each type of error, “error name” or “error code”, “unit name” in which the error occurred, “subunit name” in which the error occurred. , And the field of “part name” of the drive part used at the location where the error is related.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for mainly explaining the procedure of the process performed by the failure prediction operation unit 14.
When a predetermined operation is performed from the keyboard operation unit 21 to start the failure prediction program, the display unit 22 displays a message prompting the user to input the number of substrates to be processed per unit period (for example, one week, one month, or the like). In response, the operator inputs the number of substrates to be processed from the keyboard operation unit 21 (step A1). If the input of the number of substrates to be processed in step A1 has been made before, and steps A2 and A3 described later have already been performed and the number of substrates to be processed has not been changed, the number of substrates to be processed is By inputting, for example, a "NEXT" button or the like without inputting ".", It is possible to proceed to a failure prediction period input screen of step A4 described later.

In response to the input of the number of substrates to be processed in step A 1, the failure prediction calculation unit 14 calculates the number of substrates to be processed, the cumulative value of the fatigue parameter recorded in the fatigue / accumulation / storage unit 11, and the life storage. The failure prediction date of each drive component is calculated with reference to the life parameter of each drive component stored in the unit 15 (step A2). Further, the failure prediction calculation unit 14 corrects the failure prediction date obtained in step A3 with reference to the error occurrence history recorded in the error history storage unit 13 and the contents of the error association table 16 (step S3). A3). That is, the failure prediction operation unit 14
Refers to the association data in the error association table 16 to search for the drive component related to the error recorded in the error history storage unit 13 and to add the effect of the error to the calculation of the predicted failure date of the drive component. I do.

Next, the display section 22 displays an input screen for inputting the start and end of the failure prediction period. In response, the operator operates the keyboard operation unit 21 to input a failure prediction period (step A4). For example,
As the beginning of the failure prediction period, specify the scheduled scheduled inspection date (the next scheduled inspection date) to be performed in the near future, and at the end, specify the next scheduled inspection date (the scheduled next scheduled inspection date). Specifying it is effective.

In response to the input of the failure prediction period in step A4, the failure prediction calculation unit 14 extracts a drive component whose calculated failure prediction date arrives within the input failure prediction period and drives the drive component. The component identification data of the component is extracted from the component data storage unit 17 (step A5: extraction means).
The extracted component identification data and the like are displayed on the display unit 2.
2 will be displayed (step A6).

FIG. 3 shows step A6 on the display unit 22.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example in FIG. On the display screen of the display unit 22, following the label of “failure prediction period”, fields F1 and F1 respectively representing the start and end of the failure prediction period
F2 is displayed, and these fields F1 and F2 include
The date specified from the keyboard operation unit 21 is displayed.
Below the display of the failure prediction period, information on drive components predicted to fail within the failure prediction period is listed. That is, for each drive component, the “drive component name”
And a field F3 corresponding thereto, a label of "number of times of driving" or "driving time" and a corresponding field F4, a label of "failure prediction date" of the corresponding driving component and a corresponding field F5, The label of the “standard / model number” of the drive component and the corresponding field F
6, a label of "manufacturer" of the drive component and a corresponding field F7, and a label of "component code" of the drive component and a corresponding field F8 are provided.

Although the contents of each field are as shown in the figure, in the field F4 of the number of times of driving or the driving time, the accumulated value of the fatigue degree parameter recorded in the fatigue accumulation / storage section 11 is entered, and the failure prediction is performed. Date field F
In 6, a failure prediction date calculated by the failure prediction calculation unit 14 is entered. The contents to be entered in the standard / model number field F7 and the component code field F8 are stored in advance in the component data storage unit 17 for each drive component.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining another operation example. In this example, first, the operator inputs the number of substrates to be processed per unit period from the keyboard operation unit 21 (step B1). If the number of substrates to be processed in step B1 has been input before and the number of substrates to be processed has not been changed, a "NEXT" button or the like is selected, for example, to select a later-described step. It is possible to proceed to a drive component name input screen of B4. In response to the input of the number of substrates to be processed in step B1, the failure prediction calculation unit 14 stores the accumulated value of the fatigue parameter of the drive component in the accumulated fatigue / storage unit 1.
1 and stores the life parameter in the life storage unit 15.
Then, using the input number of substrates to be processed, the failure prediction dates of all the driving components related to the substrate processing apparatus are calculated (step B2). And
Further, based on the recorded contents of the error history storage unit 13,
Correct the calculation result in step B3 (step B
3). Here, the name of the drive component whose failure is to be predicted is input from the keyboard operation unit 21 (step B4), and among the failure prediction dates of all the drive components obtained in the process up to step B3, the name is input in step B4. Only the predicted failure date of the driven component is displayed on the display unit 22 (step B5). Specifically, the display unit 22 displays
Labels and fields of component specifying data such as "drive component name", "standard / model number", "component code", and "failure prediction date" labels and fields are displayed in association with each other. Further, a label and a field of a fatigue parameter such as “number of times of driving” or “driving time” of the driving component may be displayed together.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining an example of the processing in step A3 in FIG. 2 or step B3 in FIG. 4, that is, processing for correcting the failure prediction date in consideration of an error. 4 shows the statistical results of the driving time until the occurrence of a failure for (1). The failure density function f (t) obtained by normalizing the failure frequency with respect to the drive time t is a curve representing a normal distribution. In this case, the driving time t is ± 3σ around the mean time to failure MTTF (Mean Time To Failure).
(Σ is a standard deviation) (that is, MTTF−3σ ≦ t ≦ MTTF + 3σ is satisfied), and if the preventive replacement of the driving component is to be performed, the substrate processing apparatus Can be reliably operated continuously. However, on the other hand, if all the driving parts are replaced when the driving time t falls within the normal distribution range, the actual operation time of the substrate processing apparatus may be reduced, and maintenance costs may be reduced. There is a possibility that it will increase if necessary. This is because at least about 50% of the drive components are theoretically usable until the mean time to failure MTTF is reached.

On the other hand, in the process in which the drive component is broken down, the function of the drive component is degraded, and accordingly, a predictive failure (detected as an error, and the occurrence history is recorded in the error history storage unit 13). ) Occurs, and the operation of the substrate processing apparatus may be temporarily stopped. When such a predictive failure occurs, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus can be restarted after 5 to 10 minutes by initializing the substrate processing apparatus.

Therefore, for example, the life parameter stored in the life storage unit 15 is set equal to the MTTF. Then, based on the error occurrence history recorded in the error history storage unit 13 and the contents of the error association table 16, for the drive component involved in the error, the failure prediction calculation unit 14 determines that the drive time is the average failure life MTTF− 3
The point at which σ is reached is set as the failure prediction time (failure prediction date). Driving time is already average failure life MTTF-
If it exceeds 3σ, it is determined that the drive component has already been replaced.

For the drive components not involved in the error, the point in time when the drive time reaches the average failure life MTTF is
The failure prediction time may be used. For a drive component whose degree of fatigue is represented by the number of drive times, the required time of one processing unit in which the component operates is divided by the required number of drive times in the processing unit, and the result is multiplied by the number of life drive times to obtain the life parameter (Lifetime driving time). In this case, the cumulative number of driving of the driving parts is converted into the cumulative driving time,
The converted accumulated driving time is compared with the life parameter.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the failure date of a drive component can be predicted, so that the drive component can be repaired or replaced before a failure occurs. With this, when the operation of the substrate processing apparatus is stopped systematically for periodic inspections and the like, replacement of driving parts etc. is performed collectively, the substrate processing apparatus operates for substrate processing. This prevents accidents from occurring unexpectedly when the device is on. Therefore, since the operation of the substrate processing apparatus is not interrupted, productivity can be greatly improved.

Further, in this embodiment, when an error occurs, the error is added to the prediction of the failure time of the drive component related to the error, so that the failure time can be properly predicted. This makes it possible to appropriately extract parts that need to be repaired or replaced, so that there is no possibility that the cost required for maintaining the substrate processing apparatus will increase. When the driving parts are replaced, the keyboard operating unit 2
By performing a predetermined operation from 1, the error occurrence history related to the drive component is deleted, and the accumulated value of the fatigue parameter is reset to the initial value.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described, the present invention can be implemented in other embodiments. For example, a method of adding an error to the calculation of the failure prediction time may be considered in addition to the above-described method. That is, for example, the failure prediction calculation unit 14
The drive component related to the error recorded in the drive component is extracted with reference to the error association table 16 and the life parameter of the drive component is reduced and corrected (for example, １ ／ times for each error). In this way, the influence of the error may be added. In addition, a failure prediction time and number (= the number of driving times or driving time until a failure occurs) (=
(Life parameter)-(Fatigue parameter cumulative value)
May be corrected in accordance with the error occurrence history.

Further, the failure prediction calculation unit 14 refers to the error history storage unit 13 and the error association table 16 and, if the number of occurrences of an error associated with a certain drive component reaches a predetermined threshold value. For example, it may be determined that the drive component has reached the failure time and the failure prediction time may be obtained. Further, the failure prediction calculation unit 14 refers to the error history storage unit 13 and the error association table 16 and, if an error occurrence time interval related to a certain driving component becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold value. Alternatively, it may be determined that the drive component has reached the failure time and the failure prediction time is obtained.

Further, in the above embodiment, in the operation example described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the failure prediction period is specified by the beginning and the end, but one time point is designated. Alternatively, data of a drive component whose failure prediction time comes before the designated time may be extracted and displayed. For example, if the next regular inspection date is specified,
The drive parts to be repaired or replaced will be identified on the next regular inspection date.

Further, when displaying the information of the drive component whose failure is predicted on the display section 22, the drive component may be rearranged and displayed in descending order of the number of involved errors. As a result, it is possible to sequentially display the drive parts having the highest urgency of repair / replacement, so that it is possible to take measures such as repair / replacement with priority given to these drive parts.

Further, the display unit 22 may be configured to be able to display only the information of the driving parts having a history related to the error. Further, a specific error name is inputted from the keyboard operating unit 21 and the error name is inputted. The information of the drive component having a history related to the error specified by the information may be extracted and displayed. Further, in the embodiment described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, after inputting the number of substrates to be processed (step B1), calculation of a failure prediction date (step B2 and step B3) is performed, and thereafter, input of a drive component name (step B1) Although B4) is performed, it is also possible to input the number of substrates to be processed, input the drive component name, and then calculate the predicted failure date. By doing so, it is not necessary to perform the calculation of the failure prediction date for the drive component that is not required, so that the calculation load of the failure prediction calculation unit 14 can be reduced, and the time required for the calculation processing of the failure prediction date can be reduced. .

In the embodiment described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, the input of the number of substrates to be processed (step B1) is performed first, and then the input of the drive component name (step B4) is performed. Conversely, the drive component name may be input first, and then the number of substrates to be processed may be input. Similarly, in the embodiment described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, the start and end of the failure prediction period may be input first, and then the number of substrates to be processed may be input.

Further, in the above embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus for processing a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device has been described as an example. However, the present invention relates to a case where other types of substrates such as a semiconductor wafer and a plasma display panel are used. The present invention is also applicable to a processing apparatus. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

In the present invention, the driving components include holding and movement of the substrate, supply of the processing fluid to the substrate, movement and rotation of members related to the supply of the processing fluid, and physical movement of the processing fluid itself. Refers to a device that drives a predetermined member for participation or the like, for example, a cylinder that operates a chuck mechanism that grips a substrate, a motor that moves a substrate transport robot, a motor that rotates a spin chuck that holds and rotates a substrate A valve for opening / closing the processing liquid supply path, a cylinder for raising / lowering or rotating a nozzle for discharging the processing fluid, a pump for applying pressure to the processing fluid to pump it, and applying ultrasonic vibration to the processing liquid For example, an ultrasonic oscillator. That is, the drive component may be any component that drives a predetermined member for processing the substrate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of a failure prediction calculation.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example on a display unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining another operation example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a process of correcting a failure prediction date in consideration of an error.

[Description of Signs] 10 Central Controller 11 Fatigue Degree Accumulation / Storage Unit (Fatigue Degree Parameter Accumulation Means, Fatigue Degree Parameter Accumulation Value Storage Means) 13 Error History Storage Unit (Error History Storage Means) 14 Failure Prediction Operation Unit (Failure Prediction) Timing calculation means) 15 Lifetime storage unit (lifetime parameter storage unit) 16 Error association table (association data storage unit) 17 Parts data storage unit 21 Keyboard operation unit (lifetime parameter input operation unit, scheduled processing board number input operation unit, specified time) Input operation means) 22 display unit (failure prediction time display means, failure prediction part display means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Yamamoto 4-chome, Horikawa-dori-Teranouchi, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 1 Dai-Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Koji Yahiko 1 Dai Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A fatigue parameter accumulation means for accumulating a parameter relating to a fatigue degree of a driving component for driving a predetermined member for processing a substrate, and a fatigue parameter accumulation value corresponding to a life of the driving component. Life parameter storage means for storing as a life parameter, a fatigue parameter accumulated value accumulated by the fatigue parameter accumulation means, a life parameter stored in the life parameter storage means, and a number of substrates to be processed per predetermined unit period And a failure prediction time calculation means for calculating a failure prediction time at which the drive component is predicted to fail based on the above. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an error history storage unit for storing an error history of an error relating to the drive component, wherein the failure prediction time calculating unit takes into account the error occurrence history recorded in the error history storage unit. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a predicted failure time of the driving component is calculated. 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: association data storage means for storing association data for associating the drive component with an error corresponding to the drive component, wherein the failure prediction time calculation means stores the error occurrence history relating to the drive component in the association data. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a search is performed from the error history storage unit based on the association data stored in the storage unit. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising failure prediction time display means for displaying a failure prediction time calculated by said failure prediction time calculation means. 5. Extraction means for extracting a drive component whose failure prediction time calculated by the failure prediction time calculation means arrives before a designated time, and component specifying data representing the drive component extracted by the extraction means. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: a failure prediction component display unit that displays a failure prediction component. 6. A step of accumulating a fatigue degree parameter related to a fatigue degree of a driving component for driving a predetermined member for processing a substrate, a fatigue parameter accumulation value, a fatigue level corresponding to a life of the driving component. Calculating a failure prediction time at which the drive component is predicted to fail based on a life parameter as a parameter accumulation value and the number of substrates to be processed per predetermined unit period. Failure prediction method.