CN113739812A

CN113739812A - Distribution plan generating method, device, system and computer readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN113739812A
Application number: CN202010477720.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杨昊宇; 池田博和
Original assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Current assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-29
Filing date: 2020-05-29
Publication date: 2021-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 2040-05-29
Also published as: CN113739812B; JP7121154B2; JP2021190094A; CN114877906A

Abstract

The invention provides a distribution plan generation method, a distribution plan generation device, a distribution plan generation system and a computer-readable storage medium. The delivery plan generating method includes: acquiring information on a plurality of routes between a plurality of sites, information on types of a plurality of delivery vehicles, and information on traffic states of a plurality of time slots corresponding to the types of the plurality of delivery vehicles; obtaining a plurality of cost matrices including travel time required to travel the plurality of routes in each time period; calculating a travel time for delivering the first delivery task through the route according to the travel time in the first time period and the second time period for a first route and a second route between the first delivery site and the second delivery site; the travel time for distributing the first distribution task through each route is compared to determine a route for distributing the first distribution task. The invention considers the influence of the traffic state and the cross-time-period distribution on the distribution tasks in the VRP, and can improve the distribution efficiency and reduce the distribution cost.

Description

Distribution plan generating method, device, system and computer readable storage medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the technical field of Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, a system, and a computer-readable storage medium for generating a delivery plan of a delivery Vehicle.

Background

The VRP refers to a certain number of customers, each customer has different number of goods demands, the distribution center provides the goods for the customers, one fleet is responsible for distributing the goods and organizing a proper driving route, and the aims of meeting the demands of the customers and achieving the purposes of shortest route, minimum cost, minimum time consumption and the like under certain constraints are fulfilled.

The existing solving method of the related vehicle route problem comprises an exact algorithm (exact algorithm) and a heuristic solution (heuritics), wherein the exact algorithm comprises a branch boundary method, a branch cutting method, a set covering method and the like; the heuristic solution includes a saving method, a simulated annealing method, a deterministic annealing method, a tabu search method, a Genetic Algorithm, a neural network, an ant colonizer Algorithm, a Genetic Algorithm (GA), and the like. In the automatic generation of a vehicle distribution plan, a Large Neighborhood Search (LNS), which is generally one of Neighborhood Search methods, is effective, and the LNS is used to Search an optimal distribution task distribution pattern for vehicles. In general, the search is repeated in a direction of reducing the cost by digitizing the difference from the optimal solution so as to approach the optimal solution.

In actual task delivery, the execution of a delivery plan is usually affected by the traffic state of roads, for example, delivery tasks for the same route are started at different start times and may require different travel times.

Disclosure of Invention

At least one embodiment of the invention provides a method, a device and a system for generating a delivery plan, which consider the influence of traffic states and cross-time-period delivery on delivery tasks in VRP, can improve delivery efficiency and reduce delivery cost.

According to an aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a delivery plan generating method including:

acquiring information on types of a plurality of delivery vehicles, information on a plurality of routes between a plurality of sites for each delivery vehicle, and information on traffic states in a plurality of time slots corresponding to each delivery vehicle, wherein each delivery vehicle includes a route corresponding to each of the time slots between any two of the sites;

acquiring a plurality of cost matrices including travel time required for each delivery vehicle to travel the plurality of routes for each time slot, for each combination of the types of the plurality of delivery vehicles, the plurality of routes, and the plurality of time slots;

in the step of selecting a route for the first delivery vehicle to deliver the first delivery task from the first delivery site to the second delivery site included in the plurality of sites,

a step of calculating, for a first route between the first delivery site and the second delivery site, a first travel time for delivering the first delivery job via the first route, based on a travel time in a first time period calculated based on a first cost matrix selected based on the first time period, a type of the first delivery vehicle, and the first route, and a travel time in a second time period calculated based on a second time period connected to the first time period, the type of the first delivery vehicle, and a second cost matrix selected based on the first route;

a step of calculating, for a second route between the first distribution site and the second distribution site, a second travel time for distributing the first distribution job by the second route, based on a travel time in the first time period calculated based on a third cost matrix selected based on the first time period, the kind of the first distribution vehicle, and the second route, and a travel time in the second time period calculated based on a fourth cost matrix selected based on the second time period, the kind of the first distribution vehicle, and the second route;

and a step of comparing the first travel time and the second travel time, and selecting a route for the first delivery vehicle to deliver the first delivery task.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a delivery plan generating apparatus including:

an information acquisition unit configured to acquire information on types of a plurality of delivery vehicles, information on a plurality of routes between a plurality of destinations for each delivery vehicle including a route corresponding to each of the time slots between any two destinations, and information on traffic states of a plurality of time slots corresponding to each delivery vehicle;

a matrix acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of cost matrices including travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to travel the plurality of routes in each of the time periods, for each combination of the types of the plurality of delivery vehicles, the plurality of routes, and the plurality of time periods;

a route selection unit configured to, when a route for the first delivery vehicle to deliver the first delivery job from a first delivery site to a second delivery site included in the plurality of sites is selected:

calculating, for a first route between the first distribution site and the second distribution site, a first travel time for distributing the first distribution job through the first route, based on a travel time in a first time period and a travel time in a second time period, wherein the travel time in the first time period is a travel time calculated based on a first cost matrix selected based on the first time period, a type of the first distribution vehicle, and the first route, and the travel time in the second time period is a travel time calculated based on a second time period connected to the first time period, the type of the first distribution vehicle, and a second cost matrix selected based on the first route;

calculating, for a second route between the first distribution site and the second distribution site, a second travel time for distributing the first distribution job by the second route, based on a travel time in the first time period, which is calculated based on a third cost matrix selected based on the first time period, the type of the first distribution vehicle, and the second route, and a travel time in the second time period, which is calculated based on a fourth cost matrix selected based on the second time period, the type of the first distribution vehicle, and the second route;

comparing the first travel time and the second travel time, selecting a route for the first delivery vehicle to deliver the first delivery task.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a delivery plan generating system including: a memory, a processor, and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the program when executed by the processor implementing the delivery plan generating method as described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least one embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements a delivery plan generating method as described above.

Compared with the prior art, the distribution plan generating method, the distribution plan generating device and the distribution plan generating system provided by the embodiment of the invention introduce the traffic state into the VRP, consider the influence of time periods with different traffic states and cross-time-period distribution on the distribution tasks, and can improve the distribution efficiency and reduce the distribution cost.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive labor.

Fig. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a delivery plan generating method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a restricted and congested area provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of time period division provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for collating area restriction and congestion definition data according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a process of generating map information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a cost matrix according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example of a process for finding a route from a point i to a point k by a departure time according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is another example of a process flow for finding a route from a point i to a point k by a departure time according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an example of determining a calculation direction and a calculation start time according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example of a process for finding a route from a point k to a point j by arrival time according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is another example of a process flow for finding a route of sites k to j by arrival time according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a process of inserting a distribution task of another site between sites according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic flow chart of the method for searching the optimal route for all delivery objectives of a vehicle according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic overall flow chart of the method for generating a vehicle allocation plan according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is an exemplary illustration of a delivery plan output by an embodiment of the present invention in an illustrative form;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a delivery plan generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a delivery plan generating system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 18 is another configuration diagram of the delivery plan generating system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the following detailed description is given with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In the following description, specific details such as specific configurations and components are provided only to help the full understanding of the embodiments of the present invention. Thus, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

It should be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

In various embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the sequence numbers of the following processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

In the delivery via delivery vehicles (e.g., trucks), especially in the business-to-business (B2B) trunked transportation, how to reduce the delivery costs (including but not limited to the delivery time) becomes an important issue. When the distribution task is executed on the actual road, the distribution task is affected by the road traffic state. For example, urban roads have a significant tidal law, and the travel time of the same road during commute hours is usually longer than the travel time of the same road during other commute hours. As another example, certain roads or areas in a city may be provided with traffic-restricted regulations that prohibit certain large delivery vehicles from entering during restricted periods of time.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for generating a delivery plan, which considers the influence of traffic state and cross-time-period delivery on delivery tasks in a VRP (virtual router redundancy protocol), improves the delivery efficiency and reduces the delivery cost.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a delivery plan generating method as shown in fig. 1, which can output an optimal order for performing a plurality of delivery tasks by using a plurality of delivery vehicles to go around a plurality of bases, as shown in fig. 1, the method including:

and S11, acquiring information on the types of the plurality of delivery vehicles, information on a plurality of routes between a plurality of destinations for each delivery vehicle including the route corresponding to each of the time slots between any two destinations, and information on traffic states of a plurality of time slots corresponding to each delivery vehicle.

Here, the delivery vehicles may be of different kinds, such as different brands and/or different vehicle types, which typically have different capacities, capacities and travel costs. Therefore, the information on the types of the plurality of delivery vehicles may include one or more of the types of the delivery vehicles, the load capacity, the volume, and the running cost. Embodiments of the present invention perform distribution tasks between multiple sites in a target area (e.g., a city), which generally refers to the distribution of services, such as the distribution of goods, from one site to another. The route refers to a travel path from any one location to another. The information on the traffic status of the plurality of time slots corresponding to each delivery vehicle may include the time slot corresponding to each delivery vehicle and a reference speed of the delivery vehicle on each road in the target area during the time slot.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the statistical period can be divided into a plurality of mutually connected and non-overlapping time periods in advance according to historical traffic data of distribution vehicles in a plurality of statistical periods of a target area, wherein in the same time period, the running speeds of the distribution vehicles on the same road of the target area belong to the same speed interval; and in two adjacent time periods, the running speeds of the distribution vehicle on at least one road of the target area do not belong to the same speed interval. Here, the road and the speed section are preset, and for example, the speed section may be divided into a plurality of sections that are connected to each other and do not overlap with each other according to a range of a traffic speed of the delivery vehicle in the target area. It can be seen that the time periods demarcated by the embodiment of the present invention represent a traffic state of the delivery vehicle in the target area.

Since there may be many routes between any two bases, in order to reduce implementation complexity of the present solution, in the embodiment of the present invention, a route between two bases in a traffic state corresponding to each time period may be obtained for any two bases, and the route may be generated by using various existing algorithms for generating routes for maps. For example, assuming that the statistical cycle is divided into 5 time periods, one route between any two data points can be obtained for each time period, and thus 5 routes can be obtained. Of course, the same route may exist in the 5 routes. In addition, in the process of generating the route, the calculation is performed in the traffic state of the delivery vehicle in a certain time period, and the situation of crossing the time period is not considered, that is, whether the travel time required for the delivery vehicle to travel the route corresponding to the certain time period exceeds the range of the time period or not is not considered. In addition, any two bases described herein are directional, that is, each distribution vehicle includes a route corresponding to each of the time periods between any two bases, and the route corresponding to each time period is included in a direction from any one base to another base. In addition, it should be noted that, for two sites, the route between the two sites obtained in some time period may be the same.

S12, a plurality of cost matrixes including travel time required for each delivery vehicle to travel the plurality of routes for each time slot are acquired for each combination of the type of the plurality of delivery vehicles, the plurality of routes, and the plurality of time slots.

In the process of generating the delivery plan, a specific delivery route for executing a certain delivery task (for example, a first delivery task delivered from a first delivery site to a second delivery site) needs to be selected for a certain delivery vehicle (for example, a first delivery vehicle), in the selection process, two routes (selectable routes) which can be adopted are usually compared in pairs, one route with a higher cost is determined, one route with a lower cost is excluded, then two comparisons are continuously performed in the remaining routes, and finally a route with an optimal cost is selected from all the selectable routes.

S13, for a first route between the first distribution site and the second distribution site, calculating a first travel time for distributing the first distribution task via the first route from a travel time in a first time period calculated from a first cost matrix selected based on the first time period, the type of the first distribution vehicle, and the first route, and a travel time in a second time period calculated from a second time period connected to the first time period, the type of the first distribution vehicle, and a second cost matrix selected based on the first route.

And S14, calculating, for a second route between the first distribution site and the second distribution site, a second travel time for distributing the first distribution job by the second route, based on the travel time in the first time period calculated based on a third cost matrix selected based on the first time period, the type of the first distribution vehicle, and the second route, and the travel time in the second time period calculated based on a fourth cost matrix selected based on the second time period, the type of the first distribution vehicle, and the second route.

S15, comparing the first travel time with the second travel time, and selecting a route for the first delivery vehicle to deliver the first delivery task.

Here, in steps S13 to S15, a route for distributing the first delivery task is selected from the first route and the second route. If there are more alternative routes besides the first route and the second route, the route selected in step S15 may be compared with the remaining other routes in a similar manner to the above steps S13-S15, and the final route for the first delivery vehicle to deliver the first delivery task may be selected from all the alternative routes by repeatedly performing the above two-by-two comparison process.

The implementation of the above steps is further described below with reference to examples.

In the above S11, considering that the traffic status is usually strongly correlated with the time, the embodiment of the present invention may divide the time period according to the historical traffic data of the target area related to the pre-collected delivery plan.

As one implementation, the time period may be preset according to historical traffic data of the delivery vehicle on each road of the target area, the historical traffic data including the position, speed, and the like of the vehicle. For example, according to a preset statistical period (for example, each natural day is used as a statistical period, or each week is used as a statistical period, or each working day is used as a statistical period, and each holiday is used as another statistical period to implement the scheme of the present invention), historical traffic data of the target area in a plurality of statistical periods are collected in advance, and the historical traffic data include the traffic speed of various delivery vehicles at each sampling time point on each road, the no-driving area and the corresponding no-driving time thereof, and the like.

Then, a plurality of preset speed intervals are obtained, each speed interval comprises a preset running speed range on all road types, and one speed in the running speed range (for example, the speed at the central point of the running speed range) is used as a reference speed on the corresponding road type. Table 2 below gives an index (# n) of the speed section and one example of reference speeds on the corresponding various road types. In general, the speed intervals may be set according to historical traffic data of the target area to reflect the traveling speeds of various types of distribution vehicles in various road types and in different congestion states.

After acquiring the speed interval, determining the speed interval of each type of distribution vehicle at each time and on each road in the statistical cycle according to historical traffic data, so that the statistical cycle can be divided into a plurality of time periods which are continuous in time and do not overlap with each other for each type of distribution vehicle, so that: in the same time period, the running speeds of the distribution vehicles on the same road of the target area belong to the same speed interval; and in two adjacent time periods, the running speeds of the distribution vehicle on at least one road of the target area do not belong to the same speed interval.

The following describes the time period division according to an embodiment of the present invention by using a specific example, in which the statistical period is a natural day.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a restricted and congested area in a target area 200, such as an area C with an approximately elliptical shape, and a boundary of the area including a plurality of points, i.e., points 1-3, respectively; similarly, the area B is a triangle-like area, and the area boundary thereof also includes a plurality of points, which are the points 1-3, respectively. Table 1 shows a definition of a restricted and congested area, and an area may be specifically defined by longitude and latitude coordinates of each point of an area boundary.

Restricted and congested areas

Site

1

Site 2

Site 3

Site 4

…

A

23.160，113.232

23.153，113.244

23.154，113.258

23.149，113.280

…

B

23.149，113.227

23.153，113.244

23.154，113.258

…

C

23.143，113.277

23.129，113.280

23.116，113.280

23.104，113.273

…

TABLE 1

It is assumed that the definition table of the speed section shown in table 2, for example, the speed section of index #1, indicates that the reference speed on the expressway is 70 (in km/h, the unit is omitted hereinafter for the sake of brevity), the reference speed on the motor vehicle lane is 45, and the reference speed on the general road is 40. Table 2 also shows speed sections corresponding to the restricted and congested areas, for example, the index of the speed section corresponding to the restricted and congested area a is #5, which indicates that the speed section #5 is applied only to the area a, and the travel speed on the expressway is 0 (indicating no traffic). In addition, the "restricted traffic and congestion" described herein means restricted traffic and/or congestion, and for example, the "restricted traffic and congestion area" means a restricted traffic and/or congestion area. The restriction refers to restricting the driving, for example, in some roads of a city, a time range for restricting the driving is usually set for a specific type of vehicle, so as to prohibit the vehicle from entering the road. Herein, "restricted travel" is also sometimes referred to as "restricted travel" or "travel restriction".

TABLE 2

Assuming that the speed intervals of vehicles in a 24-hour day, such as various vehicle types α, β, and γ, in a target area are counted from historical traffic data as shown in table 3 and fig. 3, "# n" in fig. 3 indicates an index of the speed interval, and a reference speed of a certain speed interval may be looked up in a table of the definitions of the speed intervals as shown in table 2 according to the index. When two or more speed intervals exist in a certain time range at the same time, the existence of a restricted area and/or a congestion area in the time range is indicated, and at the moment, the speed interval corresponding to the restricted area and/or the congestion area is only suitable for the corresponding area.

TABLE 3

As can be seen from table 3 and fig. 3, the vehicle model α has 2 speed intervals within 24 hours a day, and these speed intervals divide 24 hours a day into 3 time ranges shown in table 3, which are 00:00 to 10:00, 10:00 to 15:00, and 15:00 to 24:00, respectively. According to the above time period division principle, that is, in the same time period, the running speeds of the distribution vehicles on the same road of the target area belong to the same speed interval; in two adjacent time slots, the traveling speeds of the delivery vehicles on at least one road in the target area do not belong to the same speed section, and the delivery vehicles of the vehicle type α can be divided into 3 time slots, which correspond to the 3 time ranges.

Similarly, the delivery vehicles of the vehicle type β have 5 time ranges shown in table 3 in 24 hours a day, corresponding to a plurality of speed intervals. Here, the speed sections #5 and #6 indicate the speed sections of the congestion areas a and B, respectively. These speed intervals are indicated in time frames over a 24 hour day. As shown in fig. 3, it can be seen that there is a time overlap between the speed interval #5 and the speed intervals #3 and #4, so to satisfy the time division principle, the time range needs to be further divided according to the speed interval where the time overlap occurs, for example, the overlap between the speed intervals #3 and #5 is used as a new time range, that is, the speed interval #3 is divided into two parts of 00:00 to 08:00 and 08:00 to 09:00, similarly, the speed interval #4 is divided into three parts of 09:00 to 11:30, 11:30 to 15:00 and 15:00 to 19:00, and the speed interval #3 of the time range 19:00 to 24:00 is not overlapped with other speed intervals for transmission, and can be used as an independent time range. In this way, the delivery vehicle of the vehicle type β is divided into 6 time periods for 24 hours a day, and the 6 time periods correspond to the 6 time ranges described above.

According to the above division manner, the correspondence among the vehicle type, the time zone, the reference speed, and the congestion area as shown in table 4 can be obtained, wherein for the delivery vehicle of the vehicle type α, 24 hours per day is divided into 3 time zones of IDs 1 to 3, and the 3 time zones are continuous in time and do not overlap each other. For another example, for a delivery vehicle of a vehicle type β, 24 hours per day is divided into 6 time periods of IDs 4 to 9, and the 6 time periods are continuous in time and do not overlap each other. In addition, the total speed in table 4 represents the reference speed corresponding to each time segment under the condition of no running limit and no congestion, and table 4 also gives the reference speed of the corresponding restricted traffic and congestion area under the condition of the existence of limit and/or congestion; a to E in table 4 represent the restricted traffic and the congested area in the target area, respectively.

TABLE 4

Fig. 4 shows a process of organizing the area restriction and congestion definition data according to the vehicle type and the time slot to obtain the data shown in table 4, which specifically includes the steps of:

the area restriction and congestion definition data, for example, the data shown in tables 2 and 3, are read in 401.

402, the processes of area restriction and congestion definition of 403 to 405 are repeatedly executed for each vehicle type.

403-405, taking the starting time and the ending time of all time ranges of corresponding vehicle types between 00: 00-24: 00 of each natural day as boundaries, taking every two adjacent boundaries as a time period, and repeatedly executing the following processing in the newly divided time periods: the speed setting for the new time slot is obtained as shown in table 2, and then the vehicle type, the newly divided time slot, the total speed, the relevant restricted area range, and the speed are recorded as one line, thereby obtaining the data as shown in table 4.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, in the step S12, the embodiment of the present invention may further obtain information about traffic status of each of the plurality of time periods between the plurality of sites and information about routes between the plurality of sites; then, map information including the traveling speed of the delivery vehicle through the route is generated for each of the plurality of types of delivery vehicles and for each of the plurality of time slots based on the information on the traffic state corresponding to the type of the delivery vehicle for each of the time slots between the plurality of sites. The map information may be stored in a table form shown in table 4. Specifically, referring to fig. 5, an example of a detailed step of generating the map information includes:

the map data and the area limitation and congestion definition data are read 501.

Specifically, the map data may include information such as various road data of the target area, and the area restriction and congestion definition data may be geographical position coordinate information of the restricted and congested area as shown in table 1 and combination data of the area restriction and congestion definition and the vehicle type and time slot as shown in table 4.

502 to 506, the following processing is repeatedly executed for table 4:

the following processes are repeated for all roads in the map information, respectively:

judging whether the current road relates to a restricted and congested area in a corresponding time slot: if so, setting the speed of the road according to the regional speed defined by the corresponding regional limitation (such as restriction) and congestion, otherwise, setting the speed of the road according to the total speed defined by the corresponding regional limitation and congestion.

At 507, a map including the area restrictions and the congestion definitions is generated according to the vehicle type and the time zone, and the map includes the traveling speed of the delivery vehicle through the route and is stored in correspondence with each line in table 4.

In the above steps 502 to 506, the embodiment of the present invention may further set the corresponding traveling speed in the map information according to the congestion area and the restricted area. In particular, the method comprises the following steps of,

in the case where there is a route that enters a congestion definition area determined based on the type of the delivery vehicle and the time zone among the plurality of routes, the travel speed of the type of the delivery vehicle that enters the congestion definition area is set to the area speed of the congestion definition area, for example, the area speed of the congestion definition area shown in table 4.

And setting a travel speed of a delivery vehicle type entering a no travel area to 0 when there is a route entering the no travel area determined according to the type of the delivery vehicle and the time period among the plurality of routes for the travel speed of each of the delivery vehicle types passing through the plurality of routes for each of the plurality of time periods. For example, the travel speed in the restricted area shown in table 4 is set to 0.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the cost matrix is generated in step S12, the travel time required for traveling the plurality of routes between the plurality of points corresponding to the type of the delivery vehicle for each of the plurality of time slots may be calculated based on the map information and recorded as the plurality of cost matrices. In this way, a cost matrix may be generated for each combination of the type of delivery vehicle, the route, and the time period, respectively, to represent the time cost (and also the distance cost) required for the delivery vehicle in the combination to travel the route during the time period. An example of the cost matrix is shown in table 6 below. As can be seen from table 6, the cost matrix includes the travel time and travel distance required for the delivery vehicle to travel the corresponding route between any two locations in the corresponding time period.

Specifically, referring to fig. 6, an example of the detailed steps of generating the cost matrix includes:

601 reads the area restriction and congestion definition data shown in tables 1 and 4, and reads the site master table data, which is shown in table 5 as one form and includes information such as geographical position coordinates and business hours of each site.

According to the roll name

Latitude

Mild degree of

Region(s)

Business start time

End time of business

…

Storage house

110.12

23.36

Z city center

7:00

22:00

…

According to point A

112.83

23.46

Z city center

8:00

17:00

…

According to point B

113.25

23.21

East of Z City

8:30

20:00

…

TABLE 5

602, for each row in the congestion area restriction definition table in table 4 for different vehicle types and time periods, the following steps 603 to 510 are performed, respectively,

603, obtaining the corresponding map data generated in fig. 4;

604-610, repeatedly executing the following processing according to the region limitation and the congestion time period of the response vehicle type: all combinations of two base points i and j are extracted from the base point main table (except that i ═ j), then, a travel route between the base points i and j is obtained from the map, the travel time and the travel distance between the base points i and j are calculated using the corresponding speed definitions, then, whether the base points i and j fall into the area restriction and congestion definition areas in table 1 or not is judged, and in the case that the judgment result is yes, the travel time in the area restriction and congestion definition areas needs to be corrected. After all the combinations of the base points i and j are processed, the travel time and the travel distance of all the combinations of the base points i and j are associated and stored as the area restriction and congestion definition data (shown in table 7) as the cost matrix shown in table 6. Parameters such as "cost matrix data 1_1_ 1" in column 4 of table 7 are used to indicate an index of a cost matrix, an example of which is shown in table 6.

As can be seen from the flow shown in fig. 6, in generating the cost matrix, the time span is not considered, and the travel time and the travel distance in the cost matrix are calculated based on the traffic state of the delivery vehicle corresponding to a certain specific time period.

TABLE 6

TABLE 7

In addition, there may be many routes between two sites, and according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to simplify the processing, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for each of the time periods, the reference speed of the vehicle on each road in the time period is respectively distributed as the expected speed on each road corresponding to the time period, then at least one route with the best cost between the two sites corresponding to the time period is calculated according to the expected speed, and then the routes between the two sites in S11 are obtained according to the calculated routes for each time period. The cost optimization can be the least time or distance or the lowest cost considering both time and distance. It should be noted that, when calculating the route corresponding to each time segment, even if the travel time required for the route between two points exceeds the duration of the time segment, the expected speed is still determined according to the reference speed of the delivery vehicle on each road in the time segment, without considering the speed variation problem which may occur across the time segment.

Table 8 shows an example of a plurality of delivery tasks, wherein each row represents a delivery task, and each delivery task includes a start point, an end point, and requirements for a transaction duration and a delivery duration, and further includes a total volume, a total weight, and a requirement for a vehicle type of the delivery task.

Date

Departure place

Arrival place

Transaction deadline

Delivery deadline

Total volume

The gross weight is the most

Vehicle type restriction

2020/3/1

Storage house

According to point i

-

1.20m³

200kg

-

2020/3/1

Storage house

According to point j

-

0.18m³

180kg

-

2020/3/1

Storage house

According to point k

09:00

17:00

0.11m³

110kg

-

2020/3/1

Storage house

According to point l

09:00

17:00

0.9m³

72kg

α

2020/3/2

…

TABLE 8

Table 9 shows an example of the vehicle master table of the delivery vehicle, which specifically includes the unique identifier (vehicle ID) of each vehicle, the vehicle type, the driver, and the attributes of the volume and weight of the vehicle, and further includes the departure point and the end point of the vehicle (i.e., the point that needs to be returned after the delivery task is completed), and the usage fee. The usage fee reflects the usage cost of the vehicle.

Vehicle ID

Vehicle model

Driver's seat

Departure place

Ending point

Upper limit of volume

Upper limit of weight

Departure time

End time

Use fee

A0123

α

Michael

Storage house

Cabin outstanding

6m³

1,500kg

8:00

20:00

900 yuan/day

B2345

β

John

Storage house

15m³

30,000kg

8:00

20:00

1,500 yuan/day

C4567

γ

Dona

Storage house

18m³

40,000kg

8:00

21:00

20,00 yuan/day

…

TABLE 9

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, when a certain delivery vehicle (for example, a first delivery vehicle) includes a route having a travel restriction in a plurality of routes for delivering the first delivery job, and the first delivery vehicle delivers the first delivery job in a travel-restricted time zone of the travel-restricted route, a travel distance of the first delivery vehicle in a time period until the travel-restricted time zone ends is set to 0 based on a cost matrix selected based on the travel-restricted route, a type of the first delivery vehicle, and the travel-restricted time zone,

in the embodiment of the invention, the route from one data point i to another data point k can be calculated by adopting a forward calculation mode and a reverse calculation mode. The forward calculation takes the departure time of the base point i as the calculation starting time to calculate the time and the route of reaching the base point k, and the reverse calculation takes the arrival time of the base point k as the calculation starting time to calculate the departure time and the route of the base point i in the reverse direction.

According to at least one embodiment of the invention, the plurality of cost matrices further comprises travel distances required to travel the plurality of routes.

