Density-based emergent scheduling system
First Claim
1. An apparatus for scheduling a plurality of tasks to be performed by a resource within predetermined commitment windows, each of said tasks requiring a minimum period of time to be performed within the respective commitment windows, each of said commitment windows having a period of time for performing respective task, comprising:
- a working window determinator for determining a working window for each said task, said working windows being the periods of time within which said resource performs each respective task, said working windows having a period of time within the period of the commitment window of the respective task, said working windows containing the minimum task period for the respective task;
a commitment determinator coupled to said working window determinator for determining a varying percentage of commitment which varies over the respective working window for each task to be performed by said resource, each of said percentage of commitments being respectively based upon the working window and upon said minimum task period of each task; and
a scheduler coupled to said commitment determinator for flexibly scheduling said resource to perform each said task based upon said determined percentages of commitments and said working windows of said tasks.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computerized task scheduler for negotiating and scheduling resources with respect to various manufacturing tasks via computerized agent technology. A manufacturing-related customer asks a computerized uniform process broker for a bid on a manufacturing task by specifying the task and the time when it is to be completed. The computerized uniform process broker finds a computerized resource broker which will perform the assignment at the lowest cost within the requested time frame. The computerized resource brokers use the requested time frame and their respective current available resources to determine a working window in which they can perform the task and at what cost. The determination of resources by the computerized resource brokers includes calculating their respective percentage of total commitment based upon the interrelationship between the working window and the time it actually takes to complete the task.
47 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for scheduling a plurality of tasks to be performed by a resource within predetermined commitment windows, each of said tasks requiring a minimum period of time to be performed within the respective commitment windows, each of said commitment windows having a period of time for performing respective task, comprising:
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a working window determinator for determining a working window for each said task, said working windows being the periods of time within which said resource performs each respective task, said working windows having a period of time within the period of the commitment window of the respective task, said working windows containing the minimum task period for the respective task; a commitment determinator coupled to said working window determinator for determining a varying percentage of commitment which varies over the respective working window for each task to be performed by said resource, each of said percentage of commitments being respectively based upon the working window and upon said minimum task period of each task; and a scheduler coupled to said commitment determinator for flexibly scheduling said resource to perform each said task based upon said determined percentages of commitments and said working windows of said tasks. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. An apparatus for determining whether to commit a first resource to perform a first and second task, said first and second tasks respectively having a first and second predetermined commitment window, said first and second commitment windows being the periods of time within which their respective task is to be performed, said first commitment window overlapping with said second commitment window, said first and second tasks requiring respectively a first and second minimum period of time to be performed within their respective commitment windows, comprising:
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a working window data structure determinator for establishing a first and second working window data structure with respect to said first resource, said first and second working window data structures representing the periods of time within which said first resource is to perform each respective task, said first and second working window data structures having a period of time within the commitment windows for their respective task, said first and second working window data structures containing the minimum task period for their respective task; a commitment level determinator having access to said first and second working window data structures for determining a varying commitment level over the respective working window data structure for each task with respect to said first resource, each of said commitment levels varying due to the respective working window data structure and the respective minimum task period of each task for said first resource; and a committor having access to said determined commitment levels for committing said first resource to said first and second tasks based upon said determined commitment levels for said first resource, said first and second tasks having overlapping commitment windows. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A Method for determining whether to commit a first resource to perform a first and second task, said first and second tasks respectively having a first and second predetermined commitment window, said first and second commitment windows being the periods of time within which their respective task is to be performed, said first commitment window overlapping with said second commitment window, said first and second tasks requiring respectively a first and second minimum period of time to be performed within their respective commitment windows, comprising the steps of:
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determining a first and second working window with respect to said first resource, said first and second working windows being the periods of time within which said first resource is to perform each respective task, said first and second working windows having a period of time within the commitment windows for their respective task, said first and second working windows containing the minimum task period for their respective task; determining a varying commitment level which varies over the respective working window for each task with respect to said first resource, each of said commitment levels being respectively based upon the working window and upon said minimum task period of each task for said first resource; and committing said first resource to said first and second tasks based upon said determined commitment levels for said first resource, said first and second tasks having overlapping commitment windows. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification