Method and system for logistics quality of service measurements using GPS

• US 7,216,037 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2004
• Issued: 05/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Upshall, Phil, Graulich, Markus
• Primary Examiner(s): Keith; Jack
• Assistant Examiner(s): To; Tuan C.
• Application Number:
  US10/947,873
• Publication Number:
  US 20050102103A1
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• Field of Search: 701/213, 701/35, 340/994, 340/995.16, 340/988, 340/996, 340/825.06, 340/825.05, 340/989, 342/357.07, 342/357.09, 342/357, 342/12, 342/357.13, 342/357.06, 700/222
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

A method and device for monitoring the quality of service of logistic services. A shipping device, which is shipped along a travel route from a source location to a destination location, includes an electronic device. Times are logged at one or more locations during the travel. The electronic device includes: a GPS-indoor receiver device connected to a control logic, a storage connected to the control logic, a power supply, and an I/O interface. The control logic is arranged for logging, during the shipping device traveling time, datasets including at least the current Time of Day and the current geographic location information derived from GPS signals received en route into the storage. The log data is read out via the I/O interface. The log data is evaluated according to predetermined rules reflecting the quality of service of the actual shipping device shipping.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring the quality of service of logistic services, comprising:

receiving global positioning service (GPS) data from a GPS at a current time and current location, said receiving being performed by a location logging device (LLD) comprised by a shipping device while the shipping device is being shipped along a travel route from a source location to a destination location, wherein the current location is along the travel route, and wherein the received GPS data comprises the current time and the current location; and

storing log data in a storage of the LLD if a condition is satisfied, said log data comprising the current time and the current location of the received GPS data, said condition being that the current time exceeds a specified predetermined time by more that a specified time differential or a distance between the current location and a prior location stored in said storage exceeds a specified distance, otherwise looping back to said receiving GPS data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said receiving GPS data, putting the LLD in the shipping device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said putting the LLD in the shipping device, adjusting a frequency rate at which said receiving GPS data shall occur subject to said condition being satisfied.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said adjusting the frequency rate, connecting the LLD to a host device, wherein the host device performs said adjusting the frequency rate.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said putting the LLD in the shipping device, initializing the LLD, wherein said initializing the LDD comprises storing the source location and the destination location in the storage of the LLD.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises stopping said receiving upon determining that the current location is the destination location.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

after said stopping said receiving, removing the LLD from the shipping device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

after said removing the LLD from the shipping device, connecting the LLD to a host device followed by reading out the log data from the storage of the LLD to the host device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

after said connecting the LLD to the host device, receiving by the LLD a recharge from the host device.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting the log data from the host device to an evaluation server via a network, for evaluation of the log data by the evaluation server according to predetermined rules.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the network comprises the Internet.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the shipping device comprises a letter.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the LLD comprises a system clock, and wherein the method further comprises generating a timestamp for the log data based on a time from the system clock.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the shipping device is shipped to the destination via a rental car, wherein the rental car is returned to a rental station after the shipping device has been shipped to the destination, and wherein the method further comprises:

after the rental car has been returned to the rental station, checking the LLD to determine if the rental car had left an allowed geographical region while being shipped to the destination.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored log data further comprises a current date.

16. A computer program product stored on a computer usable medium comprising computer readable program means for causing a computer to perform the method of claim 1, when said computer program product is executed on a computer.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the LLD comprises a control logic processing unit, a GPS-indoor-receiver-unit, a storage facility for storing data processed by the control logic processing unit, an input/output (I/O) interface for exchanging data with a LLD host, and a power supply, and wherein the control logic processing unit is directly connected to the GPS-indoor-receiver-unit, the storage facility, the I/O interface, and the power supply.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

reading out the stored log data via said I/O interface; and

after said reading out the stored log data, evaluating the log data according to predetermined rules reflecting the quality of service of the actual shipping device shipping.

19. A computer program for execution in a data processing system comprising computer program code portions for performing respective steps of the method according to claim 18, when said computer program code portions are executed on a computer.

20. A computer program product stored on a computer usable medium comprising computer readable program means for causing a computer to perform the method of claim 18, when said computer program product is executed on a computer.