TRAILER UTILIZATION SYSTEMS, METHODS, COMPUTER PROGRAMS EMBODIED ON COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA, AND APPARATUSES
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a computing device configured to receive data associated with each of a plurality of packages being shipped in a delivery network, said data comprising dimensional information associated with at least one of the plurality of packages;
a dimensional scanner configured to determine one or more dimensions of at least one of the plurality of packages;
a scanner configured to scan a unique identification code displayed on each of the plurality of packages in order to identify in which of a plurality of trailers each of the plurality of packages is assigned and to transmit an identified trailer assignment associated with each of the plurality of packages; and
a network entity in electronic communication with the computing device, dimensional scanner, and scanner, said network entity configured to;
receive the data associated with each of the plurality of packages from the computing device, the one or more dimensions of at least one of the plurality of packages from the dimensional scanner, and the identified trailer assignment associated with each of the plurality of packages from the scanner;
determine one or more dimensions of each of the plurality of packages based at least in part on some combination of the dimensional information of the data received from the computing device and the one or more dimensions of at least one of the plurality of packages received from the dimensional scanner;
calculate, for each of the trailers in the plurality of trailers, the volume of the packages assigned to the trailer based at least in part on the identified trailer assignments and the one or more determined dimensions of each of the packages; and
determine the utilization of each of the plurality of trailers based at least in part on the calculated volume of the packages assigned to each of the plurality of trailers.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The disclosed systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer programs embodied on computer-readable media may enable a shipping carrier to determine the utilization of a trailer in a delivery network by receiving and aggregating disparate types and sources of shipping information, including, for example, package billing data from a customer order, scan data from the loading and unloading of packages transported by the trailer, dimensional data received from dimensional scans of packages at carrier shipping hubs, and/or trailer data including the volume of the trailer. Utilization may be determined for each trailer in a carrier delivery network or for a subset of trailers in the network. The determined utilizations may be used to determine the parameters for an optimized delivery network, which may include the addition, elimination, and/or modification of the delivery schedule. Network optimization may be an iterative process that may be continually performed using continually updated trailer utilization statistics.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a computing device configured to receive data associated with each of a plurality of packages being shipped in a delivery network, said data comprising dimensional information associated with at least one of the plurality of packages; a dimensional scanner configured to determine one or more dimensions of at least one of the plurality of packages; a scanner configured to scan a unique identification code displayed on each of the plurality of packages in order to identify in which of a plurality of trailers each of the plurality of packages is assigned and to transmit an identified trailer assignment associated with each of the plurality of packages; and a network entity in electronic communication with the computing device, dimensional scanner, and scanner, said network entity configured to; receive the data associated with each of the plurality of packages from the computing device, the one or more dimensions of at least one of the plurality of packages from the dimensional scanner, and the identified trailer assignment associated with each of the plurality of packages from the scanner; determine one or more dimensions of each of the plurality of packages based at least in part on some combination of the dimensional information of the data received from the computing device and the one or more dimensions of at least one of the plurality of packages received from the dimensional scanner; calculate, for each of the trailers in the plurality of trailers, the volume of the packages assigned to the trailer based at least in part on the identified trailer assignments and the one or more determined dimensions of each of the packages; and determine the utilization of each of the plurality of trailers based at least in part on the calculated volume of the packages assigned to each of the plurality of trailers.
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2. An apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to; receive an indication of one or more packages assigned to a trailer; determine one or more dimensions of each package assigned to the trailer; and determine the utilization of the trailer based at least in part on the one or more dimensions of each of the packages assigned to the trailer. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium comprising:
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a first executable portion for receiving an indication of one or more packages assigned to a trailer; a second executable portion for determining one or more dimensions of each package assigned to the trailer; and a third executable portion for determining the utilization of the trailer based at least in part on the one or more dimensions of each of the packages assigned to the trailer. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method comprising:
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receiving by a network entity over a wired or wireless communication network an indication of one or more packages assigned to a trailer; determining by the network entity one or more dimensions of each package assigned to the trailer; and determining by the network entity the utilization of the trailer based at least in part on the one or more dimensions of each of the packages assigned to the trailer. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification