Identifying source material associated with food products using bill of material

US8285593B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Himanshu V. Bhatt · Plano, US
• Rong Zeng Cao · Beijing, CN
• Wei Ding · Beijing, CN
• Xiang Yang He · Beijing, CN
• Shun Jiang · Beijing, CN
• Juhnyoung Lee · Yorktown Heights, US
• Feng Li · Beijing, CN
• Shih-Gong Li · Austin, US
• Tie-Yan Liu · Beijing, CN
• Feng-Chun Wang · Beijing, CN
• Hao Zhang · Jingwei, CN

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 29, 2010
• Grant date: Oct 9, 2012
• Expiry date: Nov 14, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q10/0875
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Identifying one or more source units for one or more food items may include assigning a sequence of numbers to a plurality of source units received at a processing entity and assigning a sequence of numbers to a plurality of end product units processed from the plurality of source units at the processing entity. A production rate associated with the end product units may be determined from a bill of materials associated with the end product units. A probability distribution function may be generated using at least the production rate. The probability distribution function maps a range of the sequence numbers associated with the plurality of source units to a range of sequence numbers associated with the end product units. A conversion algorithm may be generated that uses the probability distribution function to determine a source unit associated with a selected end product unit.