METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING A TRANSPORTATION SCHEME
First Claim
1. A method for transporting bulk materials, comprising:
- (I) receiving a data set comprising;
(a) an identification of a plurality of supply locations and a plurality of demand locations;
(b) for each supply location, information relating to its physical location and bulk material availability;
(c) for each demand location, information relating to its physical location and bulk material requirements;
(d) an identification of a fleet of vehicles for transporting bulk materials from the supply locations to the demand locations, and information relating to the availability, cost, and capacity of each vehicle;
(e) for each type of bulk material, information relating to the economic value of the type of bulk material according to its potential dispositions;
(f) information relating to the cost of transporting the bulk materials;
(II) formulating a mathematical model comprising an objective function for net profit margin and a plurality of constraints;
wherein the objective function includes decision variables relating to supply nomination parameters, allocation of the supply of bulk materials to the requirements at the demand locations, and voyages by the vehicles between the supply locations and the demand locations;
(III) populating the mathematical model with data from the data set or parameters calculated using data from the data set;
(IV) obtaining one or more solutions to the mathematical model; and
(V) physically transporting the bulk materials based upon a solution to the mathematical model.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for optimal transporting of cargo is provided. The method includes optimizing a plurality of transportation decisions and mechanically transporting cargo through movement of a plurality of vehicles in accordance with a set of optimized transportation decisions. The decisions include transportation routes and schedules for the transportation vehicles, allocation of cargo to be transported to one or more demand locations by the transportation vehicles, nomination of cargo pickup by the transportation vehicles from the one or more supply locations, the use of specialized transportation locations, and vehicle assignments for each of the transportation vehicles. The set of decisions is optimized by collecting data relating to the various transportation decisions, using the data collected as part of a mixed integer linear programming model, and obtaining a solution to the model to arrive at a set of optimized transportation decisions.
105 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for transporting bulk materials, comprising:
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(I) receiving a data set comprising; (a) an identification of a plurality of supply locations and a plurality of demand locations; (b) for each supply location, information relating to its physical location and bulk material availability; (c) for each demand location, information relating to its physical location and bulk material requirements; (d) an identification of a fleet of vehicles for transporting bulk materials from the supply locations to the demand locations, and information relating to the availability, cost, and capacity of each vehicle; (e) for each type of bulk material, information relating to the economic value of the type of bulk material according to its potential dispositions; (f) information relating to the cost of transporting the bulk materials; (II) formulating a mathematical model comprising an objective function for net profit margin and a plurality of constraints; wherein the objective function includes decision variables relating to supply nomination parameters, allocation of the supply of bulk materials to the requirements at the demand locations, and voyages by the vehicles between the supply locations and the demand locations; (III) populating the mathematical model with data from the data set or parameters calculated using data from the data set; (IV) obtaining one or more solutions to the mathematical model; and (V) physically transporting the bulk materials based upon a solution to the mathematical model. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer apparatus comprising:
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(I) a memory device storing a data file containing; (a) an identification of a plurality of supply locations and a plurality of demand locations; (b) for each supply location, information relating to its physical location and bulk material availability; (c) for each demand location, information relating to its physical location and bulk material requirements; (d) an identification of a fleet of vehicles for transporting bulk materials from the supply locations to the demand locations, and information relating to the availability, cost, and capacity of each vehicle; (e) for each type of bulk material, information relating to the economic value of the type of bulk material; (f) information relating to the cost of transporting the bulk materials; (II) a modeling application executable by the computer apparatus to populate a mathematical model that comprises an objective function for net profit margin and a plurality of constraints; wherein the objective function includes decision variables relating to supply nomination parameters, allocation of the supply of bulk materials to the requirements at the demand locations, and voyages by the vehicles between the supply locations and the demand locations; (III) a solver operable by the computer apparatus to obtain one or more solutions to the mathematical model. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform method steps for determining the transportation of bulk materials, the method steps comprising:
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(I) reading a data file comprising; (a) an identification of a plurality of supply locations and a plurality of demand locations; (b) for each supply location, information relating to its physical location and bulk material availability; (c) for each demand location, information relating to its physical location and bulk material requirements; (d) an identification of a fleet of vehicles for transporting bulk materials from the supply locations to the demand locations, and information relating to the availability, cost, and capacity of each vehicle; (e) for each type of bulk material, information relating to the economic value of the type of bulk material; (f) information relating to the cost of transporting the bulk materials; (II) using the data file to populate a mathematical model that comprises an objective function for net profit margin and a plurality of constraints; wherein the objective function includes decision variables relating to supply nomination parameters, allocation of the supply of bulk materials to the requirements at the demand locations, and voyages by the vehicles between the supply locations and the demand locations; (III) obtaining one or more solutions to the mathematical model. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification