KR102560065B1 - Pre-warning system for expected life time of gas supply equipment and Control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An embodiment of the life expectancy advance warning system of the gas supply equipment includes a plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment; a pre-warning generating unit notifying occurrence of a part that has reached a lifespan limit among the plurality of parts; And a control unit that receives information on the operating time or operating frequency of each of the plurality of components, compares the operating time or operating frequency of each component with a preset lifetime limit for each component, and controls the advance warning generating unit to inform the occurrence of a component that has reached the lifetime limit when the operating time or operating frequency of each component reaches a preset lifetime limit for each component.

Description

Pre-warning system for expected life time of gas supply equipment and control method thereof

Embodiments relate to a life expectancy warning system of gas supply equipment and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a life expectancy warning system of gas supply equipment and a control method thereof, which improve maintenance convenience by warning in advance whether or not the life expectancy of components for each system provided in the gas supply equipment has been reached.

In general, gas supply equipment heats a specific type of gas used for semiconductor production to a temperature set appropriately for a process purpose and supplies it to a semiconductor production facility. For this purpose, the gas supply equipment includes a plurality of parts constituting an electrical system for delivering current supplied from a power source to various electronic devices, and a plurality of parts constituting a piping system for supplying gas at a set flow rate to a semiconductor production facility through a pipe.

Various parts provided in the electrical system and piping system of such gas supply equipment have a normal expected lifespan determined for each part, and the expected lifespan may be determined according to the operation time or number of times of each part.

If, during the operation of the gas supply equipment, any one of the parts reaches the end of life and becomes inoperable, the entire system of the gas supply equipment goes down or the operation of the gas supply equipment becomes impossible. Therefore, normal operation of the gas supply equipment becomes impossible until parts are replaced, resulting in process loss.

In addition, when an abnormal event such as an instantaneous short circuit, power failure, short circuit, short circuit, or overload occurs during operation of the gas supply equipment, damage is applied to the parts, so the actual life span of the parts may be shorter than the expected life span.

Conventional gas supply equipment has a problem in that it lacks a warning means for predicting the life expectancy of the parts in advance and notifying the operator of the equipment to recognize them, and an improvement plan for this problem is required.

Prior art related to gas supply equipment is disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0852883.

The embodiment was devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the life expectancy of gas supply equipment that can prevent the occurrence of a system down or equipment operation failure phenomenon in advance when the life limit of each system component provided in the gas supply equipment is reached. Its purpose is to provide a warning system and a control method thereof.

An embodiment of the life expectancy advance warning system of gas supply equipment for realizing the above object is a plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment; a pre-warning generating unit notifying occurrence of a part that has reached a lifespan limit among the plurality of parts; And a control unit that receives information on the operating time or operating frequency of each of the plurality of components, compares the operating time or operating frequency of each component with a preset lifetime limit for each component, and controls the advance warning generating unit to inform the occurrence of a component that has reached the lifetime limit when the operating time or operating frequency of each component reaches a preset lifetime limit for each component.

When a part that has reached the lifespan limit is generated, the control unit may correct and reset the lifespan limit of the part located in the periphery by giving a reduction value to the lifespan limit of the part located around the part that has reached the lifespan limit.

When at least one event of instantaneous power failure, load-side overload, short circuit, electric leakage, and short circuit occurs in the gas supply equipment, the control unit gives a reduction value to the life limit of each part according to the number and type of occurrence of the event. The life limit of each part can be corrected and reset.

The control unit may correct the life limit by gradually increasing the reduction value of the life limit of parts located around the one part according to the number of events occurring in the one part.

The parts included in the gas supply equipment include a first part group included in the electrical system and a second part group included in the piping system, and the respective parts constituting the first part group and the second part group may have different ratios of the reduction value for each system of the electrical system and the piping system.

An embodiment of the control method of the life expectancy advance warning system of gas supply equipment includes: (a) operating the gas supply equipment; (b) storing a set time or number of times corresponding to a life limit for each of a plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment; (c) counting the operation time or number of times for each part; and (d) generating an advance warning notifying occurrence of a part that has reached the lifespan limit when the operation time or number of times for each part reaches a set time or number corresponding to the lifespan limit.

In the step (d), when a part that has reached the lifespan limit is generated, a set time corresponding to the lifespan limit of the part located in the periphery by giving a reduction value to the lifespan limit of the part located around the part that has reached the lifespan limit It may further include correcting and resetting the number of times.

When at least one event among instantaneous power failure, load-side overload, short circuit, electric leakage, and short circuit occurs during operation of the gas supply equipment, the method may further include correcting and resetting a set time or number corresponding to the life limit of each part by giving a reduction value to the life limit of each part according to the number and type of occurrence of the event.

In this case, according to the number of events occurring in one part, the reduction value of the life limit of the part located around the one part may be gradually increased, and the set time or number corresponding to the life limit may be corrected and reset.

In the step of correcting the set time or number of times corresponding to the life limit, the ratio of the reduction value may be set differently for each system of gas supply equipment.

According to the embodiment, it is possible to improve the convenience of maintenance by making it possible to easily determine whether or not the life expectancy of components for each system provided in the gas supply equipment has been reached.

In addition, when a part that has reached the life limit occurs, it is possible to quickly cope with the risk in advance by automatically correcting the life limit of peripheral parts by giving a reduced value.

In addition, when an event such as instantaneous power failure occurs, the pre-warning function can be strengthened by automatically setting the life limit of components low according to the number and type of occurrence.

1 is a configuration block diagram of a gas supply equipment to which an embodiment is applied;
2 is a control block diagram of an advance warning system for life expectancy of gas supply equipment according to an embodiment;
3 is a flow chart showing a control method of a life expectancy advance warning system of gas supply equipment according to an embodiment;
4 is a flow chart showing a control method of a life expectancy advance warning system of gas supply equipment according to another embodiment;
5 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a life expectancy advance warning system of gas supply equipment according to another embodiment.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the preferred embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the configuration and operation of an embodiment of the life expectancy advance warning system 100 of the gas supply equipment 1 will be described.

An embodiment of the life expectancy advance warning system 100 of the gas supply equipment 1 includes a plurality of parts 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123 provided in the gas supply equipment 1, and the plurality of parts 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118 , 119, 121, 122, 123), receives information about the operation time or number of operation of each of the plurality of parts (111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123) and the advance warning generating unit 140, which notifies the occurrence of parts that have reached the life limit, and the respective parts (111, 112, 11 3,114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123 by comparing the operation time or number of operations of each of the parts 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123 with the predetermined life limit of each part 111, 112, 1 13,114,115,116,117,118,119,121,122,123 When the operation time or number of operation reaches the preset life limit for each of the parts 111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,121,122,123, the occurrence of the part that has reached the life limit It includes a control unit 130 that controls the advance warning generating unit 140 to notify.

In one embodiment, the 'life limit' may be set to a time or number equal to the commonly determined 'expected life' of each part, or set to a time or number of times a predetermined reduction value is given to the expected life.

The gas supply equipment 1 includes a first component group 110 constituting an electrical system for delivering current supplied from a power source to various electronic devices, and a second component group 120 constituting a piping system for supplying gas at a set flow rate through a pipe to a semiconductor production facility.

As an embodiment, the first component group 110 constituting the electrical system includes a logic control unit (PLC) 111, a touch screen 112, a direct current power supply (SMPS) 113, an emergency stop switch (EMO Buzzer) 114, a circuit breaker (MCCB) 115, an earth leakage breaker (ELB) 116, a power relay 117, and a non-contact The second part group 120, which includes a relay (SSR) 118 and a heater 119 and constitutes the piping system, may include a solenoid valve 121, an air valve 112, and a pressure regulator 123.

The logic control unit (PLC) 111 is in charge of calculations necessary for controlling the gas supply equipment 1, and its life expectancy is typically 10 years, and each manufacturer has a difference in life expectancy.

The touch screen 112 displays operation of gas supply equipment, display of sensor values, and alarm status, and includes a backlight and a touch sensor, and the expected operating time of the backlight is 50,000 hours.

The DC power supply (SMPS) 113 receives AC power from a power source, changes its characteristics to DC power, supplies DC power to other electronic devices, and has an expected lifespan of 10 years.

The emergency stop switch (EMO Buzzer) 114 plays a role of emergency stop or resetting the gas supply equipment, and the expected lifespan of the number of operations is about 1 million times.

The circuit breaker (MCCB) 115 and the earth leakage breaker (ELB) 116 serve to open and close the circuit of the heater 119, and open the circuit to protect the power supply side in case of overcurrent or leakage in the load side. The main purpose of the circuit breaker (MCCB) 115 is to block overload, and opens a circuit in case of a short circuit, short circuit, or overload on the load side. The earth leakage breaker (ELB) 116 has a main purpose of blocking earth leakage, and opens a circuit in case of a leakage, short circuit or overload on the load side. The expected life of the MCCB (115) and the earth leakage breaker (ELB) 116 is 10 to 15 years.

The power relay 117 and the solid state relay (SSR) 118 are used as devices for operating the heater 119 and protecting the heater circuit in case of emergency. The expected life of the power relay 117 is about 100,000 coil operations, and the expected life of the solid state relay 118 is 100,000 hours based on the mean time to failure (MTTF; time from first use to failure).

The solenoid valve 121 is configured to operate the air valve 112 provided in the cabinet of the gas supply equipment, and the life expectancy is about 1 million based on the number of operations of the coil. The life expectancy may vary depending on the surrounding environment. When the air valve 112 operates, gas flows through the pipe, and the pressure is adjusted by the pressure regulator 123 to supply the gas to the connecting equipment. The life expectancy of the air valve 112 and the pressure regulator 123 may vary depending on the properties (flammability, corrosiveness, and nonflammability) of the gas flowing through the pipe.

However, the life expectancy of each part is not limited to the above description, and the life expectancy may vary depending on parts, manufacturers, materials, and the like.

The control unit 130 may include an information receiving unit 131, an event receiving unit 132, a reduction value granting unit 132, a life limit correcting unit 134, and a life limit reaching determination unit 135.

The information receiving unit 131 receives information about operating time or number of times from the respective parts 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123 constituting the first part group 110 and the second part group 120.

The event receiving unit 132 receives information on the number and type of abnormal events that may occur during operation of the gas supply equipment 1, such as momentary power failure, load side overload, short circuit, short circuit, or short circuit.

The reduction value assigning unit 133 and the life limit correcting unit 134, based on the information received from the information receiving unit 131 or the event receiving unit 132, when a part that has reached the life limit occurs, gives a reduction value to the life limit of a part located around the part that has reached the life limit, corrects and resets the life limit of the surrounding part, and assigns a reduction value to the life limit of each part according to the number and type of the event, respectively. It can be reset by calibrating the life limits of the parts of

As indicated by arrows in FIG. 1 , the plurality of parts 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, and 119 constituting the first part group 110 of the electrical system are connected to each other and the plurality of parts 121, 122, and 123 constituting the second part group 120 of the piping system are electrically or mechanically connected to each other.

When any one component provided in the electrical system reaches its lifespan limit and an inoperable state (fail) occurs in the corresponding component, it may affect peripheral components due to causes such as overcurrent. Here, the peripheral part in the electrical system may be a part between one circuit breaker and another electrically connected circuit breaker. The circuit breaker can cut off the fault current that occurs due to an abnormality in the parts of the electrical system.

Even in the case of the piping system, if any one part reaches the life limit and a failure occurs in the corresponding part, the surrounding valves 121 and 122 or the pressure regulator 123 may be affected due to gas stagnation.

In this way, in order to quickly prepare for the advance risk due to the influence on the peripheral parts by reaching the life limit of any one part, the reduction value granting unit 133 and the life limit correcting unit 134 may be configured to perform a warning function when reaching 80 to 95% of the life limit by assigning a reduction value (for example, 5 to 20%) to the life limit of the peripheral parts.

Similarly, the reduction value granting unit 133 and the life limit correction unit 134, when an event such as an instantaneous power failure of the equipment power supply, an overload on the load side, a short circuit, a leakage or a short circuit, occurs, depending on the number and type. By giving a reduction value to the life limit and correcting and resetting the life limit, the advance warning function can be strengthened. Here, the reduction value granting unit 133 and the life limit correction unit 134 gradually increase the reduction value of the life limit of parts located around the one part according to the number of events occurring in one part to correct the life limit. For example, when an event occurs in one part, the reduction value granting unit 133 and the life limit correcting unit 134 may give a greater reduction value to the life limit of a part located around the part when an event occurs twice than when an event occurs once.

The life limit reaching unit 135 compares the operation (operation) time or number of parts and the life limit time or number of times, and when the operation (operation) time or number of parts reaches the life limit time or number, an operation control signal is sent to the advance warning generating unit 140 to generate a prior warning.

Meanwhile, for each of the parts 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123 constituting the first part group 110 and the second part group 120, the ratio of the reduction value may be set differently in consideration of the part characteristics of each system of the electrical system and the piping system.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, the configuration and operation of embodiments of the control method of the life expectancy advance warning system 100 of the gas supply equipment 1 will be described.

Referring to FIG. 3 , an embodiment of the control method of the life expectancy advance warning system 100 of the gas supply equipment 1 includes operating the gas supply equipment 1 (S11), storing a set time or number corresponding to the life limit for each of a plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment 1 (S12), counting the operating time or number of times for each part (S13), and operating time or number for each part at the set time or number corresponding to the life limit. A step of determining whether or not it has reached (S14), and if the operation time or number of times for each part in step S14 reaches the set time or number corresponding to the life limit, generating a prior warning informing of the occurrence of parts that have reached the life limit (S15). Then, when the operation time or number of times for each part does not reach the set time or number corresponding to the life limit in step S14, the process returns to step S13.

Referring to FIG. 4 , another embodiment of the control method of the life expectancy advance warning system 100 of the gas supply equipment 1 is operating the gas supply equipment 1 (S21), storing a set time or number corresponding to the life limit for each of a plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment 1 (S22), counting the operation time or number of times for each part (S23), and operating time or number for each part equal to the set time or number corresponding to the life limit A step of determining whether or not it has been reached (S24), and if the operating time or number of times for each part in step S24 reaches the set time or number corresponding to the life limit, generating a prior warning informing of the occurrence of parts that have reached the life limit (S25).

When the operation time or number of times for each part in step S24 does not reach the set time or number corresponding to the life limit, step S23 is performed.

In addition, in the step S24, if a part whose operation time or number of times reaches the set time or number corresponding to the life limit for each part occurs, a step S26 of correcting and resetting the set time or number corresponding to the life limit of the part located around by giving a reduced value to the life limit of the parts located around the part that has reached the life limit, and when the set time or number corresponding to the life limit is reset, the reset life limit correction value is stored and then the step S23 come back

In this case, in the step of correcting the set time or number corresponding to the life limit, the ratio of the reduction value may be set differently for each system of the gas supply equipment 1 .

Referring to FIG. 5, another embodiment of the control method of the life expectancy advance warning system 100 of the gas supply equipment 1 includes operating the gas supply equipment 1 (S31), storing a set time or number corresponding to a life limit for each of a plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment 1 (S32), counting the operating time or number of times for each part (S33), and determining whether an event occurs during operation of the gas supply equipment 1 (S 34), if an event occurs in step S34, a reduction value is given to the life limit of each part according to the number and type of occurrence of the event, the set time or number corresponding to the life limit of each part is corrected and reset, and returns to step 33 (S35). In step 6, if the operating time or number of times for each part reaches the set time or number corresponding to the life limit, a step (S37) of generating a prior warning notifying the occurrence of a part that has reached the life limit is generated.

In the step 35, the reduction value of the life limit of the part located around the part is gradually increased according to the number of events occurring in the part, and the set time or number corresponding to the life limit may be corrected and reset. For example, when an event occurs in the one part, a greater reduction value may be given to a life limit of a part located around the one part when an event occurs twice than when an event occurs once.

In addition, in the step of correcting the set time or number of times corresponding to the life limit, the ratio of the reduction value may be set differently for each system of the gas supply equipment 1.

According to the configuration of the above embodiments, the convenience of maintenance can be improved by making it possible to easily determine whether or not the expected life span of the components for each system provided in the gas supply equipment 1 has been reached, and if a component that has reached the life limit occurs, it is possible to quickly cope with the risk in advance by automatically correcting it by giving a reduction value to the life limit of the surrounding parts, and in the event of an event such as instantaneous power failure, it is possible to strengthen the advance warning function by automatically setting the life limit of the parts lower according to the number and type of occurrence.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and obvious modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention claimed in the claims, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention.

1: Gas supply equipment
100: Pre-warning system for life expectancy of gas supply equipment
110: first component group 111: logic control unit (PLC)
112: Touch Screen 113: DC Power Supply (SMPS)
114: emergency stop switch (EMO Buzzer) 115: circuit breaker (MCCB)
116: Earth Leakage Breaker (ELB) 117: Power Relay
118: non-contact relay (SSR) 119: heater
120: second part group 121: solenoid valve
122: Air Valve 123: Pressure Regulator
130: control unit 131: information receiving unit
132: event receiving unit 133: reduction value giving unit
134: life limit correction unit 135: life limit reached determination unit
140: advance warning generating unit

Claims (10)

A plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment;
a pre-warning generating unit notifying occurrence of a part that has reached a lifespan limit among the plurality of parts; and
a control unit that receives information on the operating time or operating frequency of each of the plurality of components, compares the operating time or operating frequency of each component with a preset lifetime limit for each component, and controls the advance warning generating unit to inform the occurrence of a component that has reached the lifetime limit when the operating time or operating frequency of each component reaches a preset lifetime limit for each component;
Including,
When a part that has reached the life limit occurs, the control unit corrects and resets the life limit of the part located around the life limit by giving a reduction value to the life limit of the part located around the part that has reached the life limit. Life expectancy warning system of gas supply equipment, characterized in that. delete A plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment;
a pre-warning generating unit notifying occurrence of a part that has reached a lifespan limit among the plurality of parts; and
a control unit that receives information on the operating time or operating frequency of each of the plurality of components, compares the operating time or operating frequency of each component with a preset lifetime limit for each component, and controls the advance warning generating unit to inform the occurrence of a component that has reached the lifetime limit when the operating time or operating frequency of each component reaches a preset lifetime limit for each component;
Including,
When at least one event of an instantaneous power failure, a load-side overload, short circuit, electric leakage, or short circuit occurs in the gas supply equipment, the control unit assigns a reduction value to the life limit of each part according to the number and type of the event, thereby correcting and resetting the life limit of each part. According to claim 3,
The control unit corrects the life limit by gradually increasing the reduction value of the life limit of the part located around the one part according to the number of events occurring in one part. The method of any one of claims 1, 3, and 4,
The parts provided in the gas supply equipment include a first part group provided in the electrical system and a second part group provided in the piping system,
Each of the parts constituting the first part group and the second part group has a different ratio of the reduction value set for each system of the electrical system and the piping system. (a) operating gas supply equipment;
(b) storing a set time or number of times corresponding to a life limit for each of a plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment;
(c) counting the operation time or number of times for each part; and
(d) when the operation time or number of times for each part reaches a set time or number corresponding to the lifespan limit, generating an advance warning notifying the occurrence of a part that has reached the lifespan limit;
Including,
In the step (d), when a part that has reached the lifespan limit is generated, a reduction value is given to the lifespan limit of the part located around the part that has reached the lifespan limit, and a set time or number corresponding to the lifespan limit of the part located in the periphery is corrected and reset. delete (a) operating gas supply equipment;
(b) storing a set time or number of times corresponding to a life limit for each of a plurality of parts provided in the gas supply equipment;
(c) counting the operation time or number of times for each part; and
(d) generating an advance warning notifying occurrence of a part that has reached the lifespan limit when the operation time or number of times for each part reaches a set time or number corresponding to the lifespan limit;
Including,
When at least one event among instantaneous power failure, load-side overload, short circuit, electric leakage, and short circuit occurs during the operation of the gas supply equipment, the control method of the life expectancy advance warning system of the gas supply equipment further comprising the step of correcting and resetting the set time or number corresponding to the life limit of each part by giving a reduction value to the life limit of each part according to the number and type of occurrence of the event. According to claim 8,
According to the number of events occurring in one part, the reduction value of the life limit of the part located around the part is gradually increased, and the set time or number corresponding to the life limit is corrected and reset. Method of warning system. The method of any one of claims 6, 8, and 9,
The step of correcting the set time or number of times corresponding to the life limit is a method of controlling a life expectancy advance warning system of gas supply equipment, characterized in that setting a different ratio of the reduction value for each system of the gas supply equipment.

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