Patents by Inventor Lee B. Beard

Lee B. Beard 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).

  • Pull to customer order demand fulfillment system and method
    Patent number: 7577577
    Abstract: A demand fulfillment system and method that uses customer orders to generate a work schedule and a material delivery schedule for a factory that mass produces items, particularly commodities, built to customer order. The demand fulfillment system enables the manufacturer to operate the factory with minimal in-house inventory of parts and/or raw materials by only scheduling work for which inventory is available. Parts and/or raw materials are requested and delivered to an operation of at least one operation on a manufacturing line in the factory from in-house and external inventory based upon the work scheduled for that operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2009
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: David J. Lyon, Tomasz P. Wala, Mark R. Graban, Lee B. Beard, Kevin T. Jones, Thomas J. Clark
  • Pull to customer order demand fulfillment system and method
    Publication number: 20020103690
    Abstract: A demand fulfillment system and method that uses customer orders to generate a work schedule and a material delivery schedule for a factory that mass produces items, particularly commodities, built to customer order. The demand fulfillment system enables the manufacturer to operate the factory with minimal in-house inventory of parts and/or raw materials by only scheduling work for which inventory is available. Parts and/or raw materials are requested and delivered to an operation of at least one operation on a manufacturing line in the factory from in-house and external inventory based upon the work scheduled for that operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Publication date: August 1, 2002
    Inventors: David J. Lyon, Tomasz P. Wala, Mark R. Graban, Lee B. Beard, Kevin T. Jones, Thomas J. Clark