Systems and methods involving features of terminal operation

• US 9,978,034 B1
• Filed: 07/24/2013
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ports America Group, Inc. (HarborCorp)
• Original Assignee: Ports America Group, Inc. (HarborCorp)
• Inventors: Sheykh-Zade, Irina, Duffy, Teresa, Desai, Geeta, Miron, Sophie, Song, Chung Daniel, Johnson, Nathan, Hill, Theresa, Sheykh-Zade, Eldar
• Primary Examiner(s): Erb, Nathan
• Application Number:
  US13/987,447
• Time in Patent Office: 1,763 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0831 Overseas transactions

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for processing information related to a terminal operating system. In one exemplary implantation, there is provided a method for providing information of terminal operating system management. The method may include processing information related to an input to manage the terminal operating system management. Other exemplary implementations may include processing to generate a result such that an output of a result of the managed terminal operating system management functionality is produced.

Claims

1. A method for processing information involving terminal operating systems, the method comprising:

causing, by a presentation layer processor, a TOS-agnostic interface to be displayed to a user, the interface comprising terminal operating system (TOS) management functionality;

receiving, by the presentation layer processor, an input, via the interface, to manage the TOS management functionality;

providing, by the presentation layer processor, a TOS-agnostic output, via the interface, indicative of a result of managing the TOS management functionality;

determining, by a repository factory processor, a TOS type associated with the input from among a plurality of TOS types;

constructing, by the repository factory processor, a repository instance for the TOS type, the constructing comprising selecting a first instance type from a plurality of instance types and resolving an appropriate service for the first instance type, wherein each of the plurality of instance types corresponds to one of the plurality of TOS types;

managing, by a service layer processor, the TOS management functionality, using the repository instance to access a data source, the management generating first data having a TOS-specific format corresponding to the TOS type and data of a data type comprising at least one of reporting data, release data, and bill of lading data;

determining, by a business logic processor, from the data type, an appropriate first business object for processing the first data from among a plurality of business objects, wherein each business object is configured to process data of a specific data type regardless of which TOS-specific format is used for the data of the specific data type;

constructing, by the business logic processor, the first business object using the first data; and

generating, by the business logic processor, as a function of the first business object, the TOS-agnostic output through processing of the first data;

wherein the TOS-agnostic interface is the same regardless of which TOS type is determined to be associated with the data source, and wherein at least one of the processors is a hardware processor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and an EIR report summary page linked to the initial EIR interface, the EIR report summary page comprising a summary of information from an actual EIR document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and an image of an associated, actual equipment interchange report, the actual EIR being linked to the initial EIR interface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information comprising an initial EIR interface and one or more fields for user selection of container movement activity or options, including Full In, Full Out, Empty In, Empty Out, Chassis In, Chassis Out, Rail In and/or Rail Out.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and a list of equipment interchange reports associated with a selected equipment, move type, and/or move date, wherein the list includes a column of buttons that link the user directly to associated, actual equipment interchange reports and/or to summaries of the actual EIRs for each EIR in the list.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and an EIR report summary page linked to the initial EIR interface, the EIR report summary page comprising a summary of information from an actual EIR document and one or more images of a trucker who dropped equipment or a container off at a terminal.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and an EIR report summary page linked to the initial EIR interface, the EIR report summary page comprising a summary of information from an actual EIR document and a field that contains notes regarding a delivering carrier.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface and a ‘

copy release’

button that creates a copy of a presently displayed equipment release.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface and an ‘

end date’

field including a calendar button that allows the user to select a date an equipment release will expire.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface having a list of containers associated with an equipment release, the list of containers having a column with a flex height selection option associated with each listed container.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface having a service code drop-down menu with selections including Offlease, Out For Repairs, For Sale, and/or Reposition.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface having a booking service drop-down menu with selections including Carrier Unit, Cotton, Daikin Reefer, Dirty Reefer, Door Off, Flatrack, Food Grade, Garment, High Capacity, Lease Only, Mesh Screen Reefer, Metal Scrap, and/or New Reefer.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface having an allowed prefixes graphical user interface selection field, which informs a computing system to execute instructions that provide the computing system with additional processing functionality to guide the user to enter only prefixes that were used previously.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and administrative information associated with the listed containers, the administrative information including assigned pin number, freight trucker information, and exam trucker information.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and administrative information associated with the listed containers, the administrative information including a carrier status drop-down menu, a carrier category drop-down menu, and a carrier remark editable field.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and interface information, the interface information comprising a field for selecting an action, an apply button, and a graphical user interface feature that allows the user to select multiple containers from the list of containers and apply the selected action to the selected containers by selecting the apply button.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and administrative information associated with the listed containers, the administrative information comprising demurrage information including a demurrage status drop-down menu, a free days column, and a demurrage rate code drop-down menu.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and a popup graphical user interface tool, wherein the popup graphical user interface tool includes a field into which lists of multiple containers may be entered and/or pasted, and a discharge priority field for discharging priority of selected container(s).

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the discharge priority field comprises a drop-down menu of selectable options for discharging priority of the selected container(s).

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading, wherein updates to the bill of lading are applied to all of the containers in the list of containers associated with the bill of lading.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

processing, by the business logic processor, the TOS-agnostic output into formatted second data having the TOS-specific format; and

transmitting, by the service layer processor, the formatted second data to the data source.

22. A computing system for processing information involving terminal operating systems, the computing system comprising:

a presentation layer processor configured to;

cause a TOS-agnostic interface to be displayed to a user, the interface comprising terminal operating system (TOS) management functionality;

receive an input, via the interface, to manage the TOS management functionality; and

provide a TOS-agnostic output, via the interface, indicative of a result of managing the TOS management functionality;

a repository factory processor configured to;

determine a TOS type associated with the input from among a plurality of TOS types; and

construct a repository instance for the TOS type, the constructing comprising selecting a first instance type from a plurality of instance types and resolving an appropriate service for the first instance type, wherein each of the plurality of instance types corresponds to one of the plurality of TOS types;

a service layer processor configured to manage the TOS management functionality, using the repository instance to access a data source, the management generating first data having a TOS-specific format corresponding to the TOS type and data of a data type comprising at least one of reporting data, release data, and bill of lading data; and

a business logic processor configured to;

determine, from the data type, an appropriate first business object for processing the first data from among a plurality of business objects, wherein each business object is configured to process data of a specific data type regardless of which TOS-specific format is used for the data of the specific data type;

construct the first business object using the first data; and

generate, as a function of the first business object, the TOS-agnostic output through processing of the first data;

wherein the TOS-agnostic interface is the same regardless of which TOS type is determined to be associated with the data source, and wherein at least one of the processors is a hardware processor.

23. The computing system of claim 22, wherein:

the business logic processor is further configured to process the TOS-agnostic output into formatted second data having the TOS-specific format; and

the service layer processor is further configured to transmit the formatted second data to the data source.

24. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and an EIR report summary page linked to the initial EIR interface, the EIR report summary page comprising a summary of information from an actual EIR document.

25. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and an image of an associated, actual equipment interchange report, the actual EIR being linked to the initial EIR interface.

26. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information comprising an initial EIR interface and one or more fields for user selection of container movement activity or options, including Full In, Full Out, Empty In, Empty Out, Chassis In, Chassis Out, Rail In and/or Rail Out.

27. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and a list of equipment interchange reports associated with a selected equipment, move type, and/or move date, wherein the list includes a column of buttons that link the user directly to associated, actual equipment interchange reports and/or to summaries of the actual EIRs for each EIR in the list.

28. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and an EIR report summary page linked to the initial EIR interface, the EIR report summary page comprising a summary of information from an actual EIR document and one or more images of a trucker who dropped equipment or a container off at a terminal.

29. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment interchange report (EIR) information including an initial EIR interface and an EIR report summary page linked to the initial EIR interface, the EIR report summary page comprising a summary of information from an actual EIR document and a field that contains notes regarding a delivering carrier.

30. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface and a ‘

copy release’

button that creates a copy of a presently displayed equipment release.

31. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface and an ‘

end date’

field including a calendar button that allows the user to select a date that an equipment release will expire.

32. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface having a list of containers associated with an equipment release, the list of containers having a column with a flex height selection option associated with each listed container.

33. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface having a service code drop-down menu with selections including Offlease, Out For Repairs, For Sale, and/or Reposition.

34. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface having a booking service drop-down menu with selections including Carrier Unit, Cotton, Daikin Reefer, Dirty Reefer, Door Off, Flatrack, Food Grade, Garment, High Capacity, Lease Only, Mesh Screen Reefer, Metal Scrap, and/or New Reefer.

35. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises equipment release information including an initial equipment release interface having an allowed prefixes graphical user interface selection field, which informs the computing system to execute instructions that provide the computing system with additional processing functionality to guide the user to enter only prefixes that were used previously.

36. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and administrative information associated with the listed containers, the administrative information including assigned pin number, freight trucker information, and exam trucker information.

37. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and administrative information associated with the listed containers, the administrative information including a carrier status drop-down menu, a carrier category drop-down menu, and a carrier remark editable field.

38. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and interface information, the interface information comprising a field for selecting an action, an apply button, and a graphical user interface feature that allows the user to select multiple containers from the list of containers and apply the selected action to the selected containers by selecting the apply button.

39. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and administrative information associated with the listed containers, the administrative information comprising demurrage information including a demurrage status drop-down menu, a free days column, and a demurrage rate code drop-down menu.

40. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading and a popup graphical user interface tool, wherein the popup graphical user interface tool includes a field into which lists of multiple containers may be entered and/or pasted and a discharge priority field for discharging priority of selected container(s).

41. The computing system of claim 40, wherein the discharge priority field comprises a drop-down menu of selectable options for discharging priority of the selected container(s).

42. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the first data comprises bill of lading information including a list of containers associated with a bill of lading, wherein updates to the bill of lading are applied to all of the containers in the list of containers associated with the bill of lading.