Motorola Corporation

Christopher Handorf

William Chapman

Anant Raman

Gwo-Jer Chang

DiAnn Fox

Kolur Venkatesh

William Capen

Ajay Sevak

An apparatus which efficiently coordinates the association of resource and lot data in a manufacturing environment is disclosed. The apparatus includes a memory structure which associates resource and lot data only with other resource and lot data from a common dependency. A dependency is a characteristic of lots which share common resources and of resources which are shared by common lots. The memory includes nodes which describe the dependencies. The dependency nodes link to resource lists and to lot lists. The resource and lot nodes are part of resource and lot lists, respectively. Usage nodes are included to describe every use each lot makes of each resource. The usage nodes are linked to both resource nodes and lot nodes. The usage nodes are also linked together to define the order in which each lot uses its resources and the order in which each resource is used by its lots. A processor couples to the memory and receives externally-originated messages commanding various operations on the memory structure. In one operation a single dependency may be broken into several dependencies. In another operation multiple dependencies may be combined into a single dependency. The accurate maintenance of the maximum number of dependencies in resource-lot association data allows manufacturing environment simulation and other automation to respond to a manufacturing event by processing only information related to a portion of the environment. Thus, processing time decreases, and simulations may take place in real time.

Resource-lot association coordinator

A method for translating complex process flow networks into plans or schedules for the manufacturing of products or the performance of other organizational activities is disclosed. The method maintains a time-valued list of existing commitments to resources. Allocations of these resources are made to lots during a simulation procedure which calculates a resulting plan's timing data. The method simulates higher priority lots before it simulates lower priority lots. A simulation evaluates the process flow description to obtain the relative order of consuming and releasing resources, resource attributes and related capabilities, initial minimum timing requests, and process control rules. The simulation uses the list to determine when resources may be used without impacting prior commitments of the resources. In addition, the simulation forces the allocations to conform to the process control rules. The resulting timing data is merged into the processing plan, and resource commitments are then made to the simulated resource. When lower priority lots are simulated, commitments have already been made to higher priority lots. Thus, the lower priority lots cannot receive resource allocations which impact the higher priority lots. However, the lower priority lots may receive allocations which occur prior to contending allocations to higher priority lots.

Method of planning organizational activities

Growing community of inventors

Mesa, AZ, United States of America

Christopher Handorf