Automated manufacturing system
View Patent ↗An automated manufacturing system comprises a computer processing system and a plurality of consolidation systems. The computer processing system receives information on product subbatches and product packages and consolidation status information to produce consolidation assignment information, each product package comprising one or more product subbatches. The consolidation systems receive the product subbatches in accordance to the consolidation assignment information and consolidate the product subbatches into product packages, wherein the status of the consolidation systems are tracked and the consolidation status information is sent to the computer processing system.
1. An automated manufacturing system, comprising
a computer processing system configured to define product packages and one or more product subbatches within each product package in response to input product intimation, to receive status information from one or more consolidation systems, and to produce consolidation assignment in response to the status information; and
a plurality of consolidation systems each comprising:
a batch storage system configured to store product subbatches for different product packages in accordance to the consolidation assignment; and
a consolidation controller configured to track the one or more product subbatches for a product package in the batch storage system, to produce the status information about the batch storage system, and to trigger the consolidation of the one or more product subbatches into the product package when all the product subbatches for the product package have been received by the consolidation system.
2. The automated manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the consolidation systems comprises a packaging system configured to consolidate the one or more product subbatches into the product package.
3. The automated manufacturing system of claim 1 , further comprising a distribution system configured to receive the product subbatches and distributes the product subbatches to the consolidation systems in accordance to the consolidation assignment produced by the computer processing system.
4. The automated manufacturing system of claim 1 , further comprising an output system configured to receives the product packages from the consolidation systems and to ships the product packages.
5. The automated manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the product subbatches carries machine readable or human readable information comprising consolidation assignment information and information for identifying product subbatches.
6. The automated manufacturing system of claim 5 , wherein the consolidation controller is configured to track the one or more product subbatches for a product package in the batch storage system by reading the machine readable or human readable information carried on the product subbatches.
7. The automated manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the status information includes a load level of a batch storage system in a consolidation system.
8. The automated manufacturing system of claim 7 , wherein the computer processing system produces consolidation assignment in accordance to the load level of the batch storage system in the consolidation system.
9. The automated manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the consolidation controller comprises at least one of a barcode scanner, a voice recognition device, or a speaker.
10. The automated manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the batch storage system includes a plurality of holders each configured to store one or more product subbatches for a product package.
11. The automated manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the status information includes the product subbatches for a product package already stored in a batch storage system in a consolidation system, which enables the computer processing system to determine one or more companion product subbatches for the product package to be assigned to the consolidation system to complete the product package.
12. The automated manufacturing system of claim 1 , further comprising one or more production systems configured to produce the one or more product subbatches far the product packages defined by the computer processing system.
13. The automated manufacturing system of claim 12 , wherein the computer processing system is configured to schedule one or more of the product subbatches to be produced at one of the production systems in accordance to the status information of the consolidation systems.
14. A method of automated manufacturing, comprising:
defining a product package and one or more product subbatches within the product package;
receiving status information from one or more consolidation systems;
producing consolidation assignment in response to the status information;
storing one or more product subbatches of a product package in a batch storage system in one of the consolidation systems in accordance to the consolidation assignment;
producing the status information that describes the one or more product subbatches of the product package already stored in the batch storage system; and
consolidating the one or more product subbatches in the batch storage system into the product package when all the product subbatches for the product package have been received by the one of the consolidation systems.
15. The method of automated manufacturing in claim 14 , wherein the status information includes a load level of the batch storage system in the one of the consolidation systems.
16. The method of automated manufacturing in claim 14 , further comprising assigning one or more companion product subbatches for a product package to one of the consolidation systems to complete the consolidation of the product package at the one of the consolidation systems.
17. The method of automated manufacturing in claim 14 , wherein the product subbatches in a product package include two or more product types.
18. The method of automated manufacturing in claim 14 , further comprising producing the one or more product subbatches in the product package by a production system.
19. A method of automated manufacturing, comprising:
defining companion product subbatches for one of a plurality of product packages;
storing one or more companion product subbatches that belong to at least one of the plurality of product packages in a consolidation system;
determining a load level for the consolidation system, wherein the load level is determined in part by the total number of product subbatches stored in the consolidation system;
if the load level of the consolidation system exceeds a first load level, stopping sending the consolidation system product subbatches that do not have their respective companion product subbatches already stored in the consolidation system;
sending the consolidation systems product subbatches that have their respective companion product subbatches already stored in the consolidation system; and
consolidating the companion product subbatches into the product package when all the companion product subbatches for the product package have been received by the consolidation system.
20. The method of automated manufacturing of claim 19 , further comprising if the consolidation system drops below the second load level lower than first load level, sending the consolidation systems product subbatches that do not have their respective companion product subbatches already stored in the consolidation system.