System and methods for verifying that one or more end user transport directives do not conflict with one or more package delivery directives

• US 9,558,469 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2014
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Tegreene, Clarence T., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Lord, Robert W., Lord, Richard T.
• Primary Examiner(s): ANTONUCCI, ANNE MARIE
• Application Number:
  US14/537,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20150324735A1
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• Field of Search: 701/410
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping

Abstract

Computationally implemented methods and systems that are designed for receiving one or more package delivery directives that direct a transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages; receiving one or more end user transport directives that direct the transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users; and verifying that the one or more end user transport directives do not conflict with the one or more package delivery directives such that transport of the one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more end user transport directives will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit to deliver the one or more packages in accordance with the one or more package delivery directives. In addition to the foregoing, other aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

circuitry for receiving end user preference data indicating one or more preferences of an end user related to package deliveries to occur during transport of the end user;

circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests, at least partly via at least one end user device associated with an end user, that request a transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user; and

circuitry for confirming that transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit or one or more preferences of the end user related to package deliveries during transport of the end user;

circuitry for electronically transmitting navigation instructions to a navigation system associated with the transportation vehicle unit directing the transportation vehicle unit to rendezvous with the end user responsive to the confirming.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests, at least partly via at least one end user device associated with an end user, that request a transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user comprises:

circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests that identify one or more deadlines for arriving at one or more destination locations for the end user.

3. The system of claim 1, end user end user further comprising:

circuitry for receiving one or more package delivery requests that identify at least one package for delivery by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the end user.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said circuitry for receiving one or more package delivery requests that identify at least one package for delivery by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the end user comprises:

circuitry for receiving one or more package delivery requests that identify end user end user an order in which two or more packages are to be delivered to two or more package delivery locations.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein said circuitry for receiving one or more package delivery requests that identify at least one package for delivery by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the end user comprises:

circuitry for receiving one or more package delivery requests that identify at least one route for delivering the at least one package by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the end user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests, at least partly via at least one end user device associated with an end user, that request a transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user comprises:

circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests that request the transportation vehicle unit to transport end user following at least one package delivery by the transportation vehicle unit end user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests, at least partly via at least one end user device associated with an end user, that request a transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user comprises:

circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests that direct the transportation vehicle unit to transport end user prior to at least one package delivery by the transportation vehicle unit end user end user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for receiving end user preference data indicating one or more preferences of the end user related to package deliveries to occur during transport of the end user comprises:

circuitry for receiving end user preference data indicating a preference that no packages be delivered during transport of the end user.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for receiving end user preference data indicating one or more preferences of the end user related to package deliveries to occur during transport of the end user comprises:

circuitry for receiving end user preference data indicating a preference that no more than a predefined maximum number of package deliveries are permitted to be executed during transport of the end user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for receiving end user preference data indicating one or more preferences of the end user related to package deliveries to occur during transport of the end user comprises:

circuitry for receiving end user preference data indicating a preference that no more than a predefined maximum amount of time delay is permitted for transporting of the end user as a result of delivering the one or more packages during transport of the end user.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests, at least partly via at least one end user device associated with an end user, that request a transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user comprises:

circuitry for receiving discount transport rate data indicating a discounted transport fee rate for transporting the end user based, at least in part, on the transportation vehicle unit making one or more package deliveries during transport of the end user.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for confirming that transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for confirming that there is no outstanding package delivery obligation that obligates the transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages during a projected time span needed for transporting the end user by the transportation vehicle unit to one or more end user destination locations.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for confirming that transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for confirming that there is no outstanding package delivery obligation that obligates the transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages by one or more deadlines that would be violated if the end user is transported by the transportation vehicle unit.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for confirming that transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for confirming that there is no outstanding package delivery obligation that obligates the transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages in one or more specified environmental conditions that would be violated if the end user is transported by the transportation vehicle unit.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for confirming that transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for confirming that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the transportation vehicle unit transports the end users in accordance with the one or more end user transport requests.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said circuitry for confirming that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the transportation vehicle unit transports the end users in accordance with the one or more end user transport requests comprises:

circuitry for confirming that one or more of the outstanding package delivery obligations for delivering one or more packages can be fulfilled during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more end user transport requests.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein said circuitry for confirming that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the transportation vehicle unit transports the end users in accordance with the one or more end user transport requests comprises:

circuitry for confirming that one or more of the outstanding package delivery obligations for delivering one or more packages can be fulfilled before or after transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more end user transport requests.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein said circuitry for confirming that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the transportation vehicle unit transports the end users in accordance with the one or more end user transport requests comprises:

circuitry for confirming that one or more spatial requirements for transporting the end user in accordance with the one or more end user transport requests will not conflict with spatial requirements for transporting the one or more packages in accordance with one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein said circuitry for confirming that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the transportation vehicle unit transports the end users in accordance with the one or more end user transport requests comprises:

circuitry for confirming that one or more end user preferences related to one or more passenger transport environment requirements as defined by the one or more end user transport requests will not conflict with one or more package transport environment requirements as defined by the one or more package delivery requests.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for confirming that transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for identifying one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit that can be fulfilled during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit without violating one or more passenger transport requirements as defined by the one or more end user transport requests.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said circuitry for identifying one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit that can be fulfilled during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit without violating one or more passenger transport requirements as defined by the one or more end user transport requests comprises:

circuitry for identifying one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit that are yet to be fulfilled and that requires delivery of one or more packages to one or more package delivery locations that are determined as being along or proximate to a direct route for transporting, by the transportation vehicle unit, the end user from one or more rendezvous locations to one or more end user destination locations.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein said circuitry for identifying one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit that can be fulfilled during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit without violating one or more passenger transport requirements as defined by the one or more end user transport requests comprises:

circuitry for determining that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the end users by the transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences related to transporting of the end user as defined by the one or more end user transport requests.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said circuitry for determining that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the end users by the transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences related to transporting of the end user as defined by the one or more end user transport requests comprises:

circuitry for determining that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences related to package deliveries during transport of the end user.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein said circuitry for determining that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences related to package deliveries during transport of the end user comprises:

circuitry for determining that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences that no more than a predefined maximum number of package delivery or deliveries are permitted to be executed during transport of the end user.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein said circuitry for determining that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences related to package deliveries during transport of the end user comprises:

circuitry for determining that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences that no more than a predefined maximum amount of time delay is permitted for transporting the end user and as a result of delivering one or more packages during transport of the end user.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry for confirming that transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for determining that there are multiple outstanding package delivery obligations for the transportation vehicle unit that are yet to be fulfilled and that are determined not to be violated if the transportation vehicle unit transports the end user.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein said circuitry for determining that there are multiple outstanding package delivery obligations for the transportation vehicle unit that are yet to be fulfilled and that are determined not to be violated if the transportation vehicle unit transports the end user comprises:

circuitry for determining which of the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations can be potentially fulfilled by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit, the determination being based, at least in part, on one or more package delivery locations for packages to be delivered in accordance with the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein said circuitry for determining which of the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations can be potentially fulfilled by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit, the determination being based, at least in part, on one or more package delivery locations for packages to be delivered in accordance with the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations comprises:

circuitry for determining which of the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations can be potentially fulfilled by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the end user based, at least in part, on package delivery locations or locations for each package delivery obligation of the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations relative to a direct route for transporting the end user from one or more rendezvous locations to one or more end user destination locations.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein said circuitry for determining which of the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations can be potentially fulfilled by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the end user based, at least in part, on package delivery locations or locations for each package delivery obligation of the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations relative to a direct route for transporting the end user from one or more rendezvous locations to one or more end user destination locations comprises:

circuitry for selecting a subset of the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations for fulfillment by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the end user based, at least in part, on package delivery locations or locations for each package delivery obligation of the multiple outstanding package delivery obligations relative to a direct route for transporting the end user from one or more rendezvous locations to one or more end user destination locations.

30. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for determining a discounted transport fee rate to be charged for transporting the end user, the discounted fee rate being based, at least in part, on determining that one or more package deliveries will be made during transport of the end user.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein said circuitry for determining a discounted transport fee rate to be charged for transporting the end user, the discounted fee rate being based, at least in part, on determining that one or more package deliveries will be made during transport of the end user comprises:

circuitry for determining the discounted transport fee rate to be charged for transporting the end user, the discounted fee rate being based, at least in part, on a sliding scale where the discounting of a nominal transport fee rate to generate the discounted transport fee rate is greater when there is greater number of package deliveries to be made during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit.

32. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for presenting, in response to verification that the one or more end user transport requests do not conflict with the one or more package delivery requests, one or more instructive directives that direct the transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein said circuitry for presenting, in response to verification that the one or more end user transport requests do not conflict with the one or more package delivery requests, one or more instructive directives that direct the transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user comprises:

circuitry for presenting one or more instructive directives that direct the transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user and that further directs the transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages during transport of the end user.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein said circuitry for presenting one or more instructive directives that direct the transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user and that further directs the transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages during transport of the end user comprises:

circuitry for presenting one or more instructive directives that provide a list of one or more packages that can be selected for delivery to one or more package delivery locations during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said circuitry for presenting one or more instructive directives that provide a list of one or more packages that can be selected for delivery to one or more package delivery locations during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for presenting one or more instructive directives that provide a list of two or more packages that can be potentially selected for deliveries to two or more package delivery locations during transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit, the list ranking the packages based on the package delivery locations associated with each of the listed packages.

36. The system of claim 32, wherein said circuitry for presenting, in response to verification that the one or more end user transport requests do not conflict with the one or more package delivery requests, one or more instructive directives that direct the transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user comprises:

circuitry for presenting a discounted transport fee rate for transporting the end user, the discounted fee rate being based, at least in part, on the transportation vehicle unit making one or more package deliveries during transport of the end user.

37. A system, comprising:

at least one processor device; and

one or more instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor device, specifically program the at least one processor device for;

receiving end user preference data indicating one or more preferences of an end user related to package deliveries to occur during transport of the end user;

receiving one or more end user transport requests, at least partly via at least one end user device associated with an end user, that request a transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user;

confirming that transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit; and

electronically transmitting navigation instructions to a navigation system associated with the transportation vehicle unit directing the transportation vehicle unit to rendezvous with the end user responsive to the confirming.

38. A method for controlling a robotic driver system, comprising:

receiving end user preference data indicating one or more preferences of an end user related to package deliveries to occur during transport of the end user;

receiving one or more end user transport requests, at least partly via at least one end user device associated with an end user, that request a transportation vehicle unit to transport the end user;

confirming that transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request will not violate one or more package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit; and

electronically transmitting navigation instructions to a navigation system associated with the transportation vehicle unit directing the transportation vehicle unit to rendezvous with the end user responsive to the confirming.