Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
205 words
A method of controlling the operation of a machine that is capable of performing a plurality of jobs, each job requiring a plurality of parts, the method comprising: arranging a plurality of jobs in a first sequence; calculating a first sequence value by assigning a pair value to each pair of jobs in the first sequence, the pair value being a monotonic function of how many parts are common to both jobs of the pair, and summing the pair values of all the pairs of jobs in the first sequence; if the monotonic function is positive, finding a maximal job sequence by repeating the arranging and calculating steps for each of a plurality of different possible job sequences and selecting that sequence which has the largest sequence value; if the monotonic function is negative, finding a maximal job sequence by repeating the arranging and calculating steps for each of a plurality of different possible job sequences and selecting that sequence which has the smallest sequence value; providing the parts required by the various jobs to the machine in the order of the maximal job sequence; and causing the machine to perform the jobs with the provided parts in the order of the maximal job sequence.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
205 words
A method of controlling the operation of a machine that is capable of performing a plurality of jobs, each job requiring a plurality of parts, the method comprising: arranging a plurality of jobs in a first sequence; calculating a first sequence value by assigning a pair value to each pair of jobs in the first sequence, the pair value being a monotonic function of how many parts are common to both jobs of the pair, and summing the pair values of all the pairs of jobs in the first sequence; if the monotonic function is positive, finding a maximal job sequence by repeating the arranging and calculating steps for each of a plurality of different possible job sequences and selecting that sequence which has the largest sequence value; if the monotonic function is negative, finding a maximal job sequence by repeating the arranging and calculating steps for each of a plurality of different possible job sequences and selecting that sequence which has the smallest sequence value; providing the parts required by the various jobs to the machine in the order of the maximal job sequence; and causing the machine to perform the jobs with the provided parts in the order of the maximal job sequence.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
A method as in claim 1 wherein the arranging and calculating steps comprise: assigning a pair value to each possible pair of jobs; arranging the jobs in the sequence; and summing the pair values of all the pairs in the sequence to obtain the sequence value.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as in claim 1 wherein the monotonic function comprises setting the pair value equal to the number of parts common to both jobs of the pair.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method as in claim 1 wherein arranging the jobs in a sequence comprises determining a sequence by evaluating a traveling salesman algorithm.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method as in claim 1 wherein the monotonic function is positive and finding a maximal job sequence comprises determining an optimal configuration state for each job in the maximal job sequence.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method as in claim 5 wherein determining the optimal configuration state comprises using a keep-part-needed-soonest algorithm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
99 words
A method as in claim 5 and further comprising: generating a first solution set of job sequences by deriving a plurality of variant sequences from the maximal job sequence by a predetermined perturbation algorithm; determining an optimal configuration state for each job in each variant sequence; defining a swapping value for each sequence in the first solution set by summing the part swaps for each successive pair of optimal configuration states of the sequence; and determining a second solution job sequence by selecting, from among the job sequences in the first set, that sequence having the lowest swapping value.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
143 words
A method as in claim 7 and further comprising: comparing an n-th solution sequence with an (n-1)-th solution sequence; if the sequences have the same swapping value, selecting the n-th solution sequence as an optimal solution sequence; and if the sequences do not have the same swapping value: generating an n-th solution set of job sequences by deriving a plurality of variant sequences from the n-th solution sequence by a determined perturbation algorithm; determining an optimal configuration state for each job in each variant sequence of the n-th solution set; defining a swapping value for each sequence in the n-th solution set by summing the part swaps for each successive pair of optimal configuration states of the sequence; and determining an (n+1)-th solution job sequence by selecting, from among the job sequences in the n-th set, that sequence having the lowest swapping value.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method as in claim 8 wherein the step of determining an optimal configuration state for each job in each variant sequence of the n-th solution set comprises using a keep-part-needed-soonest algorithm.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
52 words
A method as in claim 9 and further comprising determining an optimal configuration state for each job of the optimal solution sequence by using a modified keep-part-needed-soonest algorithm, the modified algorithm comprising assigning priorities for removing from a current configuration state any parts not required for any pending job of the sequence.