Computerized system and method for matching freight vehicles and loads

• US 8,452,713 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2011
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Transit Solutions, LLC
• Original Assignee: Transit Solutions, LLC
• Inventors: Stemple, Robert William, Foulds, Brian Scott, Short, Gary Lew
• Primary Examiner(s): BORISSOV, IGOR N
• Application Number:
  US13/026,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20120209787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 705/13, 705 711- 726, 705 28- 30, 705330-341, 705/6, 705/7.13, 705/7.12, 340988-99528, 340/990, 340/539.13, 235/384, 235/385, 701/468, 701/516, 701/517, 715/764
• US Class Current: 705/333
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping

Abstract

A system for matching freight vehicles and loads includes a database receiving location data for various freight vehicles associated with multiple organizations, as well as other vehicle data, such as destination location and times. The database also includes location data from a plurality of loads, as well as other load data, such as origin and destination locations and times. A user operating a computing device receives this data based on organizational permissions. The computing device displays a map on which the various freight vehicles, loads, and associated data may be displayed. As such, the user may quickly and efficiently match available loads to available vehicles or vice-versa.

Claims

1. A system for matching freight vehicles and loads, said system comprising:

a database for receiving location data from a plurality of global positioning system (GPS) receivers wherein each GPS receiver is coupled to one of the freight vehicles;

said database including a plurality of organization labels wherein each organization label corresponds to an organization and wherein at least one of said organization labels is associated with each of the freight vehicles and each of the loads;

said database including a vehicle visibility tag associated with each freight vehicle and denoting whether each freight vehicle is visible to either only the organization associated with the freight vehicle or the organization associated with the freight vehicle and at least one additional organization;

said database including a load visibility tag associated with each load and denoting whether each load is visible to either only the organization associated with the load or the organization associated with the load and at least one additional organization, each vehicle visibility tag and load visibility tag being modified between a first state wherein the corresponding vehicle and load are visible to each organization and a second state wherein the corresponding vehicle and load are visible only to the organization associated with the corresponding vehicle and load;

a plurality of client computing devices in communication with said database;

each of said client computing devices includes a display;

each of said client computing devices for transmitting an identification associated with at least one of the organization labels; and

a server computer coupled the database and to each client computing device of the plurality of client computing devices, the server computer for receiving a request from at least one client computing device to transmit information associated with the freight vehicles and the loads, for identifying the organization label associated with the at least one client computing device, and for responsively transmitting information associated with each vehicle and load associated with the identified organization label, and for transmitting information associated with each vehicle and load having a visibility tag in the first state,

the transmitted information including a current location of each freight vehicle and a current location of each load;

said computing device for displaying a map including the location of each freight vehicle and load transmitted to said computing device from said server computer.

2. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said database includes an origination location associated with each load, a destination location associated with each load, a ready date associated with each load, and an availability tag associated with each load denoting whether or not the load is available for transport.

3. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said server computer also transmits the origination location associated with each load, the destination location associated with each load, the ready date associated with each load, and the availability tag associated with each load in accordance with the visibility tags associated with the organization label sent from each of said computing devices.

4. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the vehicle visibility tag denotes whether each vehicle is visible to either only the organization associated with the vehicle or all organizations.

5. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the load visibility tag denotes whether each load is visible to either only the organization associated with the load or all organizations.

6. A system as set forth in claim 1, the server computer for selecting a load based on a user selection input received from the client computing device, for displaying a plurality of distance markers associated with a plurality of predefined radial distances from the selected load, and for displaying the freight vehicles located within the plurality of radial distance markers.

7. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said server computer and/or said computing device computes the distances between one of the loads and a plurality of vehicles.

8. A system as set forth in claim 7 wherein said computing device displays the distances between one of the loads and the plurality of vehicles.

9. A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said database is further defined as a first database and a second database in communication with one another and wherein said first database receives location data from the GPS receivers and said second database is in communication with said computing devices.

20. A system as set forth in claim 1, the server computer for generating a list of preferred organizations based on a request received from a first organization, the list of preferred organizations including organization labels associated with at least one second organization, for receiving, from a client computing device associated with the first organization, a request to display information associated with each of the freight vehicles, and for responsively displaying a first set of freight vehicles having an organization label associated with the first organization and a second set of freight vehicles having an organization label included in the list of preferred organizations.

10. A method for matching freight vehicles and loads, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving, by a server computer, location data from a plurality of global positioning system (GPS) receivers wherein each GPS receiver is disposed in one of the freight vehicles;

storing the location data in a database;

storing a plurality of organization labels in the database wherein each organization label corresponds to an organization and wherein at least one of said organization labels is associated with each of the freight vehicles and each of the loads;

storing a plurality of vehicle visibility tags in a database wherein each vehicle visibility tag is associated with each freight vehicle and denotes whether each freight vehicle is visible to either only the organization associated with the freight vehicle or the organization associated with the freight vehicle and at least one additional organization;

storing a plurality of load visibility tags in a database wherein each load visibility tag is associated with each load and denotes whether each load is visible to either only the organization associated with the load or the organization associated with the load and at least one additional organization, each vehicle visibility tag and load visibility tag being modified between a first state wherein the corresponding vehicle and load are visible to each organization and a second state wherein the corresponding vehicle and load are visible only to the organization associated with the corresponding vehicle and load;

transmitting, from at least one client computing device to the server computer, a request for information associated with the freight vehicles and the loads, the request including an identification associated with at least one of the organization labels;

determining, by the server computer, the organization associated with the at least one client computing device based at least in part on the client computing device identification and the stored plurality of organization labels;

determining, utilizing the stored plurality of organization labels, each freight vehicle and load having an organization label associated with the identified organization;

transmitting, to the at least one client computing device, information associated with the freight vehicles and loads associated with the identified organization and each freight vehicle and load having a visibility tag in the first state, the information including a current location of each freight vehicle and a current location of each load from the database; and

displaying a map on a display of the client computing device including the location of each freight vehicle and load transmitted to the client computing device from the server computer.

11. A method as set forth in claim 10 further comprising the step of storing an origination location associated with each load, a destination location associated with each load, a ready date associated with each load, and an availability tag associated with each load denoting whether or not the load is available for transport in the database.

12. A method as set forth in claim 10 further comprising the step of transmitting the origination location associated with each load, the destination location associated with each load, the ready date associated with each load, and the availability tag associated with each load in accordance with the visibility tags from the database to the computing device.

13. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the vehicle visibility tag denotes whether each vehicle is visible to either only the organization associated with the vehicle or all organizations.

14. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the load visibility tag denotes whether each load is visible to either only the organization associated with the load or all organizations.

15. A method as set forth in claim 10 further comprising the step of computing the distances between one of the loads and a plurality of vehicles.

16. A method as set forth in claim 15 further comprising the step of displaying the distances between one of the loads and the plurality of vehicles.

17. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the database is further defined as a first database and a second database in communication with one another and wherein said step of storing the location data in the database is further defined as storing the location data in the first database.

18. A method as set forth in claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

selecting a load based on a request received from the client computing device;

displaying a plurality of radial distance markers with respect to the selected load, each distance marker associated with a predefined radial distance from the selected load; and

displaying each freight vehicle located within the plurality of radial distance markers.

19. A method as set forth in claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

generating a list of preferred organizations based on a request received from a first organization, the list of preferred organizations including at least one second organization;

receiving, from a client computing device associated with the first organization, a request to display information associated with each of the freight vehicles;

displaying a first set of freight vehicles having an organization label associated with the first organization and a second set of freight vehicles having an organization label included in the list of preferred organizations.