Pricing and costing system, method and computer program product
First Claim
1. A computerized method for calculating charges for transporting a shipment of freight, said shipment comprising one or more packages, said method comprising the steps of:
- gathering physical property data about a carrier unit, said data comprising carrier unit dimensions and weight limit of said carrier unit;
determining a total available capacity in said carrier unit, wherein said total available capacity comprises a weight limit for said carrier unit and a volume of said carrier unit;
storing said total available capacity in said carrier unit;
gathering a distance a first shipment is to be transported;
gathering physical property data about said first shipment, wherein said physical property data is selected from the group consisting of dimensions of one package in said shipment, volume of one package in said shipment, weight of one package in said shipment, mass of one package in said shipment, dimensions of said shipment, weight of said shipment, volume of said shipment, mass of said shipment, number of packages in said shipment, density of said shipment, class of said shipment;
determining an amount of said total available capacity to be occupied by said first shipment in said carrier unit, wherein said amount of total available capacity to be occupied by said first shipment comprises a total weight of said first shipment and a total volume to be occupied by said first shipment;
storing said amount of said total available capacity occupied by said first shipment in said carrier unit;
determining remaining available capacity in said carrier unit after said first shipment is loaded in said carrier unit;
storing said remaining available capacity in said carrier unit; and
determining a rate to be charged for said first shipment based upon said amount of said total available capacity occupied by said first shipment in said carrier unit and said distance said first shipment is to be transported;
storing said rate;
calculating a total charge for transporting said first shipment; and
displaying said total charge.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a system, method and computer program product for determining the amount of space occupied by shipments in a carrier unit and prices and costs associated with transporting such shipments. The present invention provides a means for optimizing space utilization in the carrier unit and computing charges based upon the amount of space occupied by a particular shipment. The present invention provides a means for determining charges for transporting a particular shipment based upon the distance that the shipment is to be transported and various physical properties of the shipment such as the shipment dimensions, weight or density.
67 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A computerized method for calculating charges for transporting a shipment of freight, said shipment comprising one or more packages, said method comprising the steps of:
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gathering physical property data about a carrier unit, said data comprising carrier unit dimensions and weight limit of said carrier unit;
determining a total available capacity in said carrier unit, wherein said total available capacity comprises a weight limit for said carrier unit and a volume of said carrier unit;
storing said total available capacity in said carrier unit;
gathering a distance a first shipment is to be transported;
gathering physical property data about said first shipment, wherein said physical property data is selected from the group consisting of dimensions of one package in said shipment, volume of one package in said shipment, weight of one package in said shipment, mass of one package in said shipment, dimensions of said shipment, weight of said shipment, volume of said shipment, mass of said shipment, number of packages in said shipment, density of said shipment, class of said shipment;
determining an amount of said total available capacity to be occupied by said first shipment in said carrier unit, wherein said amount of total available capacity to be occupied by said first shipment comprises a total weight of said first shipment and a total volume to be occupied by said first shipment;
storing said amount of said total available capacity occupied by said first shipment in said carrier unit;
determining remaining available capacity in said carrier unit after said first shipment is loaded in said carrier unit;
storing said remaining available capacity in said carrier unit; and
determining a rate to be charged for said first shipment based upon said amount of said total available capacity occupied by said first shipment in said carrier unit and said distance said first shipment is to be transported;
storing said rate;
calculating a total charge for transporting said first shipment; and
displaying said total charge. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A data processing system for calculating charges for transporting a shipment of freight, said shipment comprising one or more packages, said method comprising the steps of:
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a computing device and a display;
means for entering information about a carrier unit said information comprising one or more members of the group consisting of dimensions of said carrier unit, weight capacity of said carrier unit, density capacity of said carrier unit; and
length of said carrier unit;
means for calculating a total volume and a weight capacity of said carrier unit based on said entered information about said carrier unit;
means for storing said total volume and said weight capacity of said carrier unit;
means for displaying said total volume and said weight capacity of said carrier unit;
means for entering a distance a first shipment is to be transported;
means for entering information about said first shipment, said information comprising one or more members of the following;
dimensions of one package in said shipment, volume of one package in said shipment, weight of one package in said shipment, mass of one package in said shipment, dimensions of said shipment;
volume of said shipment, weight of said shipment, mass of said shipment, density of said shipment, number of packages in said shipment; and
class of said shipment;
means for determining a value for said first shipment of a volume of said first shipment, a density of said first shipment, a total weight of said first shipment, and a total length of said first shipment based on said information entered about said first shipment;
means for storing said values of said volume of said first shipment, said density of said first shipment, said total weight of said first shipment, and said total length of said first shipment based on said information entered about said first shipment;
means for displaying said calculated values for said first shipment;
means for determining the optimal orientation of one or more packages in said first shipment relative to said carrier unit;
means for storing said optimal orientation of said one or more packages in said first shipment;
means for displaying said optimal orientation of said one or more packages in said first shipment;
means for determining an amount of carrier unit total area occupied by said first shipment and a portion of weight capacity occupied by said first shipment;
means for storing said amount of carrier unit area occupied by said first shipment and said portion of weight capacity occupied by said first shipment; and
means for displaying said amount of carrier unit area and said portion of weight capacity occupied by said first shipment. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer program product for use with a data processing system for calculating charges for transporting a shipment of freight, said shipment comprising one or more packages, said method comprising the steps of:
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a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for determining available capacity in a carrier unit;
the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for determining an amount of space to be occupied by a first shipment in said carrier unit;
the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for determining remaining capacity in said carrier unit after said first shipment is loaded onto said carrier unit;
the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for determining an optimal orientation for said first shipment in said carrier unit;
the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for storing said available capacity of said carrier unit, said amount of space to be occupied by said first shipment in said carrier unit, said remaining space in said carrier unit after said first shipment is loaded into said carrier unit, and said optimal orientation of said first shipment in said carrier unit; and
the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for determining whether additional packages can be added to said carrier unit. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification