System and method for managing welding consumables
First Claim
1. A system for managing at least one welding consumable, comprising:
- a welder, comprising;
a consumables monitor that monitors an amount of at least one consumable consumed; and
an arc/weld quality monitor that monitors quality of at least one weld; and
a remote system communicatively coupled to the welder via a network, the remote system comprising;
a production control component that receives information from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and measures a consumable demand rate based at least in party upon a production control policy and the received information;
a financial account component that receives information from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and performs accounting tasks based at least in part upon the received information;
a materials management component that receives information from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and performs inventory control based at least in part upon the received information;
an inventory management component that maintains data regarding an inventory of the at least one consumable at a customer location, adjusts the inventory based at least in part on the information received from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and charges the customer for an amount of the at least one welding consumable used by the customer based at least in part upon the change in inventory.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for managing welding consumable(s) is provided. The invention includes a welder having a consumable(s) monitor, a customer system and/or a remote system. The invention further provides for monitoring of welding consumable(s) usage and ordering of welding consumable(s) from suppliers, distributors and/or manufacturers. The invention further provides for an optional arc/weld quality monitor that provides information regarding weld quality. The invention further provides for invoicing a customer for welding consumable(s) as the consumable(s) are used by the customer. The invention further provides for invoicing of customers for welding consumable(s) that produce acceptable welds. The invention further provides for remote management of customer welding consumable(s) inventory based at least in part upon information received regarding welding consumable(s) usage. The invention further provides for communication with a production component, financial accounting component and/or materials management component in order to facilitate automation of welding consumable(s) management.
-
Citations
26 Claims
-
1. A system for managing at least one welding consumable, comprising:
a welder, comprising; a consumables monitor that monitors an amount of at least one consumable consumed; and an arc/weld quality monitor that monitors quality of at least one weld; and
a remote system communicatively coupled to the welder via a network, the remote system comprising;a production control component that receives information from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and measures a consumable demand rate based at least in party upon a production control policy and the received information; a financial account component that receives information from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and performs accounting tasks based at least in part upon the received information; a materials management component that receives information from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and performs inventory control based at least in part upon the received information; an inventory management component that maintains data regarding an inventory of the at least one consumable at a customer location, adjusts the inventory based at least in part on the information received from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and charges the customer for an amount of the at least one welding consumable used by the customer based at least in part upon the change in inventory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
22. A method for managing welding consumables, comprising:
-
employing a processor to execute computer readable instructions stored in a computer readable medium to perform the following acts; monitoring an amount of at least one consumable consumed through a consumables monitor; monitoring quality of at least one weld through a remote system communicatively coupled to the welder via a network; receiving information from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and measuring a consumable demand rate based at least in party upon a production control policy and the received information; receiving information from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and performing accounting tasks based at least in part upon the received information; receiving information from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and performing inventory control based at least in part upon the received information; maintaining data regarding an inventory of the at least one consumable at a customer location, adjusting the inventory based at least in part on the information received from the consumables monitor regarding the amount of the at least one consumable consumed or the amount of the at least one consumable remaining and charging the customer for an amount of the at least one welding consumable used by the customer based at least in part upon the change in inventory; determining whether supply of each of the at least one welding consumable has fall below a predefined ordering threshold amount based at least in part on the information regarding consumption of each of the at least one welding consumable; and ordering each of the at least one welding consumable based at least in part upon the determination that the supply of each of the at least one welding consumable has fall below the predefined ordering threshold. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
-
Specification