Patents Represented by Attorney W. James Wade, III
  • Patent number: 5586021
    Abstract: A method for planning a production schedule within a factory is disclosed herein. A capacity model is determined for the factory. The capacity model is determined by determining a plurality of contiguous time intervals, partitioning the factory into a plurality of resource groups, and determining a processing capacity for each of the resource groups for each of the time intervals. For each job to be planned, the job is divided into a plurality of processing segments each of which is represented with a corresponding fuzzy set. The fuzzy set representations are inserted and removed within the capacity model until the job is planned. A completion date and a confidence level can be predicted for each of the jobs. In addition, the jobs may be released to the factory and devices fabricated according to the requirements of the jobs. Other systems and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1996
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Hugh E. Fargher, Richard A. Smith