US 12,265,381 B1
Controlling operation of machine tools using combinatorial optimization problem solvers
Michael L. George, Sr., Dallas, TX (US); and Michael George, Jr., Dallas, TX (US)
Assigned to AI Technologies, Dallas, TX (US)
Filed by AI Technologies, Dallas, TX (US)
Filed on Sep. 20, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/479,021.
Application 17/479,021 is a continuation in part of application No. 16/686,529, filed on Nov. 18, 2019, abandoned.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/768,267, filed on Nov. 16, 2018.
Int. Cl. G05B 19/418 (2006.01)
CPC G05B 19/4188 (2013.01) [G05B 2219/40336 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
grouping, by one or more computers that are in data communication with a collection of machine tool workstations that are used to process a plurality of parts, the plurality of machine tool workstations into multiple functional groups, wherein each functional group includes machine tool workstations of the same type;
for each of the multiple functional groups:
transmitting, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, and to a combinatorial optimization problem solver, data representing multiple parts to be processed by the type of workstations included in the functional group;
receiving, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, and from the combinatorial optimization problem solver, data representing a sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts that, when processed by the functional group, produces a reduced set up time for the workstations in the functional group;
computing, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, an average delay time associated with the generated sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts;
determining, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, whether the average delay time is less than a predetermined threshold;
in response to determining that the average delay time is less than the predetermined threshold, releasing, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, parts according to the generated sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts to machine tool workstations in the functional group for processing; and
processing, by the machine tool workstations in the functional group that are in data communication with the one or more computers, the released parts according to the generated sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts to generate processed parts.