US 5,487,603 A · Intelligent system and process for automated monitoring of microingredient inventory used in the manufacture of medicated feed rations

Abstract

A computer-based microingredient inventory accounting system and process for use with programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing machinery. In the illustrative embodiment, the computer-based microingredient inventory accounting system is coupled with a programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing system. The programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing system includes weight measuring mechanisms that are interfaced with a computer system programmed to continuously monitor the weight of microingredients stored on a plurality of inventory storage scales, as well as in a plurality of dispensing bins and tanks. The computer-based microingredient inventory accounting system is programmed to perform a number of inventory monitoring functions including: automated detection of microingredient loss (e.g., spillage) after each inventory receiving operation and each dispensing bin and tank refilling operation; automated detection of microingredient-usage errors after each micro-batch production run; automated production of inventory reports when arbitrarily requested; and automated tracking of microingredients using the lot numbers of the microingredient supplier. In the preferred embodiment, the computer-based microingredient inventory accounting system cooperates with a portable auxiliary computer and bar code symbol reader in order execute interactive routines which facilitate system configuration, inventory receiving operations, and dispensing bin and tank refilling operations.

Claims36

Dependent claims

A programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing machine, comprising:

a housing of rugged construction;
programmed control means for controlling the operation of various components of said machine in accordance with a control program;
an information storage and processing means for storing and processing information relating to the measured weight of microingredients in said machine;
a plurality of dispensing bins disposed in said housing, each said dispensing bins including
means for storing a supply of a preassigned type of microingredient, and
means for dispensing a specified amount of said preassigned type of microingredient from said dispensing bin for weight measurement under the control of said programmed control means;
first weight measuring means for independently measuring the weight of microingredient stored in each one of said dispensing bins under the control of said programmed control means, and producing first weight information for storage in said programmed information storage and processing means, said first transmitted weight information being representative of the measured weight of the microingredients stored in each one of said dispensing bins;
a weigh hopper, disposed within said housing, and for temporarily storing an amount of microingredient dispensed from one of said dispensing bins, into said weigh hopper, said weigh hopper including means for discharging said measured amount of microingredient under the control of said.programmed control means;
second weight measuring means, disposed in said housing, for measuring the amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper and producing second weight information for storage in said information storage and processing means, said second weight information being representative of the weight of said measured amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper;
and
a mixing tank for containing one or more types of microingredient discharged from said weigh hopper under the control of said programmed control means, said mixing tank including
means for mixing said discharged microingredients with a specified amount of consumptive fluid carrier, such as water, to form a microingredient slurry mixture, and
means for transporting said microingredient slurry mixture away from said mixing tank under the control of said programmed control means, for subsequent usage.

10 more elements

A programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing machine, comprising:

a housing of rugged construction;
programmed control means for controlling the operation of various components of said machine in accordance with a control program;
an information processing means for creating and managing information files, including an inventory record file, relating to the management of an inventory of microingredients for dispensing in said machine;
a plurality of storage scales, each said storage scale having
a storage surface for supporting one or more packages a preassigned assigned type of microingredient in said inventory,
first weight measuring means for measuring the weight said one or more packages of said preassigned type of microingredient supported by said storage surface, and providing first weight information for storage in said inventory record file, said first weight information being representative of the measured weight of said one or more packages of said preassigned type of microingredient;
a plurality of dispensing bins disposed in said housing each said dispensing bin including
means for storing a supply of a preassigned type of microingredient, and
means for dispensing a specified amount of said preassigned type of microingredient from said dispensing bin for measurement under the control of said programmed control means;
second weight measuring means for independently measuring the weight of microingredient stored in each one of said dispensing bins under the control of said programmed control means, and providing second weight information for storage in said inventory record file, said second weight information element being representative of the measured weight of the microingredients stored in each one of said dispensing bins;
a weigh hopper, disposed within said housing, and for temporarily storing an amount of microingredient dispensed from one of said dispensing bins, into said weigh hopper, said weigh hopper including means for discharging said measured amount of microingredient under the control of said programmed control means;
third weight measuring means, disposed in said housing, for measuring said amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper and producing a third weight information element for recording in said inventory record file, said third weight information element being representative of the weight of said measured amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper;
and
a mixing tank for containing one or more types of microingredient discharged from said weigh hopper under the control of said programmed control means, said mixing tank including
means for mixing said discharged microingredients with a specified amount of consumptive fluid carrier, such as water, to form a slurry mixture, and
means for transporting said slurry mixture to a storage tank for subsequent usage under the control of said programmed control means.

13 more elements

A programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing machine, comprising:

a housing of rugged construction;
programmed control means for controlling the operation of various components of said machine in accordance with a control program;
an information storage and processing means for storing and processing information relating to the measured weight of microingredients in said machine;
a plurality of dispensing bins disposed in said housing, each said dispensing bin including means for storing a supply of a preassigned type of microingredient, and means for dispensing a specified amount of said preassigned type of microingredient from said dispensing bin under the control of said programmed control means;
first weight measuring means for measuring the weight of microingredient stored in each one of said dispensing bins under the control of said programmed control means, and producing first weight information to said information storage and processing means for storage, said first weight information being representative of the measured weight of the microingredients stored in each one of said dispensing bins;
weigh hopper, disposed within said housing, for temporarily storing an amount of microingredient dispensed into said weigh hopper from one of said dispensing bins, said weigh hopper including means for discharging said measured amount of microingredient under the control of said programmed control means;
second weight measuring means, disposed in said housing, for measuring the amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper and producing second weight information to said information storage and processing means for storage, said second weight information being representative of the weight of said measured amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper;
and
a mixing tank for containing one or more types of microingredient discharged from said weigh hopper under the control of said programmed control means, said mixing tank including
means for mixing said discharged microingredients with a specified amount of consumptive fluid carrier, such as water, to form a microingredient slurry mixture, and
means for transporting said microingredient slurry mixture away from said mixing tank under the control of said programmed control means, for subsequent usage.

8 more elements

Method of receiving a shipment of microingredient packages into the inventory of an animal feeding facility, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) installing a microingredient dispensing and mixing system in said animal feeding facility, said microingredient dispensing and mixing system including a plurality of storage scales and an information storage and processing system operably connected a bar code symbol reading device, each said storage scale being operably connected to said information storage and processing system and having a storage surface for supporting one or more packages of microingredient, and weight measuring means for measuring the weight of said one or more packages of microingredients supported on said storage surface;
(b) using said information storage and processing system to create a microingredient [receipt]received record file for storing information regarding the particular type and weight of microingredient preassigned for storage upon each one of said storage scales;
(c) delivering to said animal feeding facility, a shipment of microingredient packages, each said microingredient package containing a particular type and quantity of microingredient and bearing a bar code symbol representative of the type and quantity of microingredient contained in said package;
(d) using said bar code symbol reading device to re the bar code symbol on each delivered microingredient package said shipment and produce symbol character data representative of the type and quantity of microingredient stored in said delivered package of microingredient;
(e) storing produced symbol character data in said microingredient received record file in order to register the type and weight of each microingredient package microingredient delivered in said shipment;
(f) prior to commencing step (g), measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said storage scale and recording in said microingredient received record file, weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale;
(g) physically storing each delivered microingredient package upon the storage scale preassigned to the type of microingredient contained in said delivered microingredient package;
(h) after completing step (g), measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said storage scale and recording in said microingredient received record file, weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale;
and
(i) analyzing the weight measurement information and the symbol character data recorded in said microingredient received record file, in order to detect any discrepancies between the amount of microingredient contained in said shipment of microingredient packages registered during step (d), and any increase or decrease in amount of microingredient stored upon said storage scales upon completion of step (h).

7 more elements

Method of receiving a shipment of microingredient packages into the inventory of an animal feeding facility, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) installing a microingredient dispensing and mixing system in said animal feeding facility, said microingredient dispensing and mixing system including a plurality of storage scales and an information storage and processing system operably connected a bar code symbol reading device, each said storage scale being operably connected to sail information storage and processing system and having a storage surface for supporting one or more packages of microingredient, and weight measuring means for measuring the weight of said one or more packages of microingredients supported on said storage surface;
(b) using said information storage and processing system to create a microingredient received record file for storing information regarding the particular type, weight, supplier and supplier's lot number of microingredient preassigned for storage upon each one of said storage scales;
(c) delivering to said animal feedlot, a shipment of microingredient packages, each said microingredient package containing a particular type and quantity of microingredient and bearing one or more bar code symbols encoded with information representative of the type, quantity, supplier and supplier's lot number of microingredient contained in said package;
(d) using said bar code symbol reading device to read said one or more bar code symbols on each delivered microingredient package in said shipment and produce symbol character data representative of the type, quantity, supplier and supplier's lot number of microingredient stored in said delivered package of microingredient;
(e) storing produced symbol character data in said microingredient received record file in order to register the type, weight, supplier and supplier's lot number of each microingredient package microingredient delivered in said shipment;
(f) prior to commencing step (g), measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said platform storage scal and recording in said microingredient received record file, weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale;
(g) physically storing each delivered microingredient package upon the storage scale preassigned to the type of microingredient contained in said delivered microingredient package;
(h) after completing step (g), measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said storage scale and recording in said microingredient received record file, weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale;
and
(i) analyzing the weight measurement information and the symbol character data recorded in said microingredient received record file, in order to detect any discrepancies between the amount of microingredient contained in said shipment of microingredient packages registered during step (d), and any increase or decrease in amount of microingredient stored upon said storage scales upon completion of step (h).

7 more elements

Method of filling a programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing machine with microingredients stored in the microingredient inventory of an animal feedlot, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) installing a microingredient dispensing and mixing system in said animal feedlot, said microingredient dispensing and mixing system including
(1) an information processing means for creating and managing an inventory record file relating to the inventory of microingredients for dispensing in said machine,
(2) a plurality of storage scales, each said storage scale having
a storage surface supporting one or more microingredient packages, each containing a preassigned assigned type and particular quantity of microingredient,
first weight measuring means for measuring the weight of said one or more packages of said preassigned type of microingredient supported by said storage surface, and producing a first weight information for recording in said inventory record file, said first weight information being representative of the measured weight of said one or more packages of said preassigned type of microingredient,
(3) a weigh hopper, disposed within said housing, and for temporarily storing an amount of microingredient dispensed into said weigh hopper from one of said dispensing bins, said weigh hopper including means for discharging said measured amount of microingredient under the control of said programmed control means,
(4) second weight measuring means, disposed in said housing, for measuring said amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper and producing a second weight information for recording in said inventory record file, said second weight information being representative of the weight of said measured amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper,
(5) a plurality of dispensing means, each said dispensing means including
means for storing a supply of a preassigned type of microingredient, and
means for dispensing a specified amount of said preassigned type of microingredient into said weigh hopper for measurement under the control of said programmed control means,
(6) third weight measuring means for independently measuring the weight of microingredient stored in each one of said dispensing means under the control of said programmed control means, and producing third weight information for recording in said inventory record file, said third weight information being representative of the measured weight of the microingredients stored in each one of said dispensing means, and
(7) a mixing tank for containing one or more types of microingredient discharged from said weigh hopper under the control of said programmed control means, said mixing tank including
means for mixing said discharged microingredients with a specified amount of consumptive fluid carrier, such as water, to form a slurry mixture, and
means for transporting said slurry mixture to a storage tank for subsequent usage under the control of said programmed control means;
(b) using said information storage and processing system to create a inventory record file for recording information regarding the particular type of microingredient preassigned for storage upon each one of said storage scales, the weight of microingredient stored upon each said storage scale, and the weight of microingredient stored in each said dispensing means;
(c) measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said storage scale, producing first weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale, and recording the produced first weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
(d) measuring the weight of microingredient in each said dispensing means, producing second weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient in each said dispensing means, and recording the produced second weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
(e) removing one or more said microingredient packages from one or more of said storage scales, and emptying the microingredient contents of said one or more microingredient packages into one or more of said preassigned dispensing means;
(f) measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said storage scale, producing third weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient stored upon each said storage scale, and recording the produced third weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
(g) measuring the weight of microingredient in each said dispensing means, producing fourth weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient stored in each said dispensing means, and recording the produced fourth weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
and
(h) analyzing the first, second, third and fourth weight measurement information recorded in said inventory record file, in order to detect any discrepancies between the amount of microingredient removed from said one or more storage scales and the amount of microingredient emptied into said one or more dispensing means, and producing information indicative of any such discrepancies for recordation in said inventory record file.

19 more elements

Method of managing an inventory of microingredient packages stored in an animal feedlot, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) installing a microingredient dispensing and mixing machine in said animal feedlot, said microingredient dispensing and mixing system including
(1) an information processing means for creating and managing an inventory record file relating to the inventory of microingredients for dispensing in said machine,
(2) a plurality of storage scales, each said storage scale having
a storage surface for supporting one or more packages of a preassigned assigned type of microingredient in said inventory,
first weight measuring means for measuring the weight of said one or more packages of said preassigned type of microingredient supported by said storage surface, and producing a first weight information for recording in said inventory record file, said first weight information being representative of the measured weight of said one or more packages of said preassigned type of microingredient,
(3) a plurality of dispensing means, each said dispensing means including
means for storing a supply of a preassigned type of microingredient, and
means for dispensing a specified amount of said preassigned type of microingredient from said dispensing means under the control of said programmed control means,
(4) second weight measuring means for independently measuring the weight of microingredient stored in each one of said dispensing means under the control of said programmed control means, and producing second weight information for recording in said inventory record file, said second weight information being representative of the measured weight of the microingredients stored in each one of said dispensing means,
(5) a weigh hopper, disposed within said machine, and for temporarily storing an amount of microingredient discharged into said weigh hopper, said weigh hopper including means for discharging said measured amount of microingredient under the control of said programmed control means,
(6) third weight measuring means, disposed in said housing, for measuring said amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper and producing a third weight information for recording in said inventory record file, said third weight information being representative of the weight of said measured amount of microingredient stored in said weigh hopper, and
(7) a mixing tank for containing one or more types of microingredient discharged from said weigh hopper under the control of said programmed control means, said mixing tank including
means for mixing said discharged microingredients with a specified amount of consumptive fluid carrier, such as water, to form a slurry mixture, and
means for transporting said slurry mixture to a storage tank for subsequent usage under the control of said programmed control means;
(c) using said information storage and processing system to create a inventory record file for recording information regarding the particular type of microingredient preassigned for storage upon each one of said storage scales, the weight of the amount of microingredient stored upon each said storage scale, and the amount of the theoretical usage of each said type of microingredients;
(d) delivering to said animal feedlot, a shipment of microingredient packages, each said microingredient package containing a particular type and quantity of microingredient;
(e) physically storing each delivered microingredient package upon the storage scale preassigned to the type of microingredient contained in said delivered microingredient package;
(f) after completing step (e), measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said storage scale, producing first weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale, and recording the produced first weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
(g) dispensing a prespecified type and amount of microingredient from one or more of said dispensing means into said mixing tank, producing second weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient dispensing from said preassigned dispensing means, and recording the produced second weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
(h) after completing step (g), measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said storage scale, producing third weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale, and recording the produced third weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
and
(i) analyzing the first, second and third weight measurement information recorded in said inventory record file in order to detect any discrepancies between the amount of microingredient dispensed from said dispensing means and the theoretical usage amount, and producing information indicative of any such discrepancies for recordation in said inventory record file.

19 more elements

Method of managing an inventory of microingredient packages stored in an animal feedlot, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) installing a microingredient dispensing and mixing system in said animal feedlot, said microingredient dispensing and mixing system including a plurality of storage scales,
a plurality of dispensing means, each dispensing means including
means for storing a supply of a preassigned type of microingredient, and
means for dispensing a specified amount of said preassigned type of microingredient into a weigh hopper,
a mixing tank for containing one or more types of microingredients discharged from said weigh hopper, and
an information storage and processing system operably connected to each said storage scale, and each said storage scale having a storage surface for supporting one or more packages of microingredient, and producing weight measurement information for recording in said information storage and processing system;
(b) using said information storage and processing system to create an inventory record file for recording information regarding the particular type of microingredient preassigned for storage upon each one of said storage scales, the weight of the amount of microingredient stored upon each said storage scale, and the amount of the theoretical usage of each said type of microingredients;
(c) delivering to said animal feedlot, a shipment of microingredient packages, each said microingredient package containing a particular type and quantity of microingredient;
(d) physically storing each delivered microingredient package upon the storage scale preassigned to the type of microingredient contained in said delivered microingredient package;
(e) after completing step (d), measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said storage scale, producing first weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale, and recording the produced first weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
(f) dispensing a prespecified type and amount of microingredient from one or more of said dispensing means into said mixing tank, producing second weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient dispensing from said dispensing means, and recording the produced second weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
(g) after completing step (f), measuring the weight of microingredient upon each said storage scale, producing first weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale after completion of step (f), and recording the produced first weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
and
(h) analyzing the weight measurement information recorded in said inventory record file in order to detect any discrepancies between the amount of microingredient dispensed from said dispensing means and the theoretical usage amount, and producing information indicative of any such discrepancies for recordation in said inventory record file.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Intelligent system and process for automated monitoring of microingredient inventory used in the manufacture of medicated feed rations

Life of this patent

Intelligent system and process for automated monitoring of microingredient inventory used in the manufacture of medicated feed rations

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims36