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

The programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing system comprising:

• a housing of rugged construction;
• programmed control means for controlling the operations of said system 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 system;
• a plurality of dispensing bins disposed in said housing, each of 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 information storage and processing means, said first 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 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;
• a plurality of dispensing tanks, each said dispensing tank including
• means for storing a supply of a preassigned type of liquid microingredient;
• means for dispensing a specified amount of said preassigned type of liquid microingredient into said weigh hopper for measurement and subsequent discharge into said mixing tank under the control of said programmed control means;
• and
• fourth weight measuring means for independently measuring the weight of liquid microingredient stored in each one of said dispensing tanks under the control of said programmed control means, and providing fourth weight information for storage in said information storage and processing means, said fourth weight information being representative of the measured weight of the liquid microingredients stored in each one of said dispensing tanks.

A programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing system, comprising:

• a housing of rugged construction;
• programmed control means for controlling the operations of said system 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 system;
• 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 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;
• and
• 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 being representative of the measured weight of the microingredients stored in each one of said dispensing bins.

A programmable microingredient dispensing and mixing system, comprising:

• a housing of rugged construction;
• programmed control means for controlling the operation of said system 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 system;
• 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 for storage in said information storage and processing means, said first 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, 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 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, to form a microingredient slurry mixture:
• means for transporting said microingredient slurry mixture away from said mixing tank under the control of said programmed control means, for subsequent usage;
• a plurality of storage scales, each said storage scale having
• a storage surface for supporting one or more packages of said preassigned assigned type of microingredient in said inventory,
• third 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 third weight information for storage in said information storage and processing means, said third weight information being representative of the measured weight of said one or more packages of said preassigned type of microingredient;
• and
• wherein each of said one or more packages of microingredient bears a bar code symbol encoded to identify the type and amount of microingredient contained therein.

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

• a microingredient dispensing and mixing machine installed in said animal feedlot, said microingredient dispensing and mixing machine including
• an information processing means for creating and managing an inventory record file relating to the inventory of microingredients for dispensing in said machine,
• 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,
• 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,
• 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,
• 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,
• 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
• 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 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;
• wherein said information storage and processing system includes means for creating 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 microingredient stored upon each said storage scale, and the weight of microingredient stored in each said dispensing means;
• means for 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;
• means for 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;
• means for 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;
• means for 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;
• means for 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
• means for 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.

A system for managing an inventory of microingredient packages stored in an animal feedlot, said system comprising:

• a microingredient dispensing and mixing system installed in said animal feedlot, said microingredient dispensing and mixing machine including
• an information processing means for creating and managing an inventory record file relating to the 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 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,
• 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,
• 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,
• a weigh hopper, disposed within said housing, 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,
• 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
• 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 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;
• including means for creating 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;
• means for delivering to said animal feedlot, a shipment of microingredient packages, each said microingredient package containing a particular type and quantity of microingredient;
• means for physically storing each delivered microingredient package upon the storage scale preassigned to the type of microingredient contained in said delivered microingredient package;
• means for 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;
• means for 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;
• means for measuring the weight of microingredient stored 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;
• means for 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.

A system of managing an inventory of microingredient packages stored in an animal feedlot, said system comprising:

• a microingredient dispensing and mixing machine installed in said animal feedlot, said microingredient dispensing and mixing system including a plurality of storage scales and an information storage and processing system, each said storage scale being operably connected to said information storage and processing system, 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;
• said information storage and processing system including means for creating 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;
• means for delivering to said animal feedlot, a shipment of microingredient packages, each said microingredient package containing a particular type and quantity of microingredient;
• means for physically storing each delivered microingredient package upon the storage scale preassigned to the type of microingredient contained in said delivered microingredient package;
• means for 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;
• means for dispensing a prespecified type and amount of microingredient from one of 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;
• means for measuring the weight of microingredient stored upon each said storage scale, producing first weight measurement information representative of the weight of the microingredient upon each said storage scale after dispensing of microingredient, and recording the produced first weight measurement information in said inventory record file;
• means 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.