Viewing, modifying, and/or creating routes

• US 10,288,445 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2016
• Issued: 05/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Inventors: Santilli, Robert, Snyder, Steve, Defronzo, Elisabeth, Inskeep, Svetlana, Tantzer, Joel, Levin, Karen
• Primary Examiner(s): Weber, Tamara L
• Application Number:
  US15/343,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20170074668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3605 Destination input or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3614 through interaction with a road map, e.g. selecting a POI icon on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 Routing methods

Abstract

Computer program products, methods, systems, apparatus, and computing entities are provided for creating, modifying, and viewing geographic areas and their corresponding routes and items of work. For example, an interface can be provided with a map display area and a route display area. The map display area and the route display area can be synchronized to create new routes, modify existing routes, and/or view information about various routes and/or items of work.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing an interface comprising a map display area and a route display area, wherein (a) the map display area and the route display area do not overlap, (b) the map display area and the route display area are synchronized, (c) the map display area comprises a digital map with a plurality of items of work represented on the digital map, and (d) the route display area comprises a grid comprising rows (i) with a row for each of the plurality of items of work and (ii) each row comprising textual information for the corresponding item of work;

receiving input selecting two or more items of work of the plurality items of work;

responsive to receiving the input selecting the two or more items of work, simultaneously causing display, in the route display area, of statistics for one or more routes that are detected as being associated with the two or more items of work, the statistics indicated in a statistics grid, of the route display area, comprising one or more respective rows with statistical information for each of the one or more routes being displayed via the map display area, wherein (a) the route display area comprises a first grid corresponding to a first route and a second grid corresponding to a second route and (b) the two or more items of work are displayed via the first grid;

receiving input moving the two or more items of work from the first route to the second route;

responsive to receiving the input moving the two or more items of work of the plurality items of work from the first route to the second route, moving the two or more items of work from the first route to the second route; and

updating statistical content of the first route in a row of the statistics grid and statistical data of the second route in another row of the statistics grid in response to the moving of the two or more items of work from the first route to the second route.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of items of work is represented on the digital map as an icon.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the input selecting the two or more items of work of the plurality of items of work comprises input from a user drawing a polygon around the two or more items of work in the map display area; and

the one or more routes are detected in the polygon.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein moving the two or more items of work causes the two or more items of work to be displayed via the second grid.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to responsive to receiving the input, the method further comprises:

for each of the two or more items of work, simultaneously causing display (a) of an indication in the map display area that the corresponding item of work has been selected and (b) of an indication in the row of the corresponding item of work in the route display area that the corresponding item of work has been selected.

6. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including program code, the at least one memory and the program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:

provide an interface comprising a map display area and a route display area, wherein (a) the map display area and the route display area do not overlap, (b) the map display area and the route display area are synchronized, (c) the map display area comprises a digital map with a plurality of items of work represented on the digital map, and (d) the route display area comprises a grid comprising rows (i) with a row for each of the plurality of items of work and (ii) each row comprising textual information for the corresponding item of work;

receive input selecting two or more items of work of the plurality items of work; and

responsive to receiving the input selecting the two or more items of work, simultaneously cause display, in the route display area, of statistics for one or more routes that are detected as being associated with the two or more items of work, the statistics indicated in the route display area, the statistics providing information in order to modify at least one route of the one or more routes, the route display area comprising one or more respective rows with statistical information for each of the one or more routes being displayed via the map display area.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of items of work is represented on the digital map as an icon.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

the input selecting the two or more items of work of the plurality of items of work comprises input from a user drawing a polygon around the two or more items of work in the map display area; and

the one or more routes are detected in the polygon.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein (a) the route display area comprises a first grid corresponding to a first route and a second grid corresponding to a second route and (b) the two or more items of work are displayed via the first grid.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the memory and program code are further configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:

receive input moving the two or more items of work from the first route to the second route; and

responsive to receiving the input moving the two or more items of work of the plurality items of work from the first route to the second route, move the two or more items of work from the first route to the second route.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein moving the two or more items of work causes the two or more items of work to be displayed via the second grid.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more routes comprise the first route and the second route and the memory and program code are further configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:

update statistical content of the first route in a row of the statistics grid and statistical data of the second route in another row of the statistics grid in response to the move of the two or more items of work from the first route to the second route.

13. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein prior to responsive to receiving the input, the memory and program code are further configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:

for each of the two or more items of work, simultaneously cause display (a) of an indication in the map display area that the corresponding item of work has been selected and (b) of an indication in the row of the corresponding item of work in the route display area that the corresponding item of work has been selected.

14. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code stored therein, the computer-readable program code configured to:

provide an interface comprising a map display area and a route display area, wherein (a) the map display area and the route display area do not overlap, (b) the map display area and the route display area are synchronized, (c) the map display area comprises a digital map with a plurality of items of work represented on the digital map, and (d) the route display area comprises a grid comprising rows (i) with a row for each of the plurality of items of work and (ii) each row comprising textual information for the corresponding item of work;

receive input selecting two or more items of work of the plurality items of work;

responsive to receiving the input selecting the two or more items of work, simultaneously cause display, in the route display area, of statistics for one or more routes that are detected as being associated with the two or more items of work, the statistics indicated in a statistics grid, of the route display area, comprising one or more respective rows with statistical information for each of the one or more routes being displayed via the map display area; and

update statistical content of a first route in a row of the statistics grid and statistical data of a second route in another row of the statistics grid in response moving one or more items of work from the first route to the second route.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of items of work is represented on the digital map as an icon.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the input selecting the two or more items of work of the plurality of items of work comprises input from a user drawing a polygon around the two or more items of work in the map display area.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein (a) the route display area comprises a first grid corresponding to the first route and a second grid corresponding to the second route and (b) the two or more items of work are displayed via the first grid.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the program code is further configured to:

receive input moving the two or more items of work from the first route to the second route; and

responsive to receiving the input moving the two or more items of work of the plurality items of work from the first route to the second route, move the two or more items of work from the first route to the second route.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein moving the two or more items of work causes the two or more items of work to be displayed via the second grid.

20. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein prior to responsive to receiving the input, the program code is further configured to:

for each of the two or more items of work, simultaneously cause display (a) of an indication in the map display area that the corresponding item of work has been selected and (b) of an indication in the row of the corresponding item of work in the route display area that the corresponding item of work has been selected.