Inserting stops into delivery routes
First Claim
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a computing device;
a plurality of delivery routes stored in a memory associated with the computing device, each delivery route having a plurality of stops; and
a stop insertion application executable in the computing device, the stop insertion application being configured to;
determine an area of consideration surrounding an optional stop, the area of consideration falling within a predefined radius from the optional stop;
for each pair of stops for each delivery route included within the area of consideration, determine whether the optional stop can be inserted between the pair of stops in at least one of the delivery routes without violating a predefined set of criteria, wherein the optional stop is to be implemented to pick up an empty tote used to deliver at least one item, wherein the predefined set of criteria further comprises;
whether an insertion of the optional stop between the pair of stops results in a delay for the selected one of the delivery routes that is greater than a predefined threshold;
whether an insertion of the optional stop between the pair of stops causes a delay that breaks a promise to deliver within a predefined window of time associated with one of the stops; and
whether a first one of the pair of stops is within a predefined distance of the optional stop; and
insert the optional stop between a respective pair of stops in a selected one of the delivery routes.
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Abstract
Various systems and methods are described for insertion of optional stops in delivery routes. To this end, a plurality of delivery routes is provided in a computing device, where each delivery route has a plurality of stops. A determination is made in the computing devices as to whether an optional stop can be inserted between a pair of the stops in at least one of the delivery routes without violating a predefined set of criteria. The optional stop is ultimately inserted between a respective pair of stops in a selected one of the delivery routes.
21 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a computing device; a plurality of delivery routes stored in a memory associated with the computing device, each delivery route having a plurality of stops; and a stop insertion application executable in the computing device, the stop insertion application being configured to; determine an area of consideration surrounding an optional stop, the area of consideration falling within a predefined radius from the optional stop; for each pair of stops for each delivery route included within the area of consideration, determine whether the optional stop can be inserted between the pair of stops in at least one of the delivery routes without violating a predefined set of criteria, wherein the optional stop is to be implemented to pick up an empty tote used to deliver at least one item, wherein the predefined set of criteria further comprises; whether an insertion of the optional stop between the pair of stops results in a delay for the selected one of the delivery routes that is greater than a predefined threshold; whether an insertion of the optional stop between the pair of stops causes a delay that breaks a promise to deliver within a predefined window of time associated with one of the stops; and whether a first one of the pair of stops is within a predefined distance of the optional stop; and insert the optional stop between a respective pair of stops in a selected one of the delivery routes. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of delivery routes in a computing device, each delivery route having a plurality of stops; determining in the computing device an area of consideration surrounding an optional stop, the area of consideration falling within a predefined radius from the optional stop; identifying in the computing device each stop of each delivery route included within the area of consideration; for each stop of each delivery route included within the area of consideration, determining in the computing device whether the optional stop can be inserted between a corresponding pair of stops in accordance with a predefined set of criteria, wherein determining whether the optional stop can be inserted between the corresponding pair of stops in accordance with the predefined set of criteria comprises determining whether an insertion of the optional stop results in a period of time spent between the corresponding pair of stops that is greater than a predefined threshold of time; and inserting in the computing device the optional stop in a selected one of the delivery routes. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24)
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12. An apparatus, comprising:
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a computing device; a plurality of delivery routes stored in a memory associated with the computing device, each delivery route having a plurality of stops; and a stop insertion application executable in the computing device, the stop insertion application being configured to; determine an area of consideration surrounding an optional stop, the area of consideration falling within a predefined radius from the optional stop; identify each stop of each delivery route included within the area of consideration; for each stop of each delivery route included within the area of consideration, determine whether the optional stop can be inserted between a corresponding pair of the stops without violating a predefined set of criteria, wherein the predefined set of criteria further comprises whether an insertion of the optional stop between the corresponding pair of stops results in a delay for the selected one of the delivery routes that is greater than a predefined threshold; and insert the optional stop between a respective pair of stops in a selected one of the delivery routes. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a program executable in a computing device, comprising:
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a plurality of delivery routes, each delivery route having a plurality of stops, where a delivery is to be made at each of the stops; code that determines an area of consideration surrounding an optional stop, the area of consideration falling within a predefined radius from the optional stop; code that determines, for each pair of stops for each delivery route included within the area of consideration, whether the optional stop can be inserted between the pair of stops in at least one of the delivery routes without imposing a delay in the at least one of the delivery routes that is greater than a predefined time threshold and without breaking a promise to deliver within a predefined window of time associated with one of the stops; and code that inserts the optional stop between a respective pair of stops in a selected one of the delivery routes. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification