Unified Object Model for Manufacturing and Warehouse Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for manufacturing and warehouse management are inflexible and lack integration, as they are designed for specific processes and fail to adapt to new industry demands and market challenges, with a lack of unified models for initiating both manufacturing-type and warehouse-type operations.
Innovation Solution
A computer system using an object model for physical operations generates objects to initiate manufacturing-type and warehouse-type operations, allowing for the aggregation of these objects under a hierarchy node, defining inputs and outputs, and generating electronic views for material flow and scheduling, thereby unifying the execution of both types of operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate specialized systems are used for manufacturing and warehouse operations, then each system can be optimized for its specific function, but the overall system lacks flexibility and adaptability to new industry demands
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges previously separate manufacturing and warehouse management systems into a unified system. The object model integrates both manufacturing-type operations (transforming materials) and warehouse-type operations (moving, packing, storing products) under a single framework, allowing the system to maintain functional optimization while gaining flexibility through unified architecture and common object interfaces
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional specialized systems are used, then implementation is straightforward for established processes, but the systems cannot adapt to new market challenges and industry demands
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal object model that can handle multiple operation types (manufacturing, warehousing, logistics) through common object interfaces. The unified system uses standardized object structures that can represent both traditional and emerging operations, enabling the system to adapt to new market challenges while maintaining ease of implementation through consistent programming interfaces and object hierarchies
3Measurement precision
If separate computer models are used for manufacturing and warehouse management, then each model can be specialized for its domain, but the system lacks integration and flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the unified system into distinct object types (manufacturing-type objects and warehouse-type objects) that maintain domain-specific characteristics while sharing a common parent hierarchy. This segmentation allows each object type to preserve its specialized functionality and measurement precision while reducing integration complexity through standardized interfaces and inheritance relationships in the object model
Data Source
AI summary
A method to be performed in a process of a computer system initiating physical operations includes receiving, in a computer system, a request to generate a first object and a second object. The first object is to be used in initiating a manufacturing-type operation and the second object is to be used in initiating a warehouse-type operation. The method includes generating the first object and the second object in response to the request. The first and second objects are generated using an object model for physical operations. A computer system includes a first resource and a second resource, and an object generating module configured to generate the first and second objects.