Rounding Algorithm for Product Distribution Consistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to accurately distribute products across multiple characteristics, leading to inconsistent results when the desired quantity is not an integer, often requiring manual correction and being inefficient, especially when the total value is of the same order as the number of combinations.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that use rounding functions, such as integer, standard, and bounded rounding functions, to determine the quantity of each product type while preserving the total quantity and desired distribution, accounting for historical distributions and handling a large number of characteristic combinations efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If simple rounding methods (rounding up or down) are used to convert non-integer desired quantities to integers, then the conversion is simple and fast, but the distribution among product types becomes inconsistent and does not preserve the desired proportions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent calculates cumulative sums of desired quantities in advance and uses these pre-computed values to determine rounding decisions. By preparing the cumulative sum array beforehand, the system can efficiently and accurately distribute products without requiring complex iterative adjustments, thus achieving both simplicity and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the rounding decision for each product type is adjusted based on the cumulative sum of previous rounding decisions. This ensures that the total number of products produced matches the desired total while maintaining accurate proportions, resolving the inconsistency issue of simple rounding methods.
2Measurement precision
If manual correction is used to fix inconsistent rounding results, then the accuracy can be improved, but the time required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the rounding process self-correcting by using cumulative sums to automatically adjust each product type's quantity. The system performs its own correction without external intervention, eliminating the need for manual correction while maintaining accuracy. The cumulative sum mechanism ensures that rounding decisions automatically balance out to preserve the desired distribution.
3Device complexity
If the total number of products is close to the number of characteristic combinations, then the production plan becomes more complex, but existing rounding methods fail to produce consistent results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-calculates cumulative sums for all product types before executing the rounding process. This preliminary computation allows the system to handle complex production plans with many characteristic combinations systematically, using the pre-computed cumulative sums to guide consistent rounding decisions across all products.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the rounding problem by introducing cumulative sum parameters that change the approach from individual rounding to distributed rounding based on cumulative totals. This parameter transformation enables consistent results even when the total number of products is close to the number of combinations, as the cumulative sum approach naturally balances the distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for determining a quantity to be produced for each of two or more product types, where each product type is specified by one or more characteristics. An input specifying a desired distribution of the total quantity among the one or more characteristics is received. If the desired quantity to be produced of a product type is a non-integer value, the desired quantity is rounded to an integer to generate a final quantity to be produced for each product type. The final quantity preserves both a total quantity and the desired distribution of the total quantity among the one or more characteristics.