Patents by Inventor Heath C. Kent

Heath C. Kent has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8452438
    Abstract: Tools and/or resources which newly become available to a re-entrant flow manufacturing line, data processing pipeline or the like are allocated in substantially real time to processing operations independent of and consistent with a scheduling segment previously generated by dispatching items such as workpieces or data to tools and/or resources of a manufacturing line until the newly available tool or resource can be conveniently included in a subsequently generated schedule segment in order to avoid productivity loss due to schedule latency. Items can be dispatched in a priority order to accelerate completion of processing. A schedule segment including the newly available tool or resource can be facilitated by merging allocations of a real time dispatch list with allocations of a dispatch list corresponding to a previously generated schedule segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Richard G. Burda, Heath C. Kent
  • Patent number: 8244391
    Abstract: Tools and/or resources which newly become available to a re-entrant flow manufacturing line, data processing pipeline or the like are allocated in substantially real time to processing operations independent of and consistent with a scheduling segment previously generated by dispatching items such as workpieces or data to tools and/or resources of a manufacturing line until the newly available tool or resource can be conveniently included in a subsequently generated schedule segment in order to avoid productivity loss due to schedule latency. Items can be dispatched in a priority order to accelerate completion of processing. A schedule segment including the newly available tool or resource can be facilitated by merging allocations of a real time dispatch list with allocations of a dispatch list corresponding to a previously generated schedule segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Richard G. Burda, Heath C. Kent
  • Publication number: 20120203367
    Abstract: Tools and/or resources which newly become available to a re-entrant flow manufacturing line, data processing pipeline or the like are allocated in substantially real time to processing operations independent of and consistent with a scheduling segment previously generated by dispatching items such as workpieces or data to tools and/or resources of a manufacturing line until the newly available tool or resource can be conveniently included in a subsequently generated schedule segment in order to avoid productivity loss due to schedule latency. Items can be dispatched in a priority order to accelerate completion of processing. A schedule segment including the newly available tool or resource can be facilitated by merging allocations of a real time dispatch list with allocations of a dispatch list corresponding to a previously generated schedule segment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Publication date: August 9, 2012
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Richard G. Burda, Heath C. Kent
  • Publication number: 20090299510
    Abstract: Tools and/or resources which newly become available to a re-entrant flow manufacturing line, data processing pipeline or the like are allocated in substantially real time to processing operations independent of and consistent with a scheduling segment previously generated by dispatching items such as workpieces or data to tools and/or resources of a manufacturing line until the newly available tool or resource can be conveniently included in a subsequently generated schedule segment in order to avoid productivity loss due to schedule latency. Items can be dispatched in a priority order to accelerate completion of processing. A schedule segment including the newly available tool or resource can be facilitated by merging allocations of a real time dispatch list with allocations of a dispatch list corresponding to a previously generated schedule segment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2008
    Publication date: December 3, 2009
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Richard G. Burda, Heath C. Kent