Patent ID: 11904480
Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B

Claim 0:
1. An automated gas supply system comprising:
a gas cylinder transfer unit configured to support a cradle in which one or more gas cylinders storing a gas therein are stored;
a gas cylinder inspection unit configured to check properties of gas stored in a gas cylinder after the gas cylinder is selected among the one or more gas cylinders in the cradle and transferred from the gas cylinder transfer unit to the gas cylinder inspection unit, the gas cylinder inspection unit including a gas detector configured to check whether the gas leaks from the gas cylinder when the gas cylinder is in the gas cylinder inspection unit;
a gas cylinder storage unit;
a gas cylinder replacement unit;
a mobile robot; and
a controller configured to control the gas cylinder transfer unit, the gas cylinder inspection unit, the gas cylinder storage unit, the gas cylinder replacement unit, and the mobile robot,
wherein the gas cylinder storage unit includes a storage queue configured to receive the gas cylinder from the gas cylinder inspection unit by the mobile robot while the controller controls the mobile robot, the storage queue includes one or more seating units for receiving the gas cylinder from the gas cylinder inspection unit by the mobile robot and the controller is configured to control classifying and storing the gas cylinder according to the properties of the gas stored in the gas cylinder,
wherein the controller is configured to control the gas cylinder transfer unit and the mobile robot for transferring transferred gas cylinders among the one or more gas cylinders from the cradle to the gas cylinder inspection unit and then to the one or more seating units, such that afterwards the transferred gas cylinders are stored in the one or more seating units of the storage queue, by repeating an operation of transferring the gas cylinder from the gas cylinder transfer unit to the gas cylinder storage unit and then to the one or more seating units of the storage queue and by selecting a different one of the one or more gas cylinders in the cradle for transferring from the cradle to the storage queue if the operation is repeated,
wherein the gas cylinder replacement unit includes a gas cabinet configured to receive the gas cylinder from the storage queue using the mobile robot and fasten a gas pipe, which is connected to a semiconductor manufacturing process line, to a gas spray nozzle, which is disposed at one side of the gas cylinder when the gas cabinet receives the gas cylinder, to supply the gas stored in the gas cylinder to the semiconductor manufacturing process line; and
wherein the gas cabinet includes a residual gas detector configured to detect a residual amount of the gas stored in the gas cylinder when the gas cylinder is fastened to the gas pipe,
wherein the controller is configured to determine if the residual amount of the gas detected by the residual gas detector is less than or equal to a set residual amount of gas, and
in response to determining the residual among of the gas detected by the residual gas detector is less than or equal to the set residual amount of gas, the controller is configured to control the mobile robot to recover the gas cylinder from inside the gas cabinet and transfer an other gas cylinder among transferred gas cylinders stored in the storage queue to the gas cabinet.