Taking the forward calculation as an example, the step of calculating the first travel time for distributing the first distribution task through the first route in step S13 may specifically include:

when the starting time from the first distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting the first time period including the starting time from the first distribution site as a current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the first route as the driving distance required for driving the first route recorded in the first cost matrix;

calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the first cost matrix with the departure time as a first reference;

when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the first route according to the driving distance in the current time periodThe current time period after updating is set as a second time period T which is the next time period connected with the current time period before updating_j(ii) a Calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the second cost matrix with a time at which the second time period starts as a second reference;

and when the travel distance in the current time period meets the residual distance, calculating the first travel time for distributing the first distribution tasks through the first route according to the calculated travel time in each time period.

Taking a forward calculation as an example, the step of calculating the second travel time for distributing the first distribution job via the second route in step S14 includes:

when the time of departure from the first distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting a time period including the time of departure from the first distribution site as the current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the second route as the driving distance required for driving the second route recorded in the third cost matrix;

calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the second route based on the third cost matrix with the departure time as a third reference;

when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the remaining distance of the second route and the current time period according to the driving distance in the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as a second time period which is the next time period connected with the current time period before updating; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the second route based on the fourth cost matrix with the time when the second time period starts as a fourth reference;

and when the travel distance in the current time period meets the residual distance, calculating the second travel time for distributing the first distribution tasks through the second route according to the calculated travel time in each time period.

The first time zone is a time zone to which the point of departure from the first delivery site belongs, and when the first delivery job is delivered, the first delivery job may be completed within the first time zone, and in this case, the travel time within the second time zone is 0.

Taking a reverse calculation as an example, the step of calculating the first travel time for distributing the first distribution task through the first route in step S13 includes:

when the time of arriving at the second distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting the first time period including the time of arriving at the second distribution site as a current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the first route as the driving distance required for driving the first route recorded in the first cost matrix;

calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on a first cost matrix with the arrival time as a fifth reference;

when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the remaining distance of the first route and the current time period according to the driving distance in the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as a previous time period (a second time period) connected with the current time period before updating; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the second cost matrix with a time at which the second time period ends as a sixth reference;

Taking a reverse calculation as an example, the step of calculating the second travel time for distributing the first distribution job via the second route in step S14 includes:

when the time of arrival at the second distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting the first time period including the time of arrival at the second distribution site as the current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the second route as the driving distance required for driving the second route recorded in the third cost matrix;

calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the second route based on the third cost matrix with the arrival time as a seventh reference;

when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the remaining distance of the second route and the current time period according to the driving distance in the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as the last time period connected with the current time period before updating, namely the second time period; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the second route based on the fourth cost matrix with a time at which the second time period ends as an eighth reference;

It should be noted that, in the reverse calculation, the first time period is a time period to which the time of arrival at the second distribution site belongs, and when the first distribution task is distributed, the first distribution task may be completed within the first time period, and at this time, the travel time within the second time period is 0.

The embodiment of the invention calculates a certain route (assumed to be the route R) in a forward or reverse mode_iHere, the route may be the first route in the above-described step S13 or the second route in the above-described step S14) to distribute the travel time (assumed to be the travel time of the first distribution task

) The specific mode of (3) can also be expressed as:

A) taking the forward calculation as an example, calculating the route R_iTravel time for dispatching first dispatching task

The method specifically comprises the following steps:

A1) setting a time period including a time point of departure from the first distribution site as a current time period T when the time point of departure from the first distribution site in the first distribution task is determined_jAnd initializing said route R_iIs the cost matrix

Is recorded to travel the route R_iThe required distance to travel.

A2) Based on a cost matrix by taking the departure time as a first reference

Is calculated on the route R_iCurrent time period T_jTravel time in

And at the current time period T_jIs in the middle of the travel distance.

Here, as one implementation, the current time period T is calculated_jThe current time period T can be calculated_jThe remaining time in (2) and the cost matrix

Is recorded to travel the route R_iA first ratio of required travel times, and then comparing the first ratio to the cost matrix

Is recorded to travel the route R_iMultiplying the required running distance to obtain the current time period T_jMaximum distance to empty in. According to whether the maximum distance to empty is greater than or equal to the route R_iDetermining the remaining distance in the current time period T_jWhether the travel distance in (1) satisfies the remaining distance:

if so, the remaining distance and the cost matrix can be used

Is recorded to travel the route R_iA second ratio of the required distance travelled, which is then compared to the cost matrix

Is recorded to travel the route R_iMultiplying the required running time to obtain the current time period T_jAnd, taking the remaining distance as the current time period T_jA distance traveled;

otherwise, taking the maximum distance to be travelled as the current time period T_jThen subtracting the maximum distance to be traveled from the remaining distance to obtain an updated remaining distance; and taking the remaining time of the current time period as the travel time in the current time period.

Here, the remaining time of the current time zone is a time zone in which the starting time of the current time zone is set as the starting point and the ending time of the current time zone is set as the ending point.

For example, assuming that the time period at that time is 10:00 to 12:00 and the departure time from the base point B is 11:30, the travel distance to the warehouse recorded in the cost matrix shown in table 6 is 60 minutes, and the remaining time of the current time period is 30 minutes, and the first ratio to the travel time (60 minutes) recorded in the cost matrix is 0.5, so that it can be calculated that the maximum possible travel distance of the delivery vehicle in the remaining 30 minutes of the time period is 0.5 × 100 kilometers, and if the remaining distance of the route is 20 kilometers and is less than or equal to 50 kilometers, it can be determined that the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance. At this time, the remaining distance of the route is 20 km, and the second ratio to the travel distance (100 km) recorded in the cost matrix is 0.2, so that it can be calculated that the travel time of the delivery vehicle in the time zone is 0.2 × 60 to 12 minutes, and the travel distance in the time zone is the remaining distance, i.e., 20 km.

As another implementation, the current time period T is calculated_jThe following can be also processed when the vehicle travels for the following time and distance:

calculating the route R_iAnd the cost matrix

Is recorded to travel the route R_iMultiplying the required travel time to obtain the required travel time of the remaining distance; depending on whether the time required to travel the remaining distance is less than or equal to the current time period T_jThe remaining time in (1), determining the current time period T_jWhether the travel distance in (1) satisfies the remaining distance:

if yes, taking the time required for driving the residual distance as the current time period T_jAnd, taking the remaining distance as the current time period T_jA distance traveled;

otherwise, calculate whenFront time period T_jThe remaining time in (2) and the cost matrix

Is recorded to travel the route R_iMultiplying the required running distance to obtain the current time period T_jAnd the remaining time of the current time period is taken as the travel time in the current time period.

A3) When in the current time period T_jWhen the running distance in (1) satisfies the remaining distance, the route R is calculated to pass through according to the calculated running time in each time period_iTravel time for distributing the first distribution task

A4) When in the current time period T_jUntil the current time period T is reached, the following steps are repeatedly executed when the running distance in (1) does not satisfy the remaining distance_jThe travel distance in (1) satisfies the remaining distance: according to the current time period T_jUpdating the route R_iAnd the current time period T_jWherein the updated current time period is equal to the current time period T before updating_jThe next time segment of the connection; at the current time period T_jThe starting time is the second reference based on the cost matrix

Is calculated on the route R_iCurrent time period T_jTravel time in

And at the current time period T_jIs in the middle of the travel distance.

Here, in the current period T_jIs less than the route R_iThe maximum travelable distance is taken as the current time period T_jThen subtracting the running distance from the remaining distance to obtain an updated remaining distance; and taking the remaining time of the current time period as the running time in the current time period, then taking the next time period of the current time period as a new current time period, taking the starting time of the new current time period as a new starting time, continuously judging whether the running distance in the new current time period meets the remaining distance, and so on until the remaining distance can be completed in a certain time period.

B) Taking the reverse calculation as an example, calculating the path R_iTravel time for dispatching first dispatching task

The method specifically comprises the following steps:

B1) setting a time period including the time of arrival at the second distribution site as a current time period T when the time of arrival at the second distribution site in the first distribution task is determined_jAnd initializing said route R_iIs the cost matrix

Is recorded to travel the route R_iThe required distance to travel.

B2) Taking the arrival time as a third reference and based on a cost matrix

Is calculated on the route R_iCurrent time period T_jTravel time in

And at the current time period T_jIs in the middle of the travel distance.

Similarly, as an exampleNow, in the calculation of the current time period T_jThe current time period T can be calculated_jThe remaining time in (2) and the cost matrix

Is recorded to travel the route R_iMultiplying the required running distance to obtain the current time period T_jMaximum distance to empty in. According to whether the maximum distance to empty is greater than or equal to the route R_iDetermining the remaining distance in the current time period T_jIs satisfied with the remaining distance. Unlike step a2, the remaining time is a period of time starting at the arrival time and ending at the start time of the current period of time.

If in the current time period T_jIf the distance traveled in (1) satisfies the remaining distance, the cost matrix may be determined based on the remaining distance and the cost matrix

otherwise, taking the maximum distance to be travelled as the current time period T_jThen subtracting the maximum distance to be traveled from the remaining distance to obtain an updated remaining distance; andand taking the remaining time of the current time period as the running time in the current time period.

For example, assuming that the travel time from the point B to the warehouse recorded in the cost matrix shown in table 6 is 60 minutes and the travel distance is 10:00 to 12:00 at the time and the arrival time is 10:30, the remaining time of the current time period is 30 minutes, and the first ratio to the travel time (60 minutes) recorded in the cost matrix is 0.5, so that it can be calculated that the maximum travel distance of the delivery vehicle in the remaining 30 minutes of the time period is 0.5 × 100 to 50 km, and if the remaining distance of the route is 20 km and is less than or equal to 50 km, it can be determined that the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance.

calculating the route R_iAnd the cost matrix

Is recorded to travel the route R_iMultiplying the required travel time to obtain the required travel time of the remaining distance; depending on whether the time required to travel the remaining distance is less than or equal to the current time period T_jThe remaining time in (1), determining the current time period T_jIs different from the above step a2, the remaining time here is a period of time starting from the arrival time and ending with the start time of the current period of time:

if yes, taking the time required for driving the residual distance as the current time period T_jAnd, taking the remaining distance as the current timeTime period T_jA distance traveled;

otherwise, calculating the current time period T_jThe remaining time in (2) and the cost matrix

B3) When in the current time period T_jWhen the running distance in (1) satisfies the remaining distance, the route R is calculated to pass through according to the calculated running time in each time period_iTravel time for distributing the first distribution task

B4) When in the current time period T_jUntil the current time period T is reached, the following steps are repeatedly executed when the running distance in (1) does not satisfy the remaining distance_jThe travel distance in (1) satisfies the remaining distance: according to the current time period T_jUpdating the route R_iAnd the current time period T_jWherein the updated current time period is equal to the current time period T before updating_jThe last time segment of the connection; at the current time period T_jThe time of the end is the fourth reference based on the cost matrix

Is calculated on the route R_iCurrent time period T_jTravel time in

And at the current time period T_jIs in the middle of the travel distance.

Here, in the current period T_jIs less than the route R_iThe maximum travelable distance is taken as the current time period T_jThen subtracting the running distance from the remaining distance to obtain an updated remaining distance; and taking the remaining time of the current time period as the running time in the current time period, then taking the previous time period of the current time period as a new current time period, taking the end time of the new current time period as a new arrival time, continuously judging whether the running distance in the new current time period meets the remaining distance, and so on until the remaining distance can be completed in a certain time period.

An example of a process flow for finding a route from points i to k by departure time in a forward calculation manner for a certain type of delivery vehicle will be described further below with reference to fig. 7, in which it is assumed that only a congested area and no restricted travel area may exist in the route from i to k. As shown in fig. 7, the process includes:

data reading 701 includes reading in zone restriction and congestion definition data of the corresponding vehicle, as shown in tables 4, 6, and 7, and reading in delivery task data, as shown in table 8.

In the process of generating a delivery plan for a plurality of delivery tasks by the VRP algorithm, the vehicle type information of the inserted task k is acquired 702, and can be specifically acquired from the vehicle master table shown in table 9.

703, the processing of the following steps 704 to 710 is repeatedly executed in accordance with the map type of the corresponding vehicle type (as shown in table 7).

704, the processing of the following steps 705 to 708 is repeated in the order of the time slots of the corresponding map from the departure time slot of the point i (i.e., the time slot to which the departure time belongs).

705, the driving time required for the remaining distance l of the route from point i to k is calculated, wherein the initial value of the remaining distance is the distance from i to k in the corresponding map, and the initial value of the total driving time is 0. Here, the travel time required at the completion of the remaining distance may be calculated based on the remaining distance and the travel speed of the delivery vehicle in the corresponding time period.

706, according to the driving time calculated in 705, it is determined whether the point k can be reached in the corresponding time period, if yes, 709 is entered, otherwise 707 is entered. Here, the manner of determining whether or not the vehicle can arrive at the corresponding time slot may refer to the foregoing step a2, for example, whether or not the vehicle can arrive at the corresponding time slot is determined according to whether or not the maximum distance to empty within the corresponding time slot is greater than or equal to the remaining distance.

707, regarding the travel until the end time of the corresponding time period, the time until the end of the corresponding time period is taken as the travel time of the corresponding time period and added to the total travel time to update the total travel time, and the remaining distance is calculated and updated. Specifically, the travel distance in the corresponding time period may be calculated based on the travel time in the corresponding time period and the travel speed of the delivery vehicle, and then the travel distance may be subtracted from the remaining distance to update the remaining distance.

The end time of the corresponding time period is recorded as the departure time of the next time period 708.

709, the travel time calculated in 705 is added to the total travel time to update the total travel time.

The total travel time for the map is recorded 710.

711, a map with the shortest travel time is selected, and i to k routes and the total travel time of the map are fed back.

An example of a process flow for finding a route from points i to k by departure time for a certain type of delivery vehicle will be described further below with reference to fig. 8, in which it is assumed that there may be a congested area and a restricted travel area in the route from i to k. As shown in fig. 8, the process includes:

data reading 801 includes reading in zone restriction and congestion definition data for the respective vehicle, as shown in tables 4, 6 and 7, and reading in delivery task data, as shown in table 8.

802, optionally, the calculation direction and the calculation start time may also be set here. In the embodiment of the invention, the routes from the data points i to k can be calculated by adopting a forward calculation mode and a reverse calculation mode. The forward calculation takes the departure time of the base point i as the calculation starting time to calculate the time and the route of reaching the base point k, and the reverse calculation takes the arrival time of the base point k as the calculation starting time to calculate the departure time and the route of the base point i in the reverse direction.

Fig. 9 shows an example of setting the calculation direction and the calculation start time, and it is first determined whether or not the departure time has been specified by the insertion of task k, and if so, the calculation direction is set to the forward direction and the calculation start time is set to the departure time, otherwise, the calculation direction is set to the reverse direction and the calculation start time is set to the arrival time.

803, in the process of generating a delivery plan for a plurality of delivery tasks by the VRP algorithm, the vehicle type information of the insertion task k is acquired, and can be specifically acquired from the vehicle master table shown in table 9.

804, the following steps 805 to 815 are repeatedly executed according to the map type of the corresponding vehicle type (as shown in table 7).

805, advance the time period in the calculation direction (e.g., forward or reverse) from the calculation start time, read in the corresponding cost matrix data, and repeatedly perform the following processes of steps 806-814. Here, if it is a forward advance time period, the adjacent time periods after the current time period are taken one by one; if the time period is the reverse advance time period, the adjacent time periods before the current time period are taken one by one.

806, calculating the travel time required for the remaining distance l of the route from the point i to the point k according to the data as the cost matrix, wherein the initial value of the remaining distance is the distance from the point i to the point k in the corresponding map, and the initial value of the total travel time is 0.

807, it is determined whether the driving time calculated in 806 is infinite, where infinite represents that driving is limited in the current time period, if so, then 808 is entered, otherwise, 809 is entered.

808, regarding the forward calculation, taking the time until the end time of the corresponding time period as the travel time, as the travel time of the corresponding time period, and adding the total travel time to update the total travel time and update the remaining distance, and then proceeding to step 812; for the reverse calculation, the time until the start time of the corresponding time zone is taken as the travel time of the corresponding time zone and added to the total travel time to update the total travel time and update the remaining distance, and then the process proceeds to step 814. Here, since the travel is restricted, the remaining distance is not changed.

809, based on the travel time calculated in 806, it is determined whether the time can arrive at the corresponding time slot, if yes, the process proceeds to 810, if no, the process proceeds to 811 in the forward calculation, and the process proceeds to 813 in the reverse calculation. Here, the manner of determining whether or not the arrival at the corresponding time zone can be made may refer to the foregoing step a2 or B2, for example, whether or not the arrival at the corresponding time zone can be made according to whether or not the maximum travelable distance within the corresponding time zone is greater than or equal to the remaining distance, or whether or not the arrival at the corresponding time zone can be made according to whether or not the required time to travel the remaining distance is less than or equal to the remaining time in the corresponding time zone.

The travel time calculated in 806 is added to the total travel time 810 to update the total travel time.

811, the travel time is added to the total travel time for the travel until the end time of the time period to update the total travel time, and the remaining distance is calculated and updated.

And 812, recording the end time of the corresponding time period as the starting time of the next time period.

813, in regard to the travel up to the start time of the time period, adds the travel time to the total travel time to update the total travel time, and calculates and updates the remaining distance.

814, recording the starting time of the corresponding time period as the arrival time of the previous time period.

815, recording the total travel time of the map.

816, the map with the shortest total travel time is selected, and the i to k routes and the total travel time of the map are fed back.

As can be seen from step 808 of fig. 8, in a case where a certain delivery vehicle (e.g., a first delivery vehicle) includes a travel-restricted route in a plurality of routes for delivering the first delivery job, when the first delivery vehicle delivers the first delivery job in a travel-restricted time zone of the travel-restricted route, the embodiment of the present invention sets a travel distance of the first delivery vehicle in a time until the travel-restricted time zone ends to 0 based on a cost matrix selected based on the travel-restricted route, a type of the first delivery vehicle, and the travel-restricted time zone,

an example of a process flow for finding a route from points k to j by departure time in a backward calculation manner for a certain type of delivery vehicle will be described further below with reference to fig. 10, in which it is assumed that only a congested area and no restricted travel area may exist in the route from k to j. As shown in fig. 10, the process includes:

data reading 1001 includes reading area restriction and congestion definition data of the corresponding vehicle, as shown in tables 4, 6, and 7, and reading delivery task data, as shown in table 8.

In the process of generating a delivery plan for a plurality of delivery tasks by the VRP algorithm 1002, the vehicle type information of the insertion task k is acquired, and specifically, can be acquired from the vehicle master table shown in table 9.

1003, the following processes of steps 1004 to 1010 are repeatedly executed according to the map type of the corresponding vehicle type (as shown in table 7).

1004, from the arrival time segment of the base point j (i.e. the time segment to which the arrival time belongs), the following steps 1005 to 1008 are repeated in accordance with the time segment sequence of the corresponding map.

And 1005, calculating the driving time required by the remaining distance l of the route from the points k to j, wherein the initial value of the remaining distance is the distance from k to j in the corresponding map, and the initial value of the total driving time is 0. Here, the travel time required at the completion of the remaining distance may be calculated based on the remaining distance and the travel speed of the delivery vehicle in the corresponding time period.

1006, according to the running time calculated in 1005, determining whether the vehicle can arrive at the corresponding time period, if so, entering 1009, otherwise, entering 1007. Here, the manner of determining whether or not the arrival in the corresponding time zone can be made may refer to the foregoing step B2, for example, whether or not the arrival in the corresponding time zone can be made depending on whether or not the time required for traveling the remaining distance is less than or equal to the remaining time in the corresponding time zone.

1007, for traveling from the start time of the time period to the calculation start time (refer to the explanation of fig. 9, where the calculation start time is the arrival time) to the end time of the corresponding time period, the traveling time of the traveling is added to the total traveling time to update the total traveling time, and the remaining distance is calculated and updated. Specifically, the travel distance in the corresponding time period may be calculated based on the travel time in the corresponding time period and the travel speed of the delivery vehicle, and then the travel distance may be subtracted from the remaining distance to update the remaining distance.

The start time of the corresponding time slot is recorded 1008 as the arrival time of the next time slot.

1009, the travel time calculated in 1005 is added to the total travel time to update the total travel time.

The total travel time of the map is recorded 1010.

1011, selecting the map with the shortest travel time, and feeding back the i to k route and the total travel time of the map.

An example of a process flow for finding a route from points k to j by departure time in a backward calculation manner for a certain type of delivery vehicle will be described further below with reference to fig. 11, in which it is assumed that there may be a congested area and a restricted travel area in the route from k to j. As shown in fig. 11, the process includes:

data reading 1101 includes reading zone restriction and congestion definition data of the corresponding vehicle, as shown in tables 4, 6 and 7, and reading delivery task data, as shown in table 8.

1102, optionally, the calculation direction and the calculation start time may also be set here. In the embodiment of the invention, the routes of the data points k to j can be calculated by adopting a forward calculation mode and a reverse calculation mode. The forward calculation takes the departure time of the data point k as the calculation starting time to calculate the time and the route of reaching the data point j, and the reverse calculation takes the arrival time of the data point j as the calculation starting time to calculate the departure time and the route of the data point k in the reverse direction. It is assumed here that the reverse calculation direction is set.

1103, in the process of generating a delivery plan for a plurality of delivery tasks by the VRP algorithm, the vehicle type information of the delivery tasks inserted into the site k is acquired, and specifically, it can be acquired from the vehicle master table shown in table 9.

1104, the processing of the following steps 1105 to 1113 is repeatedly executed according to the map type of the corresponding vehicle type (as shown in table 7).

1105, from the start time of the calculation, advancing the time period along the calculation direction (such as forward or backward direction), reading in the corresponding cost matrix data, and repeatedly executing the following steps 1106-1112. Here, if it is a forward advance time period, the adjacent time periods after the current time period are taken one by one; if the time period is the reverse advance time period, the adjacent time periods before the current time period are taken one by one.

1106, calculating the driving time required by the remaining distance l of the route from the points k to j, wherein the initial value of the remaining distance is the distance from k to j in the corresponding map, and the initial value of the total driving time is 0.

1107, determine whether the travel time calculated in 1106 is infinite, where infinite represents that travel is limited in the current time period, if so, enter 1111, otherwise, enter 1108.

1108, according to the running time calculated in 1106, it is determined whether the time can arrive at the corresponding time period, if so, 1109 is entered, otherwise, 1110 is entered. Here, the manner of determining whether or not the corresponding time zone can be reached may refer to the foregoing step B2, for example, whether or not the corresponding time zone can be reached is determined according to whether or not the time required to travel the remaining distance is less than or equal to the remaining time in the corresponding time zone.

Here, in step 1108, it is determined whether the arrival can be within the corresponding time period, and there are different determination manners for the forward and reverse calculations, for example, taking the forward calculation as an example, it is determined whether the arrival is before the end time of the time period, which is the time when the arrival is at the data point k; taking the reverse calculation as an example, the judgment of arrival or not refers to determining the departure time from the station i according to the arrival time of the station k and the travel time calculated in the step 806, and judging whether arrival can be achieved in the time slot according to whether the departure time is after the start time of the time slot or not.

1109, the travel time calculated in 1106 is added to the total travel time to update the total travel time.

1110, for the travel from the start time of the time zone until the calculation start time, the travel time of the travel is taken as the travel time of the corresponding time zone and added to the total travel time to update the total travel time, and the remaining distance is calculated and updated. Specifically, the travel distance in the corresponding time period may be calculated based on the travel time in the corresponding time period and the travel speed of the delivery vehicle, and then the travel distance may be subtracted from the remaining distance to update the remaining distance.

1111, the travel from the start time of the time slot to the calculation start time is added to the total travel time as the travel time of the corresponding time slot to update the total travel time and update the remaining distance, and then the routine proceeds to 1112. Here, since the travel is restricted, the remaining distance is not changed.

The start time of the time slot is recorded as the arrival time of the next time slot 1112.

1113, recording the total travel time of the map.

1114, a map with the shortest total travel time is selected, and k to j routes and the total travel time of the map are fed back.

According to at least one embodiment of the invention, when the distribution plan is generated, the VRP algorithm generally inserts a distribution task of a new site between two sites of the generated distribution plan, and updates the distribution plan according to the inserted new distribution task. Fig. 12 is a schematic flow chart of a process of inserting a delivery task of another site k between sites i and j according to an embodiment of the present invention, that is, a currently generated delivery plan set includes a certain delivery task from site i to site j, and fig. 12 is a schematic flow chart of inserting a delivery task of another site k between sites i and j.

As shown in fig. 12, the process includes:

1201, data reading, including reading in zone restriction and congestion definition data for the respective vehicle, as shown in tables 4, 6 and 7, and reading in delivery task data, as shown in table 8.

1202, a delivery plan for the corresponding vehicle that has been currently generated before the delivery task inserted at site k is obtained.

1203, judging whether the delivery plan violates the vehicle type limit of the delivery task of the base k, namely, whether the vehicle type of the delivery plan is not matched with the vehicle type required by the delivery task of the base k, if so, entering 1208, otherwise, entering 1204.

When the delivery task at the site k is inserted into the current delivery plan, the optimal route between the sites i and k is found 1204, and the specific finding manner can refer to the description of fig. 7 or fig. 8.

1205, when the delivery task of the site k is inserted into the current delivery plan, the optimal route between the sites k and j is found, and the specific finding manner can refer to the description of fig. 7 or fig. 8.

1206, judging whether the time limit of the base point k is violated when the distribution task of the base point k is distributed according to the optimal routes calculated in 1204 and 1205, if so, entering 1208, otherwise, entering 1207

1207, inserting the delivery task of the station k into the current delivery plan of the corresponding vehicle, updating the current delivery plan, and updating the delivery sequence.

1208, refusing the delivery task inserted into site k.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, at least one delivery plan may be generated for a plurality of delivery vehicles, and a delivery plan with the best cost may be selected from the delivery plans, specifically:

generating a first candidate delivery plan for distributing a plurality of delivery tasks to a plurality of delivery vehicles; then, calculating a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery vehicles are distributed using the determined route in the first candidate delivery plan; then, taking the sum of the respective total traveling time of each delivery vehicle in the first candidate delivery plan as the first total traveling time;

generating a second candidate delivery plan for assigning the plurality of delivery tasks to the plurality of delivery vehicles; then, calculating a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery vehicles are distributed using the determined route in the second candidate delivery plan; then, taking the sum of the respective total traveling times of each delivery vehicle in the second candidate delivery plan as the second total traveling time;

and comparing the first total travel time with the second total travel time to determine a delivery plan. For example, the delivery plan with the smallest total travel time is set as the candidate delivery plan.

According to other embodiments of the present invention, in addition to considering the travel time, the present invention may also consider more other costs, for example, the usage fee of each vehicle shown in table 9, and the like, in this case, the above distribution plan generating method according to the present invention further includes:

obtaining costs corresponding to the types of the plurality of delivery vehicles;

generating a first candidate delivery plan for distributing the plurality of delivery tasks to a plurality of delivery vehicles; then, calculating a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery vehicles are distributed using the determined route in the first candidate delivery plan; then, calculating a cost of the first candidate delivery plan based on the total travel time of each delivery vehicle in the first candidate delivery plan and a cost corresponding to the type of each delivery vehicle;

generating a second candidate delivery plan for assigning the plurality of delivery tasks to the plurality of delivery vehicles; calculating a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery is distributed using the determined route in the second candidate delivery plan; calculating a cost of the second candidate delivery plan based on a total travel time of each delivery vehicle in the second candidate delivery plan and a cost corresponding to a kind of each delivery vehicle;

and comparing the cost of the first candidate delivery plan with the cost of the second candidate delivery plan to determine a delivery plan.

Fig. 13 is a schematic flowchart of searching for an optimal route for all delivery purposes of a certain vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, where after a process is used to insert a delivery task at a location k between locations i and j in a current delivery route, a delivery cost is updated according to an updated delivery route, and a delivery plan of a certain vehicle includes delivery routes formed by delivery tasks sequentially executed by the delivery vehicle. As shown in fig. 13, the process specifically includes:

data reading 1301 includes reading in zone restriction and congestion definition data for the respective vehicle, as shown in tables 4, 6 and 7, and reading in delivery task data, as shown in table 8.

1302, a delivery plan for the corresponding vehicle is obtained before the delivery task is inserted.

1303 to 1304, starting from a station j in a delivery plan of a corresponding vehicle, repeatedly executing the following steps for each station until an end station of a route of the delivery plan: referring to the flow shown in fig. 7 or fig. 8, the best route of the next one of the two sites is found by the earliest departure time of the previous one of the two sites, and the earliest departure time of the corresponding site is corrected (i.e., the earliest departure time of the next site is updated to repeat the above steps).

1305 to 1306, from a station i in a delivery plan of the corresponding vehicle, repeatedly executing the following steps for each station until a starting station of a route of the delivery plan: by finding the best route from the previous one of the two bases to the next one of the two bases according to the latest arrival time of the next one of the two bases, the latest departure time of the previous base and the latest arrival time of the next base are obtained (i.e., the latest arrival time of the next base is updated to repeat the above steps), which can be referred to the flow shown in fig. 10 or fig. 11.

1307, based on the calculation results of the above steps, the insertion time period of the delivery job k can be determined, and the delivery cost of the delivery vehicle in the delivery plan can be calculated in combination with the fee information shown in table 9.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of an overall process for generating a vehicle distribution plan, as shown in fig. 14, which specifically includes the following steps:

1401, the area limitation and congestion definition data are arranged according to the vehicle type and the time period, and specifically, refer to fig. 4.

1402, a map including the area restriction and the congestion definition is generated, which may specifically refer to fig. 5.

1403, the vehicle for generating the cost matrix according to the area restriction and the congestion definition can specifically refer to fig. 6.

1404, repeating the iteration processing of 1405-1408 until reaching a preset upper limit of iteration times.

1405-1406, inserting the non-delivery tasks into the current delivery plan in order, and determining whether a new delivery route can be generated, as shown in FIG. 10. In the event that a new delivery route can be generated, proceed to 1407, otherwise, proceed to 1408.

1407, calculate the cost of the new delivery plan, as shown in fig. 12.

1408, it is determined that a new delivery route cannot be generated, at which point, it will return to step 1405 to continue to insert undelivered tasks into the delivery plan in turn.

1409, a vehicle distribution plan is output, where one or more distribution plans with optimal costs can be output according to the cost of each distribution plan.

Fig. 15 further shows a display form of the output delivery plan, for example, the locations where the delivery plan passes through in sequence and the vehicle types to be used may be displayed on a map, and a congestion area and/or a restricted area through which each delivery task passes may be displayed on the map. For another example, the travel distance and the travel time between the sites may be displayed by the coordinate axes of time and distance, or the change in the motion state of the vehicle between the respective sites may be displayed by the travel of the distribution schedule, or the like.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a device for implementing the method based on the following method.

Referring to fig. 16, a delivery plan generating apparatus 1600 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

an information acquisition unit 1601 configured to acquire information on types of a plurality of delivery vehicles, information on a plurality of routes between a plurality of destinations for each delivery vehicle including a route corresponding to each of the time slots between any two destinations, and information on traffic states in a plurality of time slots corresponding to each delivery vehicle;

a matrix acquisition unit 1602 configured to acquire a plurality of cost matrices including travel times required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to travel the plurality of routes in each time slot, for each combination of the types of the plurality of delivery vehicles, the plurality of routes, and the plurality of time slots;

a route selecting unit 1603, when a route for the first delivery vehicle to deliver the first delivery task from the first delivery site to the second delivery site included in the plurality of sites is selected:

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the first delivery vehicle includes a route having a travel limit among a plurality of routes for delivering the first delivery tasks;

the time calculation unit is further configured to set a travel distance of the first delivery vehicle in a time period until the travel-restricted time period ends to 0, based on a cost matrix selected based on the travel-restricted route, the type of the first delivery vehicle, and the travel-restricted time period, when the first delivery vehicle delivers the first delivery job in the travel-restricted time period of the travel-restricted route.

According to at least one embodiment of the invention, the plurality of cost matrices further comprises travel distances required to travel the plurality of routes;

the route selecting unit 1603 is further configured to, when calculating the first travel time for delivering the first delivery job via the first route: when the starting time from the first distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting the first time period including the starting time from the first distribution site as a current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the first route as the driving distance required for driving the first route recorded in the first cost matrix; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the first cost matrix with the departure time as a first reference; when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the remaining distance of the first route and the current time period according to the driving distance in the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as a second time period T which is the next time period connected with the current time period before updating_j(ii) a Calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the second cost matrix with a time at which the second time period starts as a second reference; when the travel distance in the current time period meets the remaining distance, calculating the first travel time for distributing the first distribution tasks through the first route according to the calculated travel time in each time period;

while calculating the second travel time to deliver the first delivery job through the second route: when the time of departure from the first distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting a time period including the time of departure from the first distribution site as the current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the second route as the driving distance required for driving the second route recorded in the third cost matrix; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the second route based on the third cost matrix with the departure time as a third reference; when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the remaining distance of the second route and the current time period according to the driving distance in the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as a second time period which is the next time period connected with the current time period before updating; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the second route based on the fourth cost matrix with the time when the second time period starts as a fourth reference; and when the travel distance in the current time period meets the residual distance, calculating the second travel time for distributing the first distribution tasks through the second route according to the calculated travel time in each time period.

the route selecting unit 1603 is further configured to, when calculating the first travel time for delivering the first delivery job via the first route: when the time of arriving at the second distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting the first time period including the time of arriving at the second distribution site as a current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the first route as the driving distance required for driving the first route recorded in the first cost matrix; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on a first cost matrix with the arrival time as a fifth reference; when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the remaining distance of the first route and the current time period according to the driving distance in the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as a previous time period (a second time period) connected with the current time period before updating; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the second cost matrix with a time at which the second time period ends as a sixth reference; when the travel distance in the current time period meets the remaining distance, calculating the first travel time for distributing the first distribution tasks through the first route according to the calculated travel time in each time period;

while calculating the second travel time to deliver the first delivery job through the second route: when the time of arrival at the second distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting the first time period including the time of arrival at the second distribution site as the current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the second route as the driving distance required for driving the second route recorded in the third cost matrix; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the second route based on the third cost matrix with the arrival time as a seventh reference; when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the remaining distance of the second route and the current time period according to the driving distance in the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as the last time period connected with the current time period before updating, namely the second time period; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the second route based on the fourth cost matrix with a time at which the second time period ends as an eighth reference; and when the travel distance in the current time period meets the residual distance, calculating the second travel time for distributing the first distribution tasks through the second route according to the calculated travel time in each time period.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the delivery plan generating apparatus further includes:

a first delivery plan allocating unit configured to generate a first candidate delivery plan for allocating a plurality of delivery tasks to the plurality of delivery vehicles;

a first cost calculation unit that calculates a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery is distributed using the determined route in the first candidate delivery plan; taking the sum of the respective total traveling time of each delivery vehicle in the first candidate delivery plan as the first total traveling time;

a second delivery plan allocating unit configured to generate a second candidate delivery plan for allocating the plurality of delivery tasks to the plurality of delivery vehicles;

a second cost calculation unit that calculates a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery is distributed using the determined route in the second candidate delivery plan; taking the sum of the respective total traveling times of each delivery vehicle in the second candidate delivery plan as the second total traveling time; and

and the delivery plan determining unit is used for comparing the first total travel time with the second total travel time to determine a delivery plan.

a cost information acquisition unit configured to acquire costs corresponding to the types of the plurality of delivery vehicles;

a first delivery plan allocating unit configured to generate a first candidate delivery plan for allocating the plurality of delivery tasks to the plurality of delivery vehicles;

a first cost calculation unit that calculates a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery is distributed using the determined route in the first candidate delivery plan; calculating a cost of the first candidate delivery plan based on a total travel time of each delivery vehicle in the first candidate delivery plan and a cost corresponding to a kind of each delivery vehicle;

a second cost calculation unit that calculates a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery is distributed using the determined route in the second candidate delivery plan; calculating a cost of the second candidate delivery plan based on a total travel time of each delivery vehicle in the second candidate delivery plan and a cost corresponding to a kind of each delivery vehicle;

a delivery plan determining unit for comparing the cost of the first candidate delivery plan with the cost of the second candidate delivery plan to determine a delivery plan.

a map information generating unit configured to acquire information on a traffic state for each of the plurality of time slots between the plurality of sites and information on a route between the plurality of sites; and generating map information including a travel speed of the delivery vehicle through the route for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles and for each of the plurality of time slots based on information on traffic conditions corresponding to the type of the delivery vehicle for each of the plurality of time slots between the plurality of sites.

a cost matrix generation unit configured to calculate, based on the map information, travel times required to travel a plurality of routes between the plurality of waypoints corresponding to the types of the delivery vehicles for each of the plurality of time periods, and record the travel times as the plurality of cost matrices.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the map information generating unit is further configured to: regarding the travel speed of each of the distribution vehicle types through the plurality of routes in each of the plurality of time periods, when there is a route that enters a congestion definition area determined according to the type of the distribution vehicle and the time period among the plurality of routes, the travel speed of the distribution vehicle type that enters the congestion definition area is set as an area speed of the congestion definition area.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the map information generating unit is further configured to: regarding the travel speed of each of the delivery vehicle types through the plurality of routes in each of the plurality of time periods, when there is a route that enters a travel-prohibited area determined according to the type of the delivery vehicle and the time period among the plurality of routes, the travel speed of the delivery vehicle type that enters the travel-prohibited area is set to 0.

There is also provided, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, a system for generating a delivery plan for delivering vehicles, including: the distribution plan generating method of any one of the above method embodiments is implemented by the computer program, and the same technical effect can be achieved, and details are not described herein to avoid repetition.

