Allocating freight haulage jobs

• US 20030036935A1
• Filed: 08/15/2001
• Published: 02/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Nel, Andre M. E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,353,181 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

Systems and methods for allocating freight haulage jobs are described. In one aspect, a global freight haulage job manager is configured collect excess capacity information and freight haulage job information on the fly, and automatically match freight haulage jobs to excess capacity in real time. The global freight haulage job manager is configured to receive carrier capacity attributes, including position information, route information and excess capacity information, for each of a set of mobile carrier entities, and to receive from one or more shippers shipping attributes for each of a set of freight haulage jobs. Based upon the received mobile carrier capacity attributes, the global freight haulage job manager is configured to compute a projection of available carrier capacity. One or more freight haulage job candidates then are identified from the set of mobile carrier entities based upon the computed projection of available carrier capacity and the received shipping attributes for the set of freight haulage jobs. In this way, a mobile carrier entity may be notified of freight haulage job attributes while on route to a destination for a current freight haulage job and, thereby, fill any excess capacity that it may have at any particular time. In another aspect, a portable device allows an operator of a mobile carrier entity to easily obtain excess capacity information and to wirelessly communicate that information to the global freight haulage job manager.

Claims

1. A method of allocating freight haulage jobs, comprising:

receiving capacity attributes, including position information, route information and excess capacity information, for each of a set of mobile carrier entities;

computing a projection of available carrier capacity based upon the received mobile carrier capacity attributes; and

identifying one or more freight haulage job candidates from the set of mobile carrier entities based upon the computed projection of available carrier capacity and shipping attributes for each of a set of freight haulage jobs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein computing the projection of available carrier capacity comprises estimating future positions of one or more of the mobile carrier entities.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein future positions of one or more of the mobile carrier entities are estimated at one or more times within pickup time windows specified for each of the freight haulage jobs.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein future positions of one or more of the mobile carrier entities are estimated based at least in part upon current transport condition information.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the freight haulage job candidates are identified based at least in part upon the proximity of the estimated mobile carrier entity positions to pickup locations specified for each of the freight haulage jobs.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the received excess capacity information includes amount of available capacity and mode of transport.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the freight haulage job candidates are identified based at least in part upon a comparison of the received excess capacity information and an amount of needed capacity and mode of transport specified for each of the freight haulage jobs.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising computing an amount of capacity available on a given mobile carrier entity based upon excess capacity information received from the given mobile carrier entity.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein excess capacity information includes maximum volume information and maximum weight haulable by the given mobile carrier entity and volume information and weight for each item of freight being hauled by the given mobile carrier entity.

10. A computer program for allocating freight haulage jobs, the computer program residing on a computer-readable medium and comprising computer-readable instructions for causing a computer to:

receive capacity attributes, including position information, route information and excess capacity information, for each of a set of mobile carrier entities;

compute a projection of available carrier capacity based upon the received mobile carrier capacity attributes; and

identify one or more freight haulage job candidates from the set of mobile carrier entities based upon the computed projection of available carrier capacity and shipping attributes for each of a set of freight haulage jobs.

11. The computer program of claim 10, wherein computing the projection of available carrier capacity comprises estimating future positions of one or more of the mobile carrier entities.

12. The computer program of claim 11, wherein future positions of one or more of the mobile carrier entities are estimated at one or more times within pickup time windows specified for each of the freight haulage jobs.

13. The computer program of claim 12, wherein the freight haulage job candidates are identified based at least in part upon the proximity of the estimated mobile carrier entity positions to pickup locations specified for each of the freight haulage jobs.

14. The computer program of claim 10, wherein the received excess capacity information includes amount of available capacity and mode of transport.

15. The computer program of claim 14, wherein the freight haulage job candidates are identified based at least in part upon a comparison of the received excess capacity information and an amount of needed capacity and mode of transport specified for each of the freight haulage jobs.

16. The computer program of claim 10, further comprising computing an amount of capacity available on a given mobile carrier entity based upon excess capacity information received from the given mobile carrier entity.

17. The computer program of claim 16, wherein excess capacity information includes maximum volume information and maximum weight haulable by the given mobile carrier entity and volume information and weight for each item of freight being hauled by the given mobile carrier entity.

18. A portable device, comprising:

a memory;

a wireless transceiver;

a positioner operable to compute position information;

a scanner operable to direct a light beam at a symbol and to recover information embedded in the symbol based upon detected reflections from the symbol; and

a controller coupled to the memory, the wireless transceiver, the positioner, and the scanner and operable to obtain from the scanner capacity attributes, including position information, route information and excess capacity information, for a mobile carrier entity and to control wireless transmission of the capacity attributes through the wireless transceiver in accordance with a mobile wireless communication protocol.

19. The portable device of claim 18, wherein the positioner comprises a GPS receiver.

20. The portable device of claim 18, wherein the controller is operable to compute excess capacity information from scanned information relating to maximum volume information and maximum weight haulable by a given mobile carrier entity and volume information and weight for each item of freight being hauled by the given mobile carrier entity.