EP3158513A1 - System for managing a vehicular mission of a goods delivery vehicle - Google Patents

System for managing a vehicular mission of a goods delivery vehicle

Info

Publication number
EP3158513A1
EP3158513A1 EP15741333.7A EP15741333A EP3158513A1 EP 3158513 A1 EP3158513 A1 EP 3158513A1 EP 15741333 A EP15741333 A EP 15741333A EP 3158513 A1 EP3158513 A1 EP 3158513A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
vehicle
delivery
stops
parcels
expected
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
EP15741333.7A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Maddalena VARRASSO
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Iveco SpA
Original Assignee
Iveco SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Iveco SpA filed Critical Iveco SpA
Publication of EP3158513A1 publication Critical patent/EP3158513A1/en
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/04—Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem"
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
    • G06Q10/083—Shipping

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of goods delivery systems, and in particular to a system for managing a vehicular mission.
  • More or less complex systems are known for managing vehicular fleets intended to sort and deliver goods.
  • such systems are capable of acquiring information concerning the features of each parcel transported, such as for example the fact that it may contain fragile material or be sensitive to water or both cases.
  • the basic idea of the present invention is the one of optimizing goods delivery while considering their sensitivity to water.
  • Water damage to parcels is not a business problem but a technical problem and the present invention provides to resolve such a technical problem in a technical manner.
  • the vehicle indicates the weather conditions of the next delivery place, preferably by activating a warning when rain is expected and when at the same time the corresponding parcel to be delivered is sensitive to water.
  • the system is also capable of planning the delivery of such goods in relation to the hourly weather conditions.
  • a processing device plans the delivery of the goods both on the basis of cartographic information and on the basis of the weather conditions of the delivery places of parcels sensitive to water.
  • such parcels sensitive to water are delivered without running the risk of the rain wetting them.
  • the processing system assesses if it is possible to reschedule the delivery in the same mission or if there is a sufficient interval of time for the following day in which rain is not expected in the delivery place, and plans the management of the daily deliveries by considering such a constraint. Stop, delivery place and destination are synonyms within the scope of the present invention.
  • the system assesses if the delivery can be further delayed or, in the case a constraint exists in terms of delivery delay, proposes to protect the parcel using a further covering.
  • the managing system object of the present invention drives the driver of the vehicle along the daily delivery route while displaying the weather forecasts of the next delivery place.
  • the system for managing good sorting comprises means for acquiring the weather forecasts of the areas containing the delivery places of a list of deliveries, estimating a time period of passing through such areas and activating a warning when rain is expected in a delivery place and at the same time the parcel to be delivered is sensitive to water.
  • Systems for managing goods delivering are based on known optimization algorithms, the object of which is to organize the missions of goods delivery/sorting vehicles. They attempt to make the route short and in certain cases also allow needs of the consignees of the goods to be considered. For example, private consignees are easier to contact at their respective residences during lunch break or in any case outside working hours. Contrarily, corporate consignees can be contacted during predefined warehouse managing periods .
  • the system does not automatically reschedule the deliveries, but waits for the driver of the vehicle to decide whether to momentarily exclude such a delivery from the list of pending deliveries.
  • the navigation system drives the driver towards a subsequent destination, by recalculating the route and then reentering such a delivery previously excluded during the current mission, for example a daily mission.
  • Such a warning may be activated both at the beginning of the vehicle mission, or later, during the mission, when the vehicle nears the delivery place.
  • the weather forecasts it is preferred to continuously acquire the weather forecasts and to delay the aforesaid warning so as to be more certain of the probability of rain in the area containing the delivery place of a parcel sensitive to water.
  • weather forecasts for a geographical area may vary as time passes.
  • the same schedule could undergo variations which make it necessary to recalculate the expected moment of reaching a delivery place and of the subsequent ones, on the basis of the current position.
  • the mission could undergo variations due to a delay or anticipation of the vehicle with respect to the initial estimated schedule.
  • the calculation of the route of a vehicle and the parcels transported thereby are defined by a remote server which simultaneously manages a plurality of delivery/sorting vehicles, which are provided with a cartographic navigation system comprising a display, which displays in real time the weather forecasts of a subsequent stop and possibly a warning message when rain is expected and at the same time one or more of the parcels to be delivered at the subsequent stop are sensitive to water.
  • the acquisition of the weather forecasts is preferable for the acquisition of the weather forecasts to be performed in a centralized manner by the remote server.
  • the remote server calculates all the routes of all vehicles in the fleet so as to achieve a better load balance among the vehicles in the fleet.
  • Each route is transferred to each vehicle and then any recalculations of the route can be performed both on board the vehicle and remotely by the remote server.
  • At least one data transmission channel is provided between the vehicle and the remote server .
  • a cartographic satellite navigation system (hereinafter, only cartographic navigation) is accommodated on board the vehicle, preferably achieved by means of a tablet provided with its own operating system and with
  • each parcel including its sensitivity to water
  • human/machine interface means for example through the touchscreen of the tablet, so that the driver can decide whether to delay the delivery of a parcel sensitive to water.
  • the managing system the object of the present invention comprises an RFID portal-reader, that is a technology capable of reading the ID and further information contained in an RFID associated to a parcel, while the parcel passes through an opening of the vehicle.
  • Such an RFID portal is interfaced with the aforesaid tablet so the latter can
  • the information loaded onto the RFID include the destination place of the parcel and the features of the parcel, including its fragility and/or sensitivity to water .
  • the remote server possibly recalculates the vehicular mission by entering the delivery of such a parcel in the current mission of the same vehicle.
  • the acquisition of the weather forecasts can be preferably performed by computer systems implementing specific APIs (Application Programming Interface) which are accessible via the Internet.
  • specific APIs Application Programming Interface
  • a weather forecast service is offered by http://openweathermap.org.
  • the present invention may be advantageously achieved by means of a computer program that comprises code means to perform one or more steps of the method, when this program is run on a computer.
  • a computer program that comprises code means to perform one or more steps of the method, when this program is run on a computer.
  • the scope of protection extends to said computer program and moreover, to computer-readable means comprising a recorded message, said computer-readable means comprising program code means to perform one or more steps of the method, when said program is run on a computer.

Abstract

A system for managing a vehicle mission of a goods delivery vehicle, said goods being defined by a plurality of parcels to be delivered, the system comprising a cartographic satellite navigation system adapted to drive the vehicle along a route comprising a plurality of stops corresponding to the delivery places of one or more of the parcels, means for calculating an interval of time expected for the vehicle to cover the distance between each of the stops, means for acquiring the weather forecasts of geographical areas containing each of the stops at least for an interval of time when the vehicle is expected to be travelling between them.

Description

SYSTEM FOR MANAGING A VEHICULAR MISSION OF A GOODS DELIVERY
VEHICLE
Field of application of the invention
The present invention relates to the field of goods delivery systems, and in particular to a system for managing a vehicular mission.
Background art
More or less complex systems are known for managing vehicular fleets intended to sort and deliver goods.
Under certain circumstances, such systems are capable of acquiring information concerning the features of each parcel transported, such as for example the fact that it may contain fragile material or be sensitive to water or both cases.
It is believed that such systems can be improved in such a way so as not to penalize certain goods.
Summary of the invention
Thus, it is the object of the present invention to indicate a system for managing a vehicular mission of a goods delivery vehicle that allows the type of goods to be delivered to be duly considered.
The basic idea of the present invention is the one of optimizing goods delivery while considering their sensitivity to water.
Water damage to parcels is not a business problem but a technical problem and the present invention provides to resolve such a technical problem in a technical manner.
According to a preferred variant of the invention, the vehicle indicates the weather conditions of the next delivery place, preferably by activating a warning when rain is expected and when at the same time the corresponding parcel to be delivered is sensitive to water.
According to a second preferred variant of the invention, the system is also capable of planning the delivery of such goods in relation to the hourly weather conditions. In such a case, a processing device plans the delivery of the goods both on the basis of cartographic information and on the basis of the weather conditions of the delivery places of parcels sensitive to water.
Advantageously, such parcels sensitive to water are delivered without running the risk of the rain wetting them. Should the system detect that the delivery may not be made without damaging the parcel, the processing system assesses if it is possible to reschedule the delivery in the same mission or if there is a sufficient interval of time for the following day in which rain is not expected in the delivery place, and plans the management of the daily deliveries by considering such a constraint. Stop, delivery place and destination are synonyms within the scope of the present invention.
If it is still not possible to make the delivery during the same mission or the following day, then the system assesses if the delivery can be further delayed or, in the case a constraint exists in terms of delivery delay, proposes to protect the parcel using a further covering.
Advantageously, the managing system object of the present invention drives the driver of the vehicle along the daily delivery route while displaying the weather forecasts of the next delivery place.
The claims describe preferred variants of the present invention, thus forming an integral part of the present description .
Detailed description of embodiments
According to the present invention, the system for managing good sorting comprises means for acquiring the weather forecasts of the areas containing the delivery places of a list of deliveries, estimating a time period of passing through such areas and activating a warning when rain is expected in a delivery place and at the same time the parcel to be delivered is sensitive to water.
Systems for managing goods delivering are based on known optimization algorithms, the object of which is to organize the missions of goods delivery/sorting vehicles. They attempt to make the route short and in certain cases also allow needs of the consignees of the goods to be considered. For example, private consignees are easier to contact at their respective residences during lunch break or in any case outside working hours. Contrarily, corporate consignees can be contacted during predefined warehouse managing periods .
Many systems for managing goods delivery have been developed with the aim of optimizing the route of a delivery vehicle also on the basis of the needs of the consignees, thus imposing accurate time constraints on one or more deliveries.
Thus, it is entirely foreseeable to update a known navigation system to be integrated in the system of the present invention, because a constraint given by weather conditions and by the features of a parcel can be assimilated with a temporary unavailability of the consignee of the parcel.
According to a first preferred variant of the invention, the system does not automatically reschedule the deliveries, but waits for the driver of the vehicle to decide whether to momentarily exclude such a delivery from the list of pending deliveries. Thus, the navigation system drives the driver towards a subsequent destination, by recalculating the route and then reentering such a delivery previously excluded during the current mission, for example a daily mission.
Such a warning may be activated both at the beginning of the vehicle mission, or later, during the mission, when the vehicle nears the delivery place.
According to a preferred implementation of such a variant, it is preferred to continuously acquire the weather forecasts and to delay the aforesaid warning so as to be more certain of the probability of rain in the area containing the delivery place of a parcel sensitive to water. It is indeed known that weather forecasts for a geographical area may vary as time passes. Furthermore, the same schedule could undergo variations which make it necessary to recalculate the expected moment of reaching a delivery place and of the subsequent ones, on the basis of the current position. Thus it is apparent that even if the weather condition does not change, the mission could undergo variations due to a delay or anticipation of the vehicle with respect to the initial estimated schedule.
According to a variant of the present invention, the calculation of the route of a vehicle and the parcels transported thereby are defined by a remote server which simultaneously manages a plurality of delivery/sorting vehicles, which are provided with a cartographic navigation system comprising a display, which displays in real time the weather forecasts of a subsequent stop and possibly a warning message when rain is expected and at the same time one or more of the parcels to be delivered at the subsequent stop are sensitive to water.
Thus, it is preferable for the acquisition of the weather forecasts to be performed in a centralized manner by the remote server.
It is believed that it is highly advantageous for the remote server to calculate all the routes of all vehicles in the fleet so as to achieve a better load balance among the vehicles in the fleet. Each route is transferred to each vehicle and then any recalculations of the route can be performed both on board the vehicle and remotely by the remote server.
It is apparent that at least one data transmission channel is provided between the vehicle and the remote server .
A cartographic satellite navigation system (hereinafter, only cartographic navigation) is accommodated on board the vehicle, preferably achieved by means of a tablet provided with its own operating system and with
- wireless data communication means,
- a suitable app that allows it to communicate with the remote server to acquire
- the mission, intended as route inclusive of the individual stops,
- the IDs of each parcel to be sorted,
the weather forecasts of each delivery place corresponding to each of the IDs in the presumed delivery time interval,
the features of each parcel, including its sensitivity to water,
and to indicate, through the tablet, when rain is expected in the corresponding delivery place during the expected delivery time of a parcel sensitive to water;
preferably, human/machine interface means, for example through the touchscreen of the tablet, so that the driver can decide whether to delay the delivery of a parcel sensitive to water.
According to a preferred variant of the invention, the managing system the object of the present invention comprises an RFID portal-reader, that is a technology capable of reading the ID and further information contained in an RFID associated to a parcel, while the parcel passes through an opening of the vehicle.
Such an RFID portal is interfaced with the aforesaid tablet so the latter can
- verify that all and only the parcels intended to be delivered in the current mission are actually loaded on board, verify that the respective parcels are actually unloaded in a predetermined delivery place,
- acquire the acceptance of a new parcel and transmit the ID and further corresponding information to the remote server.
The information loaded onto the RFID include the destination place of the parcel and the features of the parcel, including its fragility and/or sensitivity to water .
In relation to the destination place of the parcel, the remote server possibly recalculates the vehicular mission by entering the delivery of such a parcel in the current mission of the same vehicle.
The acquisition of the weather forecasts can be preferably performed by computer systems implementing specific APIs (Application Programming Interface) which are accessible via the Internet. For example, a weather forecast service is offered by http://openweathermap.org.
The present invention may be advantageously achieved by means of a computer program that comprises code means to perform one or more steps of the method, when this program is run on a computer. Hence, it is intended that the scope of protection extends to said computer program and moreover, to computer-readable means comprising a recorded message, said computer-readable means comprising program code means to perform one or more steps of the method, when said program is run on a computer.
Variations to the non-limiting example described are possible, without however departing from the scope of protection of the present invention, comprising all the equivalent embodiments for a field technician.
A person skilled in the art is able to achieve the object of the invention from the aforesaid description without introducing further construction details. The elements and features disclosed in the various preferred embodiments may be combined with one another without however departing from the scope of protection of the present application. Unless specifically excluded in the detailed description, the details in the description of the background art is to be considered in combination with the features of the present invention, thus forming an integral part of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for managing a vehicular mission of a goods delivery vehicle, said goods being defined by a plurality of parcels to be delivered, the system comprising
- a cartographic satellite navigation system adapted to drive said vehicle along a route comprising a plurality of stops corresponding to the delivery places of one or more of said parcels,
- means for calculating an interval of time needed to cover the distance between each of said stops,
means for acquiring weather forecasts of geographical areas containing each one of said stops at least for an interval of time when the vehicle is expected to be travelling through said geographical areas
and characterized in that it comprises means for storing a feature of sensitivity to water of one or more of said parcels.
2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising means for sending a warning message when rain is expected at the delivery place of a parcel sensitive to water during the time interval when the delivery of said parcel sensitive to water is expected.
3. A system according to either of the previous claims 1 or 2, further comprising means for displaying the weather forecasts of the area corresponding to the next stop.
4. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said satellite navigation system, according to said stops and to the time constraints for reaching said stops, is adapted to calculate a vehicle route passing through said stops.
5. A system according to claim 4, wherein, if it is not possible to carry out a delivery without damaging one or more respective parcels, the navigation system is adapted to acquire respective weather forecasts of a subsequent time period and, if at least one suitable time interval exists wherein rain is not expected in the delivery place, the navigation system stores such constraint in a subsequent planning of the following time period .
6. A system according to claim 5, wherein if a constraint exists in terms of delay in delivery of said one or more parcels, then it sends a message wherein it proposes to the vehicle' s driver to protect said one or more parcels by means of a further water-proof covering.
7. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising
- a remote server comprising means for calculating an interval of time expected for the vehicle to cover the distance between each of said stops, means for acquiring the weather forecasts of geographical areas containing each of said stops at least for the interval of time when the vehicle is expected to be travelling between them, and means for communicating said route and said weather information to said cartographic navigation system,
said cartographic navigation system, arranged on board of said goods delivery vehicle, comprising means for storing said route, means for storing said weather forecasts of one or more subsequent stops and human/machine interface means to display the indications relating to said route and to said weather forecasts.
EP15741333.7A 2014-06-19 2015-06-19 System for managing a vehicular mission of a goods delivery vehicle Ceased EP3158513A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITMI20141111 2014-06-19
PCT/IB2015/054631 WO2015193853A1 (en) 2014-06-19 2015-06-19 System for managing a vehicular mission of a goods delivery vehicle

