METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT USING PALLET-WORKSTATION AND WORKSTATION-WORKSTATION COMMUNICATION
First Claim
1. A method for managing operation of a supply chain having a sub-central controller, a plurality of pallets, a plurality of pallet devices each associated with a pallet, a plurality of workstations and a plurality of workstation devices each associated with a workstation, the method comprising:
- a workstation device, of the plurality of workstation devices, communicating with a pallet device of the plurality of pallet devices to acquire pallet information;
the workstation device processing the pallet information based upon rules provided by the sub-central controller; and
the workstation device acting on the processed pallet information to modify the operation of the supply chain.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Operation of a supply chain having a number of workstation that process items supported by pallets is managed using a sub-central controller, a number of pallet devices, each associated with a pallet, and one or more workstation devices, each associated with a workstation. A workstation device is operable to communicate with the pallet devices to acquire pallet information and to process the pallet information based upon rules provided by the sub-central controller. The workstation device acts on the processed pallet information to modify the operation of the supply chain. A central controller may be used to coordinate activities of multiple sub-central controllers.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for managing operation of a supply chain having a sub-central controller, a plurality of pallets, a plurality of pallet devices each associated with a pallet, a plurality of workstations and a plurality of workstation devices each associated with a workstation, the method comprising:
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a workstation device, of the plurality of workstation devices, communicating with a pallet device of the plurality of pallet devices to acquire pallet information; the workstation device processing the pallet information based upon rules provided by the sub-central controller; and the workstation device acting on the processed pallet information to modify the operation of the supply chain. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for managing operation of a supply chain having a sub-central controller, a plurality of pallets, a plurality of pallet devices each associated with a pallet, a plurality of workstations and a plurality of workstation devices each associated with a workstation, the method comprising:
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a pallet device, of the plurality of pallet devices, communicating with the workstation devices to acquire workstation information; the pallet device processing the workstation information based upon rules provided by the sub-central controller; and the pallet device acting on the processed workstation information to modify the operation of the supply chain. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for supply chain management comprising:
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a plurality of workstations; a plurality of workstation devices, each associated with a workstation of the plurality of workstations; a sub-central controller operable to communicate with the plurality of workstations; and a plurality of pallet devices each associated with a pallet for carrying supply chain items; wherein a workstation device of the plurality of workstation devices is operable to; communicate the plurality of pallet devices to obtain pallet information; communicate with the sub-central controller to obtain a set of rules; process the pallet information in accordance with the set of rules to produce processed information; and modify operation of the supply chain dependent upon the processed information. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
wherein the sensor is operable to sense a value of a physical property of at least one item supported by the pallet and communicate the value to a pallet device associated with the pallet, and wherein the pallet information is dependent upon the value.
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27. An apparatus in accordance with claim 26, wherein the sensor is at least one sensor selected from the group of sensors consisting of weight, physical location, temperature, pressure and chemical presence sensors.
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28. An apparatus in accordance with claim 17, further comprising:
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a radio-frequency identification tag associated with an item supported by a pallet of the plurality of pallets and operable communicate item information to a pallet device associated with the pallet, wherein the pallet information is dependent upon the item information.
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29. An apparatus in accordance with claim 17, wherein a pallet device of the plurality of pallet devices is operable to communicate with the sub-central controller.
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30. An apparatus in accordance with claim 17, further comprising a database accessible by the sub-central controller.
Specification