Fig. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the delivery plan generating system according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 17 illustrates a computer as an example. The computer 1700 is composed of a processor (CPU)1707, a main storage device 1706, a secondary storage device 1708, a main bus 1705, a video card 1704, a Network Interface Card (NIC)1703 (connected to a network through a network line 1701), and a video output port 1702. The computer 1700 can input and output data to and from the outside of the computer through the NIC 108, and can output a screen to an external display device through the video output port 1702. In an actual configuration, an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse may be included in addition to the modules listed in fig. 17. Here, the main storage device 1706 may be a memory of a computer, and the secondary storage device 1708 may be a hard disk (e.g., a mechanical hard disk HDD or a fixed hard disk SSD) of the computer.

Various input data and program modules required for the arithmetic processing of the embodiment of the present invention are stored in the secondary storage device 1708, such as a data input processing module 17081, a calculation condition setting processing module 17082, a cost matrix data module 17083, an optimal route search processing module 17084, an optimal solution search processing module 17085, a vehicle distribution plan output processing module 17086, a point master table module 179, a vehicle master table module 1710, a distribution task module 1711, a map module 1712 including area restriction and congestion information, an area restriction and congestion definition data module 1713, and a map data module 1714. When the arithmetic processing is executed, the data of the secondary storage device 106 is read as appropriate by the i/o/calculation execution processing module 121 in the main storage device 105, and the search processing is performed in combination with the above modules to output the delivery plan.

Next, another embodiment of the delivery plan generating system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram of fig. 18. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration in which a single computer 1700 is replaced with a server/client configuration in fig. 17, and 1 server and a plurality of client computers are used (only one client is shown). The server and the client may be substantially the same hardware configuration as the computer of fig. 17. That is, the CPU, the main storage device, the secondary storage device, the main bus, the video card, the Network Interface Card (NIC), the video output interface, and the like are provided. The server performs the arithmetic processing and the output processing shown in the method embodiments of the present invention in cooperation with the remote client via the intranet and the internet.

In some embodiments of the invention, there is also provided a computer readable storage medium having a program stored thereon, which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of:

When executed by the processor, the program can implement all implementation manners in the delivery plan generating method, and can achieve the same technical effect, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a U disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A delivery plan generating method, comprising:

2. The delivery plan generating method according to claim 1,

the first delivery vehicle includes a route with a travel limit among a plurality of routes for delivering the first delivery task;

when the first delivery vehicle delivers the first delivery job in the travel-restricted time zone of the travel-restricted route, a travel distance of the first delivery vehicle in a time period until the travel-restricted time zone ends is set to 0 based on a cost matrix selected based on the travel-restricted route, the type of the first delivery vehicle, and the travel-restricted time zone.

3. The delivery plan generating method according to claim 1,

the plurality of cost matrices further including travel distances required to travel the plurality of routes;

a step of calculating the first travel time for distributing the first distribution task through the first route, including:

when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the first time period based on the distance traveled in the current time periodA remaining distance of a route and the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as a second time period T which is a next time period connected with the current time period before updating_j(ii) a Calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the second cost matrix with a time at which the second time period starts as a second reference;

when the travel distance in the current time period meets the remaining distance, calculating the first travel time for distributing the first distribution tasks through the first route according to the calculated travel time in each time period;

the step of calculating the second travel time for distributing the first distribution task through the second route includes:

4. The delivery plan generating method according to claim 1,

5. The delivery plan generating method according to claim 1, further comprising:

generating a first candidate delivery plan for assigning a plurality of delivery tasks to a plurality of delivery vehicles;

a step of calculating a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery is distributed using the determined route in the first candidate delivery plan;

a step of setting a sum of respective total travel times of each delivery vehicle in the first candidate delivery plan as a first total travel time;

generating a second candidate delivery plan for assigning the plurality of delivery tasks to the plurality of delivery vehicles;

a step of calculating a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery is distributed using the determined route in the second candidate delivery plan;

a step of setting a sum of respective total travel times of each delivery vehicle in the second candidate delivery plan as a second total travel time; and

and comparing the first total travel time with the second total travel time to determine a delivery plan.

6. The delivery plan generating method according to claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring costs corresponding to the types of the plurality of delivery vehicles;

calculating a cost of the first candidate delivery plan based on a total travel time of each delivery vehicle in the first candidate delivery plan and a cost corresponding to a type of each delivery vehicle;

calculating a cost of the second candidate delivery plan based on a total travel time of each delivery vehicle in the second candidate delivery plan and a cost corresponding to a type of each delivery vehicle;

7. The delivery plan generating method according to claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring information on a traffic state for each of the plurality of time periods between the plurality of sites and information on a route between the plurality of sites; and

and generating map information including a traveling speed of the delivery vehicle through the route for each of the plurality of types of delivery vehicles and for each of the plurality of time slots, based on information on the traffic state corresponding to the type of the delivery vehicle for each of the time slots between the plurality of sites.

8. The delivery plan generating method according to claim 7, further comprising:

based on the map information, travel times required to travel a plurality of routes between the plurality of sites corresponding to the types of the delivery vehicles for each of the plurality of time periods are calculated and recorded as the plurality of cost matrices.

9. The delivery plan generating method according to claim 7,

regarding the travel speed of each of the distribution vehicle types through the plurality of routes in each of the plurality of time periods, when there is a route that enters a congestion definition area determined according to the type of the distribution vehicle and the time period among the plurality of routes, the travel speed of the distribution vehicle type that enters the congestion definition area is set as an area speed of the congestion definition area.

10. The delivery plan generating method according to claim 7,

regarding the travel speed of each of the delivery vehicle types through the plurality of routes in each of the plurality of time periods, when there is a route that enters a travel-prohibited area determined according to the type of the delivery vehicle and the time period among the plurality of routes, the travel speed of the delivery vehicle type that enters the travel-prohibited area is set to 0.

11. A delivery plan generating apparatus, comprising:

12. The delivery plan generating apparatus according to claim 11,

the route selection unit is further configured to set a travel distance of the first delivery vehicle in a time period until the travel-restricted time period ends to 0, based on a cost matrix selected based on the travel-restricted route, the type of the first delivery vehicle, and the travel-restricted time period, when the first delivery vehicle delivers the first delivery job in the travel-restricted time period of the travel-restricted route.

13. The delivery plan generating apparatus according to claim 11,

the route selection unit, when calculating the first travel time for delivering the first delivery task through the first route, is further configured to: when the starting time from the first distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting the first time period including the starting time from the first distribution site as a current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the first route as the driving distance required for driving the first route recorded in the first cost matrix; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the first cost matrix with the departure time as a first reference; when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the remaining distance of the first route and the current time period according to the driving distance in the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as a second time period T which is the next time period connected with the current time period before updating_j(ii) a Calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the second cost matrix with a time at which the second time period starts as a second reference; when the travel distance in the current time period meets the remaining distance, calculating the first travel time for distributing the first distribution tasks through the first route according to the calculated travel time in each time period;

14. The delivery plan generating apparatus according to claim 11,

the route selection unit, when calculating the first travel time for delivering the first delivery task through the first route, is further configured to: when the time of arriving at the second distribution site in the first distribution task is determined, setting the first time period including the time of arriving at the second distribution site as a current time period, and initializing the remaining distance of the first route as the driving distance required for driving the first route recorded in the first cost matrix; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on a first cost matrix with the arrival time as a fifth reference; when the travel distance in the current time period does not satisfy the remaining distance, repeatedly performing the following steps until the travel distance in the current time period satisfies the remaining distance: updating the remaining distance of the first route and the current time period according to the driving distance in the current time period, wherein the updated current time period is set as a previous time period (a second time period) connected with the current time period before updating; calculating a travel time and a travel distance in the current time period of the first route based on the second cost matrix with a time at which the second time period ends as a sixth reference; when the travel distance in the current time period meets the remaining distance, calculating the first travel time for distributing the first distribution tasks through the first route according to the calculated travel time in each time period;

15. The delivery plan generating apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

a first cost calculation unit that calculates a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery is distributed using the determined route in the first candidate delivery plan; taking the sum of the respective total traveling time of each delivery vehicle in the first candidate delivery plan as a first total traveling time;

a second cost calculation unit that calculates a total travel time required for each of the plurality of delivery vehicles to deliver all the delivery tasks to which the delivery is distributed using the determined route in the second candidate delivery plan; taking the sum of the respective total traveling times of each delivery vehicle in the second candidate delivery plan as a second total traveling time; and

16. The delivery plan generating apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

17. The delivery plan generating apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

18. The delivery plan generating apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising:

19. The delivery plan generating apparatus according to claim 17,

a map information generating unit further configured to: regarding the travel speed of each of the distribution vehicle types through the plurality of routes in each of the plurality of time periods, when there is a route that enters a congestion definition area determined according to the type of the distribution vehicle and the time period among the plurality of routes, the travel speed of the distribution vehicle type that enters the congestion definition area is set as an area speed of the congestion definition area.

20. The delivery plan generating apparatus according to claim 17,

a map information generating unit further configured to: regarding the travel speed of each of the delivery vehicle types through the plurality of routes in each of the plurality of time periods, when there is a route that enters a travel-prohibited area determined according to the type of the delivery vehicle and the time period among the plurality of routes, the travel speed of the delivery vehicle type that enters the travel-prohibited area is set to 0.

21. A delivery plan generating system, comprising: memory, processor and program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 10.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, which computer program, when being executed by a processor, carries out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.