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3158513A1 true EP3158513A1 (en) 2017-04-26

Family

ID=51357995

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP15741333.7A Ceased EP3158513A1 (en) 2014-06-19 2015-06-19 System for managing a vehicular mission of a goods delivery vehicle

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP3158513A1 (en)
WO (1) WO2015193853A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP3992742B1 (en) * 2020-10-30 2024-03-20 Deutsche Telekom AG Controlling an autonomous vehicle via a radio access network

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1447646A1 (en) * 2001-10-25 2004-08-18 Aisin Aw Co., Ltd. Information display system
US7869941B2 (en) * 2006-12-29 2011-01-11 Aol Inc. Meeting notification and modification service
US8190359B2 (en) * 2007-08-31 2012-05-29 Proxpro, Inc. Situation-aware personal information management for a mobile device
US8588821B1 (en) * 2012-10-08 2013-11-19 Google Inc. Techniques for automatically outputting severe weather notifications at a user's mobile computing device

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
E. ERGEN ET AL: "Assessing the Need for Storing Data on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tags", 1 January 2009 (2009-01-01), XP055612993, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:http://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB21798.pdf> [retrieved on 20190814] *
See also references of WO2015193853A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2015193853A1 (en) 2015-12-23

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US9792569B2 (en) Logistics system
US11435744B2 (en) Autonomously delivering items to corresponding delivery locations proximate a delivery route
US11443396B2 (en) Systems and methods for prioritizing trailers at receiving facility
US11783276B2 (en) Concepts for monitoring shipments
US20110258135A1 (en) Method for Planning the Travel Route of A Transport Vehicle, Transport Vehicle
CN101160601B (en) Systems and methods for dynamically updating a dispatch plan
EP1833292B1 (en) Method and system for gps augmentation of mail carrier efficiency
US20200302376A1 (en) Systems and methods of controlling delivery of retail products
US8095304B2 (en) Cargo tracking and visibility system and method
US20130179205A1 (en) Systems and methods for optimizing transportation resources
CA2958961C (en) Concepts for monitoring shipments
US20160019501A1 (en) Systems, methods and computer-program products for automation of dispatch of shipment delivery order
US20060292984A1 (en) Rfid vehicle-tracking system using mobile transceivers and stationary transponders
US20060178812A1 (en) Computer-based dispatching system and method
KR20140041665A (en) Providing method of schedule for delivery service automatically
US20120209787A1 (en) Computerized system and method for matching freight vehicles and loads
JP2010039961A (en) Delivery operation support system, and delivery prediction time calculation method and program
CN103999102A (en) Item handling and tracking system and method therefor
US20200026295A1 (en) Method for operating a motor vehicle in a fully autonomous driving mode
JP2013167972A (en) Delivery schedule management system, method for managing delivery schedule, and delivery schedule management program
JP7382584B2 (en) Projection instruction device and projection instruction system
CN107063271A (en) For positioning the method and system parked cars
JP2020085577A (en) Parking location guidance system, parking location output terminal, and parking location guidance program
JP6279631B2 (en) Transportation system and method for transportation
EP3255595A1 (en) Method and system for facilitating vehicle loading

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION HAS BEEN MADE

PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: REQUEST FOR EXAMINATION WAS MADE

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20161206

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: BA ME

DAV Request for validation of the european patent (deleted)
DAX Request for extension of the european patent (deleted)
STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: EXAMINATION IS IN PROGRESS

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20190424

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: EXAMINATION IS IN PROGRESS

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R003

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION HAS BEEN REFUSED

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: EXAMINATION IS IN PROGRESS

18R Application refused

Effective date: 20200220

APBK Appeal reference recorded

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNREFNE

APBN Date of receipt of notice of appeal recorded

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNNOA2E

APBR Date of receipt of statement of grounds of appeal recorded

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNNOA3E

D18R Application refused (deleted)
APAF Appeal reference modified

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSCREFNE

APBT Appeal procedure closed

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNNOA9E

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION HAS BEEN REFUSED

18R Application refused

Effective date: 20231117