Automated manufacturing system
AssigneeShutterfly, Inc.
InventorsXin Wen, Russ Muzzolini, Jeff Boone
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
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.
Claims21
1-50. (canceled)
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 information, 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.
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.
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.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.