SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REDUCING TOXIC WASTE IN MANUFACTURING PROCESSES
First Claim
1. A method of optimizing a manufacturing process so as to reduce toxic waste in such manufacturing process, comprising:
- describing the manufacturing process using a plurality of nodes, each node representing a component or a process;
connecting the plurality of nodes with directed edges to form a directed graph, the directed graph representing possible manufacturing process flows from a begin node to an end node;
assigning to each edge a value representative of a cost resulting from toxic waste generated by a component or process; and
determining a shortest path from the begin node to the end node in the directed graph to identify a manufacturing process flow having a minimum cost.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of optimizing a manufacturing process so as to reduce toxic waste in the process. In an embodiment, the method includes: describing the manufacturing process using a plurality of nodes, each node representing a component or a process; connecting the plurality of nodes with directed edges to form a directed graph, the directed graph representing possible manufacturing process flows from a begin node to an end node; assigning to each edge a value representative of a cost resulting from toxic waste generated by a component or process; and determining a shortest path from the begin node to the end node in the directed graph to identify manufacturing process flow having a minimum cost.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of optimizing a manufacturing process so as to reduce toxic waste in such manufacturing process, comprising:
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describing the manufacturing process using a plurality of nodes, each node representing a component or a process; connecting the plurality of nodes with directed edges to form a directed graph, the directed graph representing possible manufacturing process flows from a begin node to an end node; assigning to each edge a value representative of a cost resulting from toxic waste generated by a component or process; and determining a shortest path from the begin node to the end node in the directed graph to identify a manufacturing process flow having a minimum cost. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for optimizing a manufacturing process so as to reduce toxic waste in a manufacturing process, comprising:
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means for describing the manufacturing process using a plurality of nodes, each node representing a component or a process; means for connecting the plurality of nodes with directed edges to form a directed graph, the directed graph representing possible manufacturing process flows from a begin node to an end node; means for assigning to each edge a value representative of a cost resulting from toxic waste generated by a component or process; and means for determining a shortest path from the begin node to the end node in the directed graph to identify a manufacturing process flow having a minimum cost. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A data processor readable medium storing data processor code that when loaded onto and executed by a data processing device adapts the device to execute a method of optimizing a manufacturing process so as to reduce toxic waste in said manufacturing process, the data processor readable medium comprising:
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code for describing the manufacturing process using a plurality of nodes, each node representing a component or a process; code for connecting the plurality of nodes with directed edges to form a directed graph, the directed graph representing possible manufacturing process flows from a begin node to an end node; code for assigning to each edge a value representative of a cost resulting from toxic waste generated by a component or process; and code for determining a shortest path from the begin node to the end node in the directed graph to identify a manufacturing process flow having a minimum cost. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification