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

• US 9,792,574 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2014
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Lord, Richard T., Lord, Robert W., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Tegreene, Clarence T.
• Primary Examiner(s): ANTONUCCI, ANNE MARIE
• Application Number:
  US14/536,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20150324734A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,072 Days
• Field of Search: 701410
• 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 one or more package delivery requests for a transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages;

circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users, the one or more end user transport requests including at least one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users;

circuitry for selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit;

circuitry for obtaining a verification that transport of the one or more end users can be accommodated at least partially during delivery of the one or more packages by the candidate transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users; and

circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit, a directive to at least one of deliver the one or more packages or transport the one or more end users based, at least in part, on the verification.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for receiving one or more package delivery requests for a transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages comprises:

circuitry for receiving one or more package delivery requests that identify at least one preferred order for delivering the one or more packages to one or more package delivery locations.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein circuitry for receiving one or more package delivery requests that identify at least one preferred order for delivering the one or more packages to one or more package delivery locations comprises:

circuitry for receiving one or more package delivery requests that identify one or more package delivery priorities for delivering the one or more packages to one or more package delivery locations in the at least one preferred order, including at least ordering delivery of the one or more packages according first to the one or more package delivery priorities associated with the one or more packages and second to the at least one preferred order for delivering the one or more packages to the one or more package delivery locations.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for transmitting one or more electronic confirmations that confirm that the candidate transportation vehicle unit will be delivering the one or more packages based, at least in part, on at least one of reception or acceptance of the one or more package delivery requests.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users, the one or more end user transport requests including at least one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users 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 one or more end users.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users, the one or more end user transport requests including at least one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

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

7. The system of claim 6, wherein circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users that identify at least one package for delivery by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

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

8. The system of claim 6, wherein circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users that identify at least one package for delivery by the transportation vehicle unit during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

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

9. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit, a directive to at least one of deliver the one or more packages or transport the one or more end users based, at least in part, on the verification comprises:

circuitry for transmitting a directive identifying at least one package for delivery by the transportation vehicle unit prior to transport of the one or more end users.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit, a directive to at least one of deliver the one or more packages or transport the one or more end users based, at least in part, on the verification comprises:

circuitry for transmitting a directive identifying at least one package for delivery by the transportation vehicle unit following transport of the one or more end users to one or more end user destination locations.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users, the one or more end user transport requests including at least one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for receiving, from an end user device associated with the one or more end users, end user preference data indicating one or more end user preferences related to package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein circuitry for receiving, from an end user device associated with the one or more end users, end user preference data indicating one or more end user preferences related to package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for receiving end user preference data indicating an end user preference that no packages be delivered during transport of the one or more end users.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein circuitry for receiving, from an end user device associated with the one or more end users, end user preference data indicating one or more end user preferences related to package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

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

14. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users, the one or more end user transport requests including at least one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for receiving a predefined maximum amount of time delay permitted for transporting of the one or more end users as a result of delivering the one or more packages during transport of the one or more end users.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users, the one or more end user transport requests including at least one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for receiving at least one discounted transport fee rate for transporting the one or more end users based, at least in part, on the candidate transportation vehicle unit making one or more package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users, the discount transport fee rate being a reduced fee rate from a transport fee rate that would be charged if the candidate transportation vehicle unit does not execute any package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for determining whether 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 one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit to one or more end user destination locations.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for obtaining a verification that transport of the one or more end users can be accommodated at least partially during delivery of the one or more packages by the candidate transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for obtaining a verification that there is no outstanding package delivery obligation that obligates the candidate transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages by one or more deadlines that would be violated if the one or more end users are transported by the candidate transportation vehicle unit.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for determining whether 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 one or more end users are transported by the transportation vehicle unit.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for obtaining a verification that transport of the one or more end users can be accommodated at least partially during delivery of the one or more packages by the candidate transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for obtaining a verification that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the candidate transportation vehicle unit transports the one or more end users.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein circuitry for obtaining a verification that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the transportation vehicle unit transports the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for obtaining a verification that all of the outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the candidate transportation vehicle unit transports the one or more end users including at least verifying that one or more of the outstanding package delivery obligations for delivering one or more packages can be fulfilled during transport of the one or more end users by the candidate transportation vehicle unit.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein circuitry for obtaining a verification that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the candidate transportation vehicle unit transports the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for determining whether one or more of the outstanding package delivery obligations for delivering one or more packages can be fulfilled before or after transport of the one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein circuitry for obtaining a verification that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the transportation vehicle unit transports the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for obtaining a verification that one or more spatial requirements for transporting the one or more end users in accordance with the one or more end user transport directives will not conflict with one or more spatial requirements for transporting the one or more packages in accordance with one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein circuitry for obtaining a verification that all outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled even if the candidate transportation vehicle unit transports the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for determining whether one or more end user preferences related to one or more passenger transport environment requirements will not conflict with one or more package transport environment requirements.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for determining whether one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the transportation vehicle unit can be fulfilled during transport of the one or more end user by the transportation vehicle unit without violating one or more passenger transport requirements.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for obtaining a verification that transport of the one or more end users can be accommodated at least partially during delivery of the one or more packages by the candidate transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

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

26. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for obtaining a verification that transport of the one or more end users can be accommodated at least partially during delivery of the one or more packages by the candidate transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for identifying one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit that can be fulfilled during transport of the one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit based, at least in part, on a determination that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the one or more end users by the candidate transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences related to transporting of the one or more end users.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein circuitry for identifying one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit that can be fulfilled during transport of the one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit based, at least in part, on a determination that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the one or more end users by the candidate transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences related to transporting of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for identifying one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit that can be fulfilled during transport of the one or more end users by the candidate transportation vehicle unit based, at least in part, on a determination that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the one or more end users by the candidate transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences related to package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein circuitry for selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for determining whether fulfilling one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit will 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 one or more end users.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein circuitry for identifying one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit that can be fulfilled during transport of the one or more end users by the candidate transportation vehicle unit based, at least in part, on a determination that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the one or more end users by the candidate transportation vehicle unit will not conflict with one or more end user preferences related to package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for identifying one or more outstanding package delivery obligations of the candidate transportation vehicle unit that can be fulfilled during transport of the one or more end users by the candidate transportation vehicle unit based, at least in part, on a determination that fulfilling the one or more outstanding package delivery obligations during transport of the one or more end users by the candidate 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 one or more end users as a result of delivering one or more packages during transport of the one or more end users.

30. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for determining whether transport of the end user by the transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the end user transport request would conflict with the package delivery request comprises:

circuitry for obtaining a verification that there are multiple outstanding package delivery obligations for the candidate transportation vehicle unit that are yet to be fulfilled and that would not be violated if the candidate transportation vehicle unit transports the one or more end users.

31. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for determining a discounted transport fee rate to be charged for transporting the one or more end users, 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 one or more end users, the discounted fee rate being a reduced fee rate from a transport fee rate that would be charged if the candidate transportation vehicle unit does not make any package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein circuitry for determining a discounted transport fee rate to be charged for transporting the one or more end users, 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 one or more end users, the discounted fee rate being a reduced fee rate from a transport fee rate that would be charged if the transportation vehicle unit does not make any package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for determining the discounted transport fee rate to be charged for transporting the one or more end users, 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 one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit.

33. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit, a directive to at least one of deliver the one or more packages or transport the one or more end users based, at least in part, on the verification comprises:

circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit, a directive that causes the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit to at least one of audibly or visibly present one or more transport instructions for at least one of delivering the one or more packages or transporting the one or more end users.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit, a directive that causes the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit to at least one of audibly or visibly present one or more transport instructions for at least one of delivering the one or more packages or transporting the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit, a directive that causes the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit to present one or more instructions that direct the transportation vehicle unit to transport the one or more end users and that direct the transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages during transport of the one or more end users.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit, a directive that causes the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit to present one or more instructions that direct the transportation vehicle unit to transport the one or more end users and that direct the transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit, a directive that causes the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit to present a list of one or more packages that can be selected for delivery or deliveries to one or more package delivery locations during transport of the one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit, a directive that causes the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit to present a list of one or more packages that can be selected for delivery or deliveries to one or more package delivery locations during transport of the one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit, a directive that causes the transport computing device associated with the transportation vehicle unit to present one or more 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 one or more end users by the transportation vehicle unit, the list ranking the packages based on the package delivery locations associated with each of the listed packages.

37. The system of claim 33, wherein circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit, a directive that causes the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit to at least one of audibly or visibly present one or more transport instructions for at least one of delivering the one or more packages or transporting the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit, a discounted transport fee rate for transporting the one or more end users, the discounted fee rate being based, at least in part, on the candidate transportation vehicle unit making one or more package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users, the discounted fee rate being a reduced fee rate from a transport fee rate that would be charged if the candidate transportation vehicle unit does not make any package deliveries during transport of the one or more end users.

38. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit and based, at least in part, on at least one location of the one or more end users sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of one or more computing devices associated with the one or more end users having sent the one or more end user transport requests.

39. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit comprises:

circuitry for selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on (i) at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit, (ii) at least one location of the one or more end users sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of one or more computing devices associated with the one or more end users having sent the one or more end user transport requests, (iii) at least one desired delivery time for the one or more packages, and (iv) at least one desired dropoff time for the one or more end users.

40. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry for obtaining a verification that transport of the one or more end users can be accommodated at least partially during delivery of the one or more packages by the candidate transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users comprises:

circuitry for obtaining a verification that transport of the one or more end users can be accommodated at least partially during delivery of the one or more packages by the candidate transportation vehicle unit in accordance with at least (i) one or more received package delivery requests identifying at least one of one or more numbers or one or more sizes of the one or more packages and (ii) one or more spatial requirements of the one or more end users in association with package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users.

41. A method, comprising:

receiving one or more package delivery requests for a transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages;

receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users, the one or more end user transport requests including at least one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users;

selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit;

obtaining a verification that transport of the one or more end users can be accommodated at least partially during delivery of the one or more packages by the candidate transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users; and

transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit, a directive to at least one of deliver the one or more packages or transport the one or more end users based, at least in part, on the verification,

wherein at least one of the receiving, selecting, obtaining, or transmitting is at least partially implemented using at least one processing device.

42. A system, comprising:

at least one computing device; and

one or more instructions which, when executed by the at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to perform one or more operations including at least;

receiving one or more package delivery requests for a transportation vehicle unit to deliver one or more packages;

receiving one or more end user transport requests for a transportation vehicle unit to transport one or more end users, the one or more end user transport requests including at least one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users;

selecting a candidate transportation vehicle unit to fulfill the one or more package delivery requests and the one or more end user transport requests based, at least in part, on at least one location of the candidate transportation vehicle unit sensed at least in part via at least one hardware-based position sensor of at least one transport computing device within the candidate transportation vehicle unit;

obtaining a verification that transport of the one or more end users can be accommodated at least partially during delivery of the one or more packages by the candidate transportation vehicle unit in accordance with the one or more preferences of the one or more end users related to package deliveries occurring during transport of the one or more end users; and

transmitting, to the transport computing device associated with the candidate transportation vehicle unit, a directive to at least one of deliver the one or more packages or transport the one or more end users based, at least in part, on the verification.