초록 ▼

An apparatus for tracking items in a factory is disclosed. The apparatus is partially well suited for manufacturing environments wherein there are a plurality of items to be kept together in groups. The invention is particularly useful in semiconductor processing facilities wherein batches of semico

An apparatus for tracking items in a factory is disclosed. The apparatus is partially well suited for manufacturing environments wherein there are a plurality of items to be kept together in groups. The invention is particularly useful in semiconductor processing facilities wherein batches of semiconductor wafers to be processed are placed in wafer carriers which are, in turn, placed in work-in-progress boxes. Applying identification tags to one item that can be read and processed by a microterminal attached to the other item provides an effective way to prevent improper grouping of the items which can lead to misprocessing or handling of the batches of wafers.

대표청구항 ▼

[ It is claimed:] [1.] An apparatus for tracking items in a work place, said apparatus comprising:(a) a set of inner containers;(b) a plurality of first tracking devices, each inner container of said set of inner containers having one of said first tracking devices attached to it, each of said first

[ It is claimed:] [1.] An apparatus for tracking items in a work place, said apparatus comprising:(a) a set of inner containers;(b) a plurality of first tracking devices, each inner container of said set of inner containers having one of said first tracking devices attached to it, each of said first tracking devices having a unique identification code to identify the inner container to which the first tracking device is attached;(c) a set of outer containers;(d) a plurality of second tracking devices, each outer container of said set of outer containers having a second tracking device attached to it, each of said second tracking devices having means for accessing the identification code of the first tracking device attached to an inner container located within said outer container and having a microcontroller for processing a identification code to determine whether a proper inner container is located within said outer container; at least one of said second tracking devices having an audible alarm which is activated if an inner container other than the proper inner container is located within the outer container.