Task dispatching system

• US 20070223671A1
• Filed: 03/22/2007
• Published: 09/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2006
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Lee, Habin
• Granted Patent: US 10,846,626 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/201.10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group

Abstract

An assignment system for allocating service providers to required services, comprising: a data processing unit; a data store storing a plurality of allocation processing routines each defining a respective algorithm for determining in respect of a service which of a series of potential providers of that service is/are preferred to provide the service; and an allocation mode selector configured to access a data store storing a list of required services and attributes of each required service, to select in dependence on the attributes of one of those services one of the allocation processing routines and to cause that allocation processing routine to be executed in respect of that one of the services by means of the data processing unit so determine which of a series of potential providers of the service is/are preferred to provide that service.

Claims

1. An assignment system for allocating service providers to required services, comprising:

a data processing unit;

a data store storing a plurality of allocation processing routines each defining a respective algorithm for determining in respect of a required service which of a series of potential providers of that service is/are preferred to provide the service; and

an allocation mode selector configured to access a data store storing a list of required services and attributes of each required service, to select in dependence on the attributes of one of those required services one of the allocation processing routines and to cause that allocation processing routine to be executed in respect of that one of the required services by means of the data processing unit so determine which of a series of potential providers of the required service is/are preferred to provide that required service.

2. An assignment system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, there being a user terminal associated with each of the service providers, at least one of the allocation processing routines is configured for requesting data from the user terminals associated with the potential providers of the required service by transmitting one or more data requests thereto and to determine in respect of a required service which of a series of potential providers of that required service is/are preferred to provide the required service in dependence on data received in response to the or each data request.

3. An assignment system as claimed in claim 2, wherein each user terminal is a mobile communication device.

4. An assignment system as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein each user terminal is capable of, on receiving a data request, automatically forming and transmitting a response to the data request.

5. An assignment system as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5, wherein each user terminal has a user interface and is capable of, on receiving a data request, receiving data via the user interface from a user of the device, forming a response to the data request in dependence on the data received from the user, and transmitting that response.

6. An assignment system as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5, wherein each user terminal comprises:

a data processing unit;

a data store storing a plurality of response processing routines each defining a respective algorithm for forming a response to a data request; and

a response mode selector configured to select in dependence on the content of a received data request one of the allocation processing routines and to cause that allocation processing routine to be executed by the data processing unit of the user terminal for forming a response to the request.

7. An assignment system as claimed in claim 6, wherein each user terminal is capable of downloading further such response processing routines and storing them in the data store.

8. An assignment system as claimed in any of claims 2 to 7, wherein each user terminal is capable of, if a received data request indicates a deadline time for a response thereto, automatically issuing an alarm to a user at a time prior to that deadline if no response to that request has been sent by that user terminal.

9. An assignment system as claimed in any of claims 2 to 8, wherein each user terminal is capable of receiving data indicating that its user has been allocated to a required service by one of the allocation processing routines, storing such data in a schedule data store, and presenting to the user in dependence on the content of the schedule data store a display of required services to which he has been allocated.

10. An assignment system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the allocation processing routines defines a contract-net protocol algorithm.

11. An assignment system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the allocation processing routines defines an algorithm wherein manual input is requested for allocating a service provider to a required service.

12. An assignment system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the allocation mode selector is configured to select the allocation processing routine whereby manual input is requested for allocating a service provider to a required service if the attributes of the required service indicate that the period remaining before the required service needs to be performed is less than a pre-set threshold.

13. An assignment system as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein the allocation mode selector is configured to select the allocation processing routine whereby manual input is requested for allocating a service provider to a required service if all other allocation processing routines have previously been unsuccessfully performed in respect of that required service.

14. An assignment system as claimed in any preceding claim, configured so as to, if an allocation processing routine is unsuccessful in allocating a service provider to a required service, cause the allocation mode selector to select another one of the allocation processing routines in dependence on the attributes of the required service and cause that allocation processing routine to be executed in respect of that one of the required services by means of the data processing unit so determine which of a series of potential providers of the required service is/are preferred to provide that required service.

15. A method for allocating service providers to required services, comprising:

storing a plurality of allocation processing routines each defining a respective algorithm for determining in respect of a required service which of a series of potential providers of that required service is/are preferred to provide the required service;

accessing a data store storing a list of required services and attributes of each required service;

selecting in dependence on the attributes of one of those required services one of the allocation processing routines; and

causing that allocation processing routine to be executed in respect of that one of the required services by means of the data processing unit so determine which of a series of potential providers of the required service is/are preferred to provide that required service.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein, there being a user terminal associated with each of the service providers, the method comprises:

requesting data from the user terminals associated with the potential providers of the required service by transmitting one or more data requests; and

determining in respect of a required service which of a series of potential providers of that required service is/are preferred to provide the required service in dependence on data received in response to the or each data request.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein each user terminal is a mobile communication device.

18. A method as claimed in claim 16 or 17, comprising:

receiving such a data request at a user terminal; and

on receiving the data request, automatically forming and transmitting a response to the data request.

19. A method as claimed in claim 16 or 17, wherein each user terminal has a user interface and the method comprises:

receiving such a data request at a user terminal; and

on receiving the data request, receiving data via the user interface from a user of the device, forming a response to the data request in dependence on the data received from the user, and transmitting that response.

20. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 19, wherein each user terminal comprises:

a data processing unit and a data store storing a plurality of response processing routines each defining a respective algorithm for forming a response to a data request, and the method comprises;

selecting in dependence on the content of a received data request one of the allocation processing routines; and

causing that allocation processing routine to be executed for forming a response to the request.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20, comprising a user terminal downloading further such response processing routines and storing them in the data store.

22. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 21, comprising:

if a received data request indicates a deadline time for a response thereto, a user terminal automatically issuing an alarm to a user at a time prior to that deadline if no response to that request has been sent by that user terminal.

23. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 22, comprising:

receiving by means of each of the user terminals data indicating that the user of the respective terminal has been allocated to a service by one of-the allocation processing routines, storing such data in a schedule data store, and presenting to the user in dependence on the content of the schedule data store a display of required services to which he has been allocated.

24. A method as claimed in any of claims 15 to 23, wherein at least one of the allocation processing routines defines a contract-net protocol algorithm.

25. An method as claimed in any of claims 15 to 24, wherein at least one of the allocation processing routines defines an algorithm wherein manual input is requested for allocating a service provider to a required service.

26. A method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the allocation mode selector is configured to select the allocation processing routine whereby manual input is requested for allocating a service provider to a required service if the attributes of the required service indicate that the period remaining before the required service needs to be performed is less than a pre-set threshold.

27. A method as claimed in claim 25 or 26, wherein the allocation mode selector is configured to select the allocation processing routine whereby manual input is requested for allocating a service provider to a required service if all other allocation processing routines have previously been unsuccessfully performed in respect of that required service.

28. A method as claimed in any of claims 15 to 27, comprising:

if an allocation processing routine is unsuccessful in allocating a service provider to a required service, causing the allocation mode selector to select another one of the allocation processing routines in dependence on the attributes of the required service and causing that allocation processing routine to be executed in respect of that one of the required services by means of the data processing unit so determine which of a series of potential providers of the required service is/are preferred to provide that required service.