Scheduling system

• US 6,983,188 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2004
• Issued: 01/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Collins, David C, Hunter, Shawn D, Loughran, Stephen A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US10/718,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20050234577A1
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• Field of Search: 700/99, 700/106, 700/97, 700100-102, 700/16, 705/8, 358/296, 358/1.1, 358/1.16, 345/502
• US Class Current: 700/99
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

A scheduling system or method with an interface that can provide a queue-list view and a calendar view. In the scheduling of a particular job on a particular machine, characteristics relating to the particular job (“job characteristics”) and characteristics relating to the particular machine (“machine characteristics”) can be taken into consideration by the scheduling system.

Claims

1. A scheduling system, comprising:

an interface configured to receive input data and display output data; and

a device providing for generating said output data from said input data;

wherein said interface selectively provides for a queue-list view and a calendar view of said output data;

wherein said input data includes;

a plurality of organization characteristics;

a plurality of machine characteristics, comprising;

a plurality of machine maintenance characteristics including a maintenance frequency and a maintenance duration;

a plurality of machine capacity characteristics including a throughput rate, a build tray capacity, and a raw material capacity; and

a plurality of job characteristics relating to a plurality of jobs, comprising;

a plurality of job input characteristics, including an input type, an input quantity, and a design;

a plurality of job output characteristics including an output type and an output quantity; and

a plurality of job schedule characteristics including a priority value, a deadline, a refill time, a start time, a duration, and a completion time.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of machine characteristics relate to a fabrication machine.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said plurality of job characteristics include a design, and wherein said fabrication machine produces a physical output using said design.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface provides for toggling between said queue-list view and said calendar view.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said machine capacity characteristic is a build tray capacity, wherein a first color is used on said interface to indicate when said build tray capacity is substantially empty and wherein a second color is used on said interface to indicate when said build tray is substantially full.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said interface uses a third color to indicate at least one of:

a tentative reservation;

an unfinished design reservation;

a high priority reservation;

a low priority reservation; and

a maintenance event.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said input data includes an availability of an operator on at least one of:

a weekend;

a holiday;

an extra shift; and

an intra-shift break.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a scheduling heuristic and a plurality of jobs described by said plurality of job characteristics, said plurality of jobs including a first job and a second job, at feast one of:

(a) a shorter-than-average job and (b) a longer-than-average job, wherein said scheduling heuristic determines a job schedule, wherein said first job is a longer-than-average job and wherein said second job is at least one of;

(c) longer in duration than said first job; and

(d) a shorter-than average-job.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said scheduling heuristic provides for at least one of:

automatically scheduling said first job for an overnight period of time;

automatically suggesting the merging said second job with said first job into a single build tray;

automatically suggesting the filling in a block of unscheduled time with a low priority job;

automatically adjusting a build start time to delay a required refill until an operator is scheduled to be available;

automatically adjusting a run rate such that a required refill is delayed until at least one operator is present;

automatically scheduling machine maintenance; and

automatically scheduling a refilling of the machine.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface provides for a drag-drop of a CAD file into an existing reservation.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said interface automatically creates a warning when a job will not be completed before a deadline associated with said job.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein a reservation is transmitted through said interface before a design associated with said reservation is complete.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface is configured to capture at least one of:

a deadline;

a priority value; and

a user affiliation.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein a present day job schedule can be viewed substantially simultaneously with a future day job schedule without transmitting an instruction to the interface after the present day job schedule is viewed.

15. A system for scheduling jobs on a machine, comprising:

a means for receiving a plurality of input attributes and to display a plurality of output attributes in a calendar-view format;

wherein said input attributes include;

a plurality of job characteristics relating to a plurality of jobs comprising;

a plurality of job input characteristics including an input type, an input quantity and a design;

a plurality of job output characteristics including an output type and an output quantity;

a plurality of job scheduling characteristics including a priority value, a deadline, a refill time, a start time, a duration, and a completion time;

a plurality of machine characteristics comprising;

plurality of machine maintenance characteristics including a maintenance frequency and a maintenance duration; and

a plurality of machine capacity characteristics including a throughout rate, a build tray capacity, and a raw material capacity; and

an organization characteristic;

wherein said output attributes include a start time associated with a job identifier; and

a means for generating a schedule including said output attributes, wherein said output attributes are generated from said input attributes.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a means to automatically manufacture a plurality of physical outputs from a plurality of physical inputs in accordance with said schedule.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

a means for producing a physical output from a design and an inputted resource;

a means for making said inputted resource accessible to said means for producing said physical output;

wherein said means for receiving said plurality of Input attributes is further configured to;

transmit said design to said means for producing said physical output;

access availability attributes relating to an operator; and

set at least one of;

a deadline;

a priority value;

a scheduling rule; and

an advance reservation for an unfinished design.

18. A method for implementing a job scheduling application, comprising:

configuring a calendar-view interface for the display of job scheduling information;

adapting the calendar-view interface to automatically access information that can be displayed on a queue-list interface; and

programming a scheduling heuristic to facilitate an automated schedule modification performed on a job input, said scheduling heuristic provides for at least one of;

automatically scheduling said first job for an overnight period of time;

automatically suggesting the merging said second job with said first job into a single build tray;

automatically suggesting the filling in a block of unscheduled time with a low priority job;

automatically adjusting a build start time to delay a required refill until an operator is scheduled to be available;

automatically adjusting a run rate such that a required refill is delayed until at least one operator is present;

automatically scheduling machine maintenance; and

automatically scheduling a refilling of the machine.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

defining a color-coded scheme for displaying at least one of;

a priority value for a job;

a utilization metric for a build on a machine;

a job that will not be completed until after an associated deadline;

a job reservation that is not associated with a completed design;

a indicator, wherein said indicator is at least one of a resource consumption indicator, a status indicator, and an operator intervention indicator; and

a tentative job reservation.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

instructing the job scheduling application to prohibiting the setting of at least one of;

a priority value that exceeds the authorization of a particular user;

an interruption to a job that is currently in process;

a disruption to the maintenance schedule of a machine; and

an advance reservation that is outside a time frame of time that can be scheduled.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the job scheduling application is hosted by an office workflow system.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein said job scheduling application is in communication with one or more fabrication machines.