Common carrier system
DC CAFCFirst Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer network comprising:
- a customer computer configured to enable a customer to create a first container booking request;
a first carrier computer configured to receive said first container booking request over a first communication pathway and confirm the first container booking request over the first communication pathway, thereby creating a first container booking; and
a shipping coordinator computer including a storage, the shipping coordinator computer configured to periodically receive and store information from said first carrier computer over a second communication pathway relating to said first container booking and other container bookings and to store the received information in the storage,the shipping coordinator computer further configured to receive from the customer computer a request for information relating to the first container booking, configured to search for a match between the request for information pertaining to the first container booking and the stored information from the first carrier computer, and configured to then provide said stored first container booking information to said customer computer upon receiving the request for said first container booking information, and prior to receiving the next periodic information from said first carrier computer, andthe shipping coordinator computer configured to receive and store the information relating to said first container booking prior to receiving a first request from the customer computer for the information relating to said first container booking.
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Reexamination
Accused Products
Abstract
An on-line system and method for buyers and sellers of international container transportation services is disclosed. Specifically, the system offers importing and exporting customers the opportunity to request and select specific service patterns offered by participating carriers in the booking of full container shipments. The system includes user interfaces that allow a shipper to track and trace containers across multiple carriers and an event notifications system, which notifies the user when an event has or has not occurred.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A computer network comprising:
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a customer computer configured to enable a customer to create a first container booking request; a first carrier computer configured to receive said first container booking request over a first communication pathway and confirm the first container booking request over the first communication pathway, thereby creating a first container booking; and a shipping coordinator computer including a storage, the shipping coordinator computer configured to periodically receive and store information from said first carrier computer over a second communication pathway relating to said first container booking and other container bookings and to store the received information in the storage, the shipping coordinator computer further configured to receive from the customer computer a request for information relating to the first container booking, configured to search for a match between the request for information pertaining to the first container booking and the stored information from the first carrier computer, and configured to then provide said stored first container booking information to said customer computer upon receiving the request for said first container booking information, and prior to receiving the next periodic information from said first carrier computer, and the shipping coordinator computer configured to receive and store the information relating to said first container booking prior to receiving a first request from the customer computer for the information relating to said first container booking. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer network comprising:
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a customer computer configured to create a container booking request and configured to forward the container booking request to a shipping coordinator; a shipping coordinator computer, including a storage, configured to receive said container booking request from said customer computer over a first communication pathway and forward said container booking request to one or more carriers over a second communication pathway; and one or more carrier computers configured to receive said container booking request from said shipping coordinator computer over the second communication pathway and confirm the container booking request, said shipping coordinator computer further configured to periodically receive and store status information from the one or more carrier computers over the second communication pathway regarding the container booking request forwarded to the one or more carriers, and other container bookings, said shipping coordinator computer further configured to receive from the customer computer a request for information relating to the container booking request, configured to search for a match between the request for information pertaining to the first container booking and the stored information from the first carrier computer, and configured to provide said stored status information to said customer computer upon receiving the request for said first container booking information and prior to receiving the next periodic information from the one or more carrier computers, and the shipping coordinator computer configured to receive and store the information relating to said first container booking prior to receiving a first request from the customer computer for the in format ion relating to said first container booking.
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Specification