Route Planning and Commodity Cost Estimating System
First Claim
1. A travel planning system comprising:
- a) a route planning component configured to provide one or more possible routes between an input point of origin and a destination; and
b) a commodity price forecasting component configured to provide an estimate of the commodity prices associated with the routes supplied by the route planning component.
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Abstract
The present invention is a travel planning system including a commodity cost forecasting component and a route planning component that can be utilized in conjunction with one another to provide a commodity cost optimized route between locations supplied by a user of the system. The commodity cost forecasting component utilizes a suitable algorithm and current commodity cost information to provide an estimate of commodity costs at locations along an optimized route provided by the route planning component to travel between the point of origin and the destination supplied by the user to the system. The system also enables a user to determine the estimated commodity cost at a selected location, separately from planning a travel route to or from that location.
36 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A travel planning system comprising:
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a) a route planning component configured to provide one or more possible routes between an input point of origin and a destination; and b) a commodity price forecasting component configured to provide an estimate of the commodity prices associated with the routes supplied by the route planning component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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- 8. A commodity price forecasting system comprising a processing device operably connected to a worldwide data network and configured to access an obtain spot price data for the selected commodity, to average the spot price data over time to develop a forecasting function for the price of the commodity, geographically code the averaged spot price data based on the locations for which the spot price data is obtained, and to provide an estimate of the commodity price for a specified location in response to a request from a user from a remote communications device.
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13. A method for determining the cost for travel along a route, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a system including a route planning component and a commodity price estimating component; b) entering a relevant trip planning criteria including a point of origin and a destination into the route planning component to be utilized in determine a route; and c) estimating prices of the commodity at geographic locations along the route. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification