KR20150113832A - Journey planning method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for generating journey options (32) in response to a journey request from a point of departure to a destination. Routes from the point of departure to the destination are selected as candidates to fulfill the journey request. Delay-related statistical information (36) is derived from delay-related data for past journeys (40, 42, 44). A minimum connecting time at a connection between first and second segments of each route is estimated based on the statistical information. Journey combinations are determined from the routes based on departure time, destination arrival time (31), and schedule information for the first and second segments of each route. For each route in each journey combination, a determination is made on whether the schedule information for the first and second segments satisfies a condition related to the minimum connecting time. Each journey combination for which the condition is satisfied by each route comprising the journey combination is selected as a journey option.

Description

{JOURNEY PLANNING METHOD AND SYSTEM}

The present invention relates generally to computer and computer software, and more particularly to methods, systems, and computer program products for planning an itinerary.

A routing planner, such as a flight travel planning system, can be used to retrieve the best itinerary between a starting geographic location (i.e., origin) and an ending geographic location (i.e., destination) based on criteria provided by the user. These criteria may include distance or speed criteria, depending on whether the traveler anticipates a shorter itinerary to return or expects a faster itinerary, and may include a cost criterion if the traveler wants to optimize the travel cost can do. The itinerary planner can use a database containing schedule information associated with different travel providers to determine the itinerary to meet the criteria. Such schedule information may include timetable information, geographical information, and price information.

The itinerary planner is responsible for minimizing the number of connections in the itinerary, and for determining the default minimum time duration for each connection (i. E., Minimum connection time or minimum connection time (MCT) May be further configured to optimize the segment. A connection connects two segments of an associated itinerary. Each segment of the itinerary may be associated with a flight, train, bus, ship or any other type of passenger-carrying means configured according to schedule information (e.g., scheduled departure time, scheduled arrival time, etc.).

In this connection, the traveler must move from the arrival position for the initial section of the itinerary to the starting position for the next section. The arrival location may be the arrival gate for the flight at a given terminal of the airport and the departure location may be the departure gate for the subsequent flight at a different terminal of the airport. The length of the minimum connection time is typically limited empirically so that there is sufficient time for the traveler to move from the arrival position to the starting position and then check in for the subsequent interval. The length of the minimum connection time should also be minimized to limit the total travel duration for the itinerary. The itinerary planner may be configured to select a routing option in which consecutive intervals meet the minimum connection time in the connection.

The minimum connection time is a static and theoretical value that considers the duration of the separation of the arrival time of the initial interval and the departure time of the subsequent interval. However, since this time is static, the minimum connection time does not take into account the possible delay, so this delay can be accumulated in the early part of the itinerary. As a result, the traveler may have arrived at the departure location of the following section after the departure of the flight or too late to check in.

If a traveler misses a travel connection, the traveler tries to reroute to other flights, trains, etc., which will include subsequent travel segments. To limit traveler complaints associated with delays, the travel agency has improved the way it delivers information related to delays and can even provide online real time information about delays. However, this action only applies after the delay has already occurred.

An improved method, system and computer program product for planning a journey that proactively limits the risk that a traveler may miss a connection and / or arrive late to a final destination is needed.

In order to solve these and other problems, there is provided a method for generating a routing option defined in attached independent claim 1, an apparatus for generating a routing option defined in attached claim 10, and a computer program defined in attached appended claim 15. Preferred embodiments are limited to the dependent claims.

The itinerary planning system and method in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention allows a traveler to reduce the risk of missing a connection and / or arriving late to a final destination.

Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the drawings and detailed description. Any additional advantages are intended to be included herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the present invention and, together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, Function.
1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary operating environment including a plurality of computer systems;
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the exemplary computer system of Figure 1;
3 is a schematic diagram of a routing planning system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a structural schematic diagram of delay-related data in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a structural schematic diagram of statistical information for a delay according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 6 is an exemplary graph illustrating the different steps achieved by three different travelers during the same travel connection.
7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a feeding part of a routing planning system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing data exchanged by a routing planning system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a routing planning method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 10 is a detailed flow diagram illustrating the schedule resolution of Figure 9 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a detailed flowchart for checking the compatibility of FIG. 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
12 is an exemplary diagram for selecting a itinerary plan according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Referring to FIG. 1, the operating environment 10 may include a travel planner in the form of a travel shopping system 12, one or more client devices 14, and a itinerary planning system 16. The shopping system 12, the one or more client devices 14 and the itinerary planning system 16 may be connected to a network (e. G., The Internet) that may include one or more private and / or public networks 18. A user (e.g., a traveler or a travel agent) can book a ticket or obtain shopping information at the travel shopping system 12. The travel shopping system 12 interacts with a routing planning system 16 that generates routing options in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

A user may communicate with the travel shopping system 12 via one of the client devices 14 connected to the travel shopping system 12 via the network 18. Each client device 14 may be any suitable computing system configured to communicate via the network 18. Each client device 14 may be a desktop, laptop, or tablet computer, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or any other mobile or stationary device that allows a traveler to retrieve and book travel services via the network 18. [ Computing device. For example, each client device 14 may include a client application, such as a web-browser, that communicates with a server application hosted by a travel shopping system 12, such as a web-server. In the travel shopping system 12, the server application may communicate with one or more global distribution systems and / or airline systems and obtain data regarding available travel options.

The travel shopping system 12 may be configured to provide the user with a travel service that includes shopping or booking information. The travel shopping system 12 may include a dedicated user interface that can be used to exchange information with a user's client device 14. [ In particular, a user may submit a travel request (also referred to hereinafter as a "journey request") or provide user input via a user interface. The travel shopping system 12 may enable the results obtained for a given user request to be displayed on the user's client device 14. [ These results may include a set of itinerary suggestions (hereinafter also referred to as "itinerant options" or "travel options"), and auxiliary information such as price information for this itinerary offer. The user can select and book one of the routing options. The travel shopping system 12 can be hosted on a public website that includes an intuitive user interface accessible to any user and directly travelable by any user. Alternatively, the travel shopping system 12 may be a specialized system that is provided to a travel operator or travel agent and is accessible via a private web site or private application.

As used herein, a routing option refers to a trip between a source location and a destination location, which is associated with schedule information including the scheduled departure date and time of the itinerary and the scheduled arrival date and time of the itinerary do. The itinerary may include a set of intervals that are interconnected at a connection point (e.g., an airport or train station) or a connection hub (e.g., an airline hub or other public transport hub). Each interval is associated with schedule information (i.e., departure / arrival date and time). The connection between consecutive itineraries may be followed by a subsequent interval (e.g., from a passenger-to-vehicle) (e.g., an aircraft, ship or other type of vehicle) associated with an initial section , Departure flight) to other passenger transport means associated with. The user may depart from the inbound passenger-transport vehicle servicing the initial section (e.g., by getting off) from the arrival position of the initial section (e.g., at the airport terminal) (E.g., a different terminal at an airport, or a different gate within the same terminal at an airport) to board an outbound passenger-transport vehicle (e.g., an aircraft). The initial section and subsequent sections may be provided by the same travel provider (e.g., the same airline) or by different travel providers (e.g., different airline).

2 provides a block diagram illustrating the components of one or more servers of a computer system that may include a routing planning system 16 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The routing system 16 includes at least one processor 122 that includes at least one hardware-based microprocessor, and memory 124 that is coupled to the at least one processor 122. The memory 124 may include a random access memory (RAM) including the main storage medium of the itinerary planning system 16 and any supplemental level of memory, e.g., cache memory, non-volatile or backup memory , Programmable or flash memory), read-only memory, and the like. Further, the memory 124 may be used as a memory storage medium, such as any cache memory in the microprocessor, and virtual memory, physically located somewhere in the itinerary planning system 16, for example, Or any storage capacity stored on another computer connected to the itinerary planning system 16, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

To interface with a user or operator, the itinerary planning system 16 may include a user interface 126 including one or more user input / output devices, e.g., a keyboard, pointing device, display, printer, Alternatively, the data may be communicated to or transferred from another computer or terminal (e.g., the travel shopping system 12) via the network interface 128 connected to the communication network 18. The itinerary planning system 16 may also communicate with one or more mass storage devices, which may be, for example, an internal hard disk storage device, an external hard disk storage device, an external database, a storage area network device,

The itinerary planning system 16 generally operates under the control of the operating system 130 and relies on or depends upon various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, engines, data structures, In particular, these components may include a statistical value calculation engine 20, a path calculation engine 52 and a itinerary engine 54 and may include instructions residing and / or stored in the memory 124 .

The itinerary planning system 16 may include, for example, one or more databases including a database 214. The database 214 may include data and support data structures that store and organize data used or maintained by the itinerary planning system 16. [ In particular, the database 214 may be arranged in any database organization and / or structure, including but not limited to relational databases, hierarchical databases, network databases, and / or combinations thereof. A database management system in the form of a computer software application executed as an instruction in the processor 122 of the itinerary planning system 16 may be used to access information or data stored in a record of the database 214 in response to a database query.

Furthermore, various applications, components, programs, objects, modules, engines, and the like may be distributed or client-server type operations that can allocate processing required to implement the functions of a computer program to a plurality of computers over a network May also be implemented in one or more processors in other computers connected to the itinerary planning system 16 via the communication network 18 in the environment. For example, some of the functions described herein as being included in the components of the itinerary planning system 16 and / or the itinerary planning system 16 may be implemented in one or more servers. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, modules, applications, components, and / or engines may be executed on one or more servers of the itinerary planning system 16 and the processor 122 of the itinerary planning system 16 To perform the operation according to the example.

Figure 3 illustrates the architecture of the itinerary planning system 16 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The itinerary planning system 16 may receive a routing request from a user. The itinerary request includes a location 30 (see also "destination" or "destination") that includes a start location (also referred to herein as a "start" location or " ) Can be identified. Each location in the itinerary request may be sent to a particular location in a city location or city, e.g., to an airport or terminal if the air is in mode of transport, to a railway station if the rail is in transport mode, It can take the form of an access point. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the itinerary planning system 16 converts start and end locations to geographical coordinates, e.g., GPS coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) to determine the closest corresponding access point or point Can be determined. If the user's client device 14 is able to provide location data, then the itinerary planning system 16 or the travel shopping system 12 connected to this itinerary planning system 16 may determine the user's starting location based on the location data It can be detected automatically.

Alternatively, the itinerary planning system 16 may use a database containing schedule information that includes information about the different access points available over the travel network (e.g., an airport or terminal if the mode of transportation is air) have. In an exemplary embodiment, the itinerary planning system 16 is connected to a schedule database 32. [

The itinerary planning system 16 may include a number of modes of transportation that are independent of a particular mode of transport (e.g., air or rail), a particular type of travel provider (e.g., airline) , Air and rail mode of transportation). If the itinerary planning system 16 is multi-mode in this manner, the calculated itinerary options can include intervals associated with different modes of transportation and the user can specify user preferences associated with the preferred mode of transportation.

The itinerary planning system 16 uses the delay statistics database 36 to store data relating to travel delays to provide a response to the itinerary request from the user (specifying the start location and end location 30 and timetable information 31) To determine a set of optimized itineraries 34 (also referred to herein as "travel" or "trip").

The user may initially submit the itinerary request by entering the start and end locations 30 corresponding to the requested itinerary via a dedicated interface (e.g., a user interface connected to the travel shopping system 12). The start location corresponds to the desired geographic location of the itinerary start, while the end location corresponds to the desired geographic location of the itinerary arrival. The user may also use the user interface to enter departure and arrival timetable information 31 (also referred to herein as "time information") containing desired date information or desired date and time information associated with the departure and arrival of the requested itinerary Can be input. The user may also enter user preferences 38 as data via the interface. The user preferences 38 may include ranking criteria or factors such as cost, distance, or speed criteria that the itinerary planning system 16 may use to calculate the best or most optimal itinerary .

The itinerary planning system 16 includes statistical delay information stored in the delay statistics database 36 from the delay data 40 associated with the past itinerary and collected during the selected time period, For example, connection state data 42 and 44. In this case, The connection state information may include a congestion state 42 (also referred to herein as "saturation data") and / or connection time data 44 of a transport infrastructure that may cause some delay in the routing connection . The connection time data 44 represents the connection time required for a traveler set having a different profile for the selected past period to achieve the connection.

Referring to FIG. 4, delay data 40 may include scheduled timetable data 40c and actual time data 40d for each leg of the journey. The scheduled data may include scheduled departure and arrival times, and the actual time data 40d may include actual departure and actual arrival times. The delay data 40 also includes additional information about the cause of the actual delay (i. E., The cause of the difference between the scheduled time and the actual time) so that a particular exceptional delay is not taken into account when computing the statistical information, For example, as part of the actual time data 40d. The delay data 40 may further include geographic or location data 40b for the past itinerary, such as the start and end locations, and travel airline data 40a, associated with the interval of each past itinerary. The travel airline data 40a may include an identifier (e.g., a flight or train number) and information about the travel provider (e.g., an airline name).

The feeder part of the itinerary planning system 16 may receive the new delay data 40 each time the passenger-vehicle (e.g., an aircraft) for a given travel provider completes the trip. Alternatively, the delay data 40 including the accumulated records for a period of time may be periodically pushed to the itinerary planning system 16. [ All information (new information and historical information) may be collected by the statistical value calculation engine 20 to populate the delay statistical value database 36.

Travel delay data 40 may include other data that is dependent on the application of the embodiments of the present invention. The travel delay data 40 may include a time difference between the scheduled departure date / time and the actual departure date / time, a time difference between the scheduled arrival date / time and the actual arrival date / time, information about cancellation of the itinerary, , Time difference between scheduled take-off and actual take-off (on a flight), and time difference between the scheduled boarding and actual boarding (on a flight). The travel delay data 40 may be used for delay reasons (e.g., technical problems, harsh weather conditions, union strikes, road / airport operations, accidents, passenger diseases), a stopover list Time delay data, such as the occupancy rate of the travel provider, along with the delay information that may be provided by the travel provider. The delay information 40 includes other information related to the itinerary during the trip, such as the weather condition, the type of day of the week (e.g., weekday or weekend), and the specific trip period (e.g., holiday, long weekend or special event) can do.

In addition, saturation data 42 associated with the congestion state can be collected in a particular area of the transportation infrastructure used by the traveler during the itinerary connection. The saturation data 42 may be determined by the transportation infrastructure operating system (e.g., airport IT infrastructure) from detected information related to congestion or saturation in a particular area of the transportation infrastructure. In certain mobile applications, this saturation data 42 may be collected from a user's mobile device based on transportation infrastructure cartography. For example, if users are experiencing crowded and tedious delays in the security check area, the saturation data 42 may be detected transparently from the mobile device and used to determine if saturation appears in the security checkpoint area.

The connection time data 44 may be collected from different sources per connection for the selected traveler set. Alternatively, the connection time data 44 may be collected from the mobile client device 14 with the mobile application (i. E., The traveler's motion detection application) and associated with the actual traveler itinerary during the connection have. The traveler's motion detection application installed on the mobile electronic device can detect when the traveler is traveling during the connection between the two itinerary intervals, using the itinerary information stored in this geo-location and passenger's personal information. The mobile application may also be used to determine the actual arrival location (e.g., airport gate) of the initial connection section and the actual starting location (e.g., airport gate) of the subsequent connection section. The actual connection time data may be further refined by removing the traveler's stop duration detected by the traveler's motion detection application. The traveler's movements may alternatively be retrieved according to different techniques (e.g., airport closed-circuit television using face recognition).

Figure 6 shows an example transfer time required for three different travelers to travel from the arrival gate of the first connection section ("Gate A" at Terminal 2) to the start gate of the second connection section ("Terminal H" at Terminal 1) (transfer time). D1 represents the time required for the first traveler to travel from gate A to gate H, D2 represents the time required for the second traveler to travel from gate A to gate H, and D3 represents the time for the third traveler to travel from gate A Represents the time required to move to gate H. As shown, the first traveler and the second traveler did not travel at the same speed, and none of these travelers made a stop at a particular location. In contrast, a third traveler has made a stop during a particular time period during his connection (e.g., shopping, eating, or stopping to talk to someone). The connection time data for each traveler is thus derived from the total time required to move from gate A to gate H by eliminating the time period for the stop detected during the connection.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the itinerary planning system 16 generally includes a different source, such as a travel provider system, a travel provider website, an internal airport management application, an inventory system, a train operation management (IT) Related data indicated by reference numeral 39 for a plurality of intervals for each travel provider for a time period (past period) selected from a travel intermediary, for example, a GDS, a travel data provider, As shown in FIG. The collected delay-related data 39 may be maintained as data in the delay information database.

The itinerary planning system 16 may include at least one feeder engine (not shown) that collects the delay-related data 39 from different sources. Alternatively, the delay-related data 39 may be pushed periodically or on demand from a server of at least one external entity responsible for collecting such information. For example, each time a passenger-vehicle (such as an aircraft, train or other type of vehicle) arrives at its final destination, a dedicated travel management application (e.g., an airport travel application) 40, 42, 44 to the itinerary planning system 16. Each feeder engine can be configured to convert the delay-related data 40, 42 and 44 received from different sources into a generic format. This allows the itinerary planning system 16 to operate independently of the type of delay-related data 39 received from different sources.

In accordance with a particular embodiment of the present invention, the itinerary planning system 16 may include at least one statistical computation engine 20 that computes delay-related statistical information for the delay from the delay-related data 39 . Alternatively, the statistical information may be computed from the delay-related data 39 by the system at the external entity and pushed to the itinerary planning system 16 on demand or periodically. The delay-related statistical information may be stored in the delay statistic value database 36.

6, the statistical information computed from the delay-related data 39 includes a routing delay (i. E., A routing delay statistic value) derived from the delay data 40 associated with the routing and stored in the database 150, The transport infrastructure saturation statistic values derived from the saturation data 42 and stored in the database 151 and the connection time statistics values derived from the past connection time data 44 and stored in the database 152 can do. The saturation statistics value represents the risk of congestion for some areas of the transportation infrastructure involved in routing connections. The connection time statistics value indicates the average connection time required for the traveler to move from the arrival position of the inbound connection interval to the starting position of the outbound connection interval and is determined to connect the different itinerary schedules respectively. The connection time metric values may be different depending on, for example, the age of the traveler, the specificities of the traveler, the traveler's level (e.g., frequent travelers etc.), the traveler's mobility level (e.g., special handicap) May be classified and provided according to the user profile.

Based on time-delayed or accumulated delay-related data 39, several types of routing delay statistical values can be computed. For example, for each subset corresponding to a source location, a destination location, and a given interval, an average delay may be computed during the selected time period. As another example, for each subset corresponding to a source location, a destination location, and a given interval, an average delay of a flight for a given time period may be computed per schedule. As yet another example, for each subset corresponding to a source location, a destination location, and a given interval, the average delay of a flight for each day of the week can be computed. As yet another example, for each subset corresponding to a source location, a destination location, and a given interval, an average delay of a flight for each day of a week may be computed for the selected annual period (holiday period, summer period, etc.) .

The saturation statistic value includes the congestion level of the transportation infrastructure (e.g., train station, airport) for each subset corresponding to the connection start point location, one week day of the week, and a given period of one year, or alternatively, And may include the expected average delay due to the congestion level of the transportation infrastructure.

The itinerary planning system 16 may be configured to dynamically generate an optimal itinerary option based on statistical information about the delay. The itinerary planning system 16 may also include weather condition data in the form of weather forecasts, such as weather forecasts or special calendar information (e.g., holidays, non-working days, A special event) can be received.

The itinerary planning system 16 is configured to dynamically calculate a minimum connection time (e.g., minimum transit time or eMCT) for each possible connection between each two interval schedules for each routing request and from delay statistical value data . The itinerary planning system 16 may be further configured to select only the routing options that include the connections that meet or satisfy the estimated minimum connection time for these connections. As a result, the risk that a traveler may miss a link of the selected itinerary is reduced.

Connection time statistics can be maintained in the user profile. In this case, the itinerary planning system 16 may also dynamically calculate the minimum connection time using the traveler data 46 (Fig. 3). The traveler data 46 may include certain characteristics of travelers (e.g., traveler age or particular special handicap) that may affect the time required to move from the arrival position of the connection of the initial section to the starting position of the connection of the subsequent section . The traveler information 16 may be derived from an existing traveler profile. The traveler information 16 may also be derived from a specification in a routing request such as a branch that belongs to a group of individuals including the child.

The itinerary planning system 16 may provide the best routing option between the source location and the destination location, optimizing ranking factors (e.g., distance, speed or cost) and including a minimal number of connections. At the same time, the itinerary planning system 16 can select each connection so that the traveler is less likely to miss the connecting flight, for example, and the traveler is optimistic about the possibility of reaching the final destination with a minimum delay. Travelers can travel with reduced concerns about their occupation or personal constraints for each connection and at their final destination. From the perspective of the travel provider, the loss of revenue can be limited and a better organizational process can be implemented. Furthermore, traveler complaints can be reduced.

3, in response to the routing request, the routing planning system 100 calculates the candidate routing 48 from the starting location to the ending location identified in the routing request and sends the routing network 48, which is maintained in the routing network database 50, And may be configured to optimize one or more ranking factors (e.g., distance, speed, or cost) based on the data. Routing network data may include, for example, flight schedule information and routing information for the transportation network of one or more airlines. The candidate route 48 may each meet the routing request. Further, for each connection set of each candidate path 44, the itinerary planning system 16 dynamically calculates the minimum connection time for each connection based on the statistical delay decision, and the schedule data Based on the associated dynamic minimum connection time, or to form only the routing option 34 for the path with the satisfying connection.

The itinerary planning system 16 includes a route calculation engine 52 configured to calculate a candidate route 48 that is a candidate to meet a routing request and a itinerary engine 54 configured to determine an optimized routing option 34 can do. The path computation engine 52 is configured to determine an optimal path based on a ranking criterion from the routing network data. The itinerary engine 54 calculates the best itinerary option based on statistical information about the delays so as to limit the probability that a traveler will miss a trip connection section (e.g., an outbound connection flight) in the itinerary option. The itinerary engine 54 may be further configured to use the statistical information about the delays to select only the itinerary options according to the expected delay level, or to provide the user with the delay destinations associated with each of the proposed itinerary options.

The itinerary planning system 16 may be further configured to display the routing options 34 and a set of each of the delay indicators in the user interface. The traveler may rely on the delay indicator to select the preferred routing option to minimize the effect of possible delays during the journey, or to adjust any appointment times scheduled by the traveler at the final destination and to wait for another person to arrive Can be limited.

The itinerary planning system 16 may be further operated based on the user preferences 38 specified in the itinerary request, for example, via route or direct route, minimized number of connections, or a selected option associated with the expected arrival time specification have.

Referring to FIG. 7, in accordance with an alternative embodiment, system architecture 60 includes a routing planning system 16 and a separate delay processing engine 70 coupled to this routing planning system 16. [ The delay processing engine 70 computes statistical information about the delay and provides statistical information about the delay to the itinerary planning system 16. [ Delay data 39 may be received by delay processing engine 70 which includes at least one statistical computation engine 20 for computing statistical information from delay- . Statistical information in the system architecture 60 may be pushed to the itinerary planning system 16 by the delay processing engine 70.

The system architecture 60 includes a plurality of feeders 60, 61, 62 configured to collect delay-related data 56 from different sources, such as travel brokers, such as global distribution systems, travel data providers, . The collected information may be maintained in a delay-related data database 87 or alternatively may be dedicated to each of the different data types (travel delay data 130, saturation delay data 131 and connection time data 132, respectively) And may be maintained in a plurality of separate databases 90, 91 and 92, The system architecture 60 includes statistical values that can be used to determine the travel delay statistical value data stored in the database 150, the saturation statistical value data stored in the database 151, and the connection time statistical value data stored in the database 152, And includes computational engines 180, 181, and 182. Alternatively, the statistical value data may be maintained in a single database different from the plurality of databases.

The itinerary planning system 16 may further include a statistical value loader 88 that periodically pushes statistical value data from the statistical value information databases 150, 151 and 152 to the memory of the itinerary planning system 16. [ have. This can limit network overlay and access data as data is stored in the internal database structure of the itinerary planning system 16. [

Figure 8 illustrates a data feeder 60, 61 or 62 for collecting delay-related data according to the exemplary architecture of Figure 7 and for pushing the delay-related data 130, 131 or 132 to the itinerary planning system 16. [ Lt; / RTI > illustrates a sequence diagram illustrating exemplary interactions between different sources 71, 72, and 73 in time sequence. More specifically, as shown in the example of FIG. 8, each of the feeders 60, 61, 62 is connected to an airport computing system 71, a travel broker 72 (e.g., a departure control system) ≪ / RTI > from a different source, such as a < / RTI > Each collection operation is initiated by a source 71, 72 by conveying a message 710, 720 in response to a travel event such as train / flight arrival or departure, or a periodic update event result or the creation of a new activity report . The gathering operation indicated by message 730 may also be triggered by the itinerary planning system 16 by submitting the request. The collected information is then stored in the database 87 as delay-related data. The delay processing entity 600 may operate asynchronously and continuously with the delay data stored in the operation result information database associated with the messages 710, 720, and 730.

The statistical value calculation engine 180, 181 and 182 may update and improve statistical value information stored in the statistical value delay information database 150, 151 and 152 in response to receipt of the new raw information 13. In particular, the statistical value calculation engine 180 can calculate a plurality of statistical value delay parameters for each travel section (for example, train / flight section) based on the delay data held in the delay information database 90 .

In response to a routing request in the message 740 received from the client device 16, the routing planning system 16 determines whether the routing schedule engine 102 to retrieve statistical value delay information for each interval schedule from the database 36. The itinerary planning system 16 may use the retrieved statistical value delay information to determine whether an interval should be selected or discarded. Each interval schedule includes the departure / arrival location, departure and arrival date and time, and is associated with a given travel provider. The itinerary planning system 16 may use information associated with the interval schedule to retrieve delay-related statistical value information associated with a given interval schedule. The delay information retrieved by the itinerary planning system 16 for the interval schedule in message 760 may be used by the itinerary planning system 16 to determine a journey resolution response. The routing acknowledgment is forwarded from the message 770 to the client device 14 and is displayed as a routing option at the client device 14. For example, if the itinerary request in message 740 specifies that all delayed itineraries should be avoided, the itinerary planning system 16 may discard all intervals with a high delay probability from the itinerary acknowledgment.

9 is a high level flow diagram of a method for planning an itinerary according to an embodiment of the present invention. In response to a routing request (block 800) that specifies at least the origin and destination locations and the timetable information (e.g., date or date and time) for the desired itinerary, a set of candidate routes between the source location and the destination location, For example, by route resolution in block 802 using routing network information. In certain embodiments of the present invention, timetable date information may be used to further check whether the candidate route is available for a period corresponding to the desired date of the itinerary (e.g., it is only available during summer).

The path set thus obtained includes a path list. In the list, each path is bound to a list of interconnected interconnected sets (also referred to as "legs"). As used herein, a path is only associated with routing information (departure / arrival location information). Each route can provide a number of possible routing combinations according to schedule information (departure / arrival date and time).

At block 804, a connection is established. The formation of the connection includes a schedule check (block 8040) that determines a possible interval schedule from the set of candidate paths obtained in block 802 and from the schedule information held in the database 32. [ Each section is defined by a source location and a destination location. From the source / destination location, the itinerary planning system 16 can retrieve a set of possible interval schedules for each section of the candidate path from the schedule information database 32.

A schedule list for each section of the candidate path is provided at block 8040. Each interval is associated with a list of possible schedules. As used herein, a "schedule" (also referred to as a "segment schedule") associated with a segment specified by a departure location and an arrival location is defined as a scheduled departure date / It says time.

At block 8041, the itinerary combination may be selected from the set of possible interval schedules obtained for each path taking into account a predefined compatibility rule. One such compatibility rule may be associated with an estimated minimum transfer time (eMCT) value at each connection point between a pair of interval schedules. This provides a connection to a set of possible routing combinations that meets the estimated eMCT value from the delay statistics that make up the statistical information.

For each connection, the estimated eMCT is used to determine the actual connection time observed for similar connections in the past, or for example, a specific period of one year, a day of the week, or a specific time of day, , Airport, or railway station) overload / congestion, etc., may be considered. For example, considering the itinerary consisting of two flight sections (NCE-CDG and ORY-LAN) with the required connections between CDG and ORY, the itinerary planning method computes eMCT for the connected CDG- , And an average delay that occurred earlier in the schedule for a given time period, date, time, and travel provider.

At block 806, the delay information associated with each interval schedule obtained during schedule verification may be determined from the delay information statistics in database 152 (FIG. 8). The delay information may indicate the expected delay for the associated interval schedule. The delay information determined for each interval may be used in the best itinerary check (block 808) to select the best itinerary option, or alternatively, to calculate the delay indicator for each iteration option.

At block 808, the best routing option among the routing combinations is selected based on user preferences 38 and, optionally, based on the delay information obtained for each interval schedule at block 8041. In addition to selecting the best routing option, the delay indicator can be selectively computed for each routing option.

Each selected routing option thus obtained is associated with one of the candidate paths between the source location and the destination location, and includes a set of intervals. Each interval is associated with schedule information (departure date / time and arrival date / time), and this interval is set by the connection set (interconnected interval pairs) so that each connection satisfies the eMCT value dynamically computed for this connection. . The determined list of routes is configured to minimize the probability that the outbound connection section will be missed by the traveler, for each routing option and each routing connection.

At block 810, the routing option selected at block 808 is returned to the client device 14 having a respective delay indicator if the delay indicator is requested by the user in the routing request. In particular, the routing options and the information associated with this delay indicator are displayed in a user interface (e.g., a user interface of the shopping system). The display of the delay indicator may be generated in a different manner via graphical elements, visual information, textual information and / or color.

The delay information retrieved for each interval schedule at block 806 may be used to calculate a delay indicator for each itinerary option that indicates a delay probability for the associated itinerary option or a probability of on-time arrival.

The user can specify a delay related requirement through the web form displayed to the user as part of the routing request. The user can choose to receive a delay indicator associated with each routing option. Each delay indicator may indicate a ranking number, for example, ranging from a minimum value (e.g., 1) to a maximum value (e.g., 10), whereby the probability that the associated itinerary arrives on time is the It can be increased with increase. As another example, the set of delay indicators (P) may include P = 10 if all the itineraries for the same origin, destination and date / time arrived on time during the past period, and the same origin, destination and date / P = 8 if all the itineraries represent a small delay of less than a given threshold (e.g., less than 20 minutes) over the past period, and all journeys to the same origin, destination and date / And may include P = 2 if it represents the resulting delay (over a given threshold) for a period of time. Depending on the first delay option, the user may request that the on-time arrival likelihood for the delayed confidence indicator (FIG. 3) or the associated itinerary option indicating the expected delay level for the associated itinerary option be returned in the itinerary option. The routing options can be displayed in association with each delay indicator.

Alternatively, the user may specify in the itinerary that only the itinerary option is returned in response to the itinerary request with a delay indicator exceeding a given threshold. The itinerary planning system 16 may discard the itinerary option associated with the delay indicator that is less than the given threshold at block 808 and suggest to the user only the itinerary option that satisfies the requested condition associated with the deferred indicator.

The delay information associated with the schedule (obtained in block 806) can be used to operate the delay indicator for the selected best option and to generate a display of the delay indicator associated with the corresponding routing option. Alternatively, the delay information associated with the schedule may be used to filter the best routing options according to the user ' s requirements (block 808).

FIG. 10 is a flow chart detailing the formation of a connection (block 804 of FIG. 9) that constitutes a combination of interval schedules for a candidate path. At block 900, each path in the pre-selected path set obtained at block 802 is processed recursively and for each section "a leg" of the path (block 902), a possible section schedule is stored in the schedule database 32 ) ≪ / RTI > It is determined whether the number of intervals of the path (aEFT) exceeds a predefined threshold (maxEFT) (block 903) and this path is discarded if this condition is satisfied by stopping the schedule search for the remaining path . Since the schedule confirmation in all the legs is completed in this case, the proposal including this path is not selected. This ensures that the routing option includes a minimum number of connections.

A possible interval schedule is retrieved in block 904 and may be stored in association with the corresponding interval for the current path. (Block 905) for each interval schedule "NewSegment" searched for the current interval of the path, a check is made at block 908 to determine whether each interval schedule is compatible with the schedule selected for the previous interval of the path. (Blocks 906 and 907). Thereby, incompatible interval schedules not considering the previously-calculated eMCT are discarded from the final result.

More specifically, using the different statistical values retrieved from the database 150, 151, 152 and the estimated minimum transfer time (eMCT) for each pair of interval schedules, the potential Compatibility between every pair of possible interval schedules that form a connection can be checked at block 908. [ Each pair of interval schedules is maintained in the current schedule "New Schedule" (block 905) of the current interval (a leg) of the path (block 902) and previously selected (block 906) in the JourneySelectionList (Block 907) of each itinerary "a itinerary" If the itinerary is not previously selected (e.g., the current section is the first section of the path), each section schedule of the current section "a leg " is selected from the itinerary selection list & It can be added as a journey.

If the current pair of interval schedules is compatible (block 908), the new itinerary is added to a temporary selection list "tmp itinerary list ()" containing the current schedule "new schedule" aggregated into the pre-selected itinerary "a itinerary". The next section schedule of the current section (a leg) may be iteratively processed in blocks 905 through 910. If all the schedules have been processed for the current section (a leg) (block 911), the itinerary selection list "itinerary selection" is set to the temporary itinerary list "tmp itinerary list" obtained for the current section (a leg) A new section of the section is repeatedly processed in blocks 902 to 911. [

In response to all segments of the current path have been processed, the entire list of the itineraries corresponding to the path (<path, list <itinerary >>) is returned at block 912. The itinerary list corresponding to the current path includes a compatible interval schedule. The next path is then selected and processed recursively according to block 900. [

This provides a set of possible iteration combinations for each path corresponding to the path between the source location and the end location, each set containing a list of compatible interval schedules, And is associated with each scheduled departure / arrival date and time.

For example, the candidate path "path 1" may include two legs (leg 1, leg 2). Leg 1 has two possible schedules (i.e., leg 1Sch1, leg 1Sch2), and leg 1 has two possible schedules (i.e., leg 2Sch1, leg 2Sch2). The connection may be formed in this candidate path by initially processing leg 1 (block 902). At block 904, the schedule for leg 1 (i.e., leg 1Sch1, leg 1Sch2) is determined. Each schedule (block 905) of leg 1 is compared with the forward schedule of the candidate journey combinations obtained for the previously processed legs (blocks 906, 907, 908). If no previous legs are present, all schedules for Leg 1 are selected as possible out of the itinerary selection list, and the Tmp itinerary list contains only two possible itinerary solutions: the itinerary selection list = {Leg 1Sch1, Leg 1Sch2} .

The connection formation method recursively processes leg 2 (block 902). At block 904, the schedule for leg 2 (i.e., leg 2Sch1, leg 2Sch2) is determined. Each schedule of legs 2 (leg 2Sch1, leg 2Sch2) is compared with the schedule of the previous legs present in the itinerary selection list (blocks 905, 906, 907, 908). Specifically, compatibility is determined between leg 1Sch1 and leg 2Sch1, compatibility is determined between leg 1Sch2 and leg 2Sch1, compatibility between leg 1Sch1 and leg 2Sch1 is determined, and compatibility between leg 1Sch2 and leg 2Sch2 is determined do. If all the segment schedules are compatible, then four iterations are selected from the itinerary selection list " itinerary selection list "(blocks 910 and 911), i.e. the itinerary selection list = {{leg 1Sch1, leg 2Sch1} {Leg 1Sch1, Leg 2Sch1}; {Leg 1Sch2, Leg 2Sch2}}.

Each element of the itinerary selection list (for example, {Leg 1Sch1, Leg 2Sch1}) represents one interval schedule for each interval and forms a candidate interval combination for the itinerary. The forward schedule of each iteration combination in the itinerary selection list is the last interval schedule corresponding to the last processed interval (for example, the forward segment schedule for the itinerary combination {leg 1Sch1, leg 2Sch1} is leg 2Sch1 associated with leg 2) . The acquired compatible interval schedule for each path is used to form the itinerary combination that may be used in block 808 of FIG. 9 to determine the best routing option.

The formation of routing combinations may involve parallel or sequential processing of interval schedules instead of recursive processing of interval schedules.

11 is a detailed flowchart of a compatibility check step (block 908) for checking the compatibility of each pair of interval schedules connecting connection points for a candidate path. The compatibility check may be based on dynamically calculating the minimum connection time for each path connection between interval pairs based on statistical information associated with the delay or delay condition factor. Representative state factors may include delay statistics associated with the travel mode (s) in the database 150, statistics associated with saturation of the transportation infrastructure used in the connection saturation statistics in the database 151, And may include, but is not limited to, statistical values related to connection time (connection time statistics).

At block 1010, 1011, and 1012, the statistical information may include the arrival location (e.g., arrival gate) of the inbound connection interval, the starting location (e.g., departure gate) of the outbound connection interval, The departure date and time, and the scheduled arrival date and time of the outbound connection section are retrieved from the statistical value information database 150, 151 and 152. More specifically, at block 1012, the estimated time of the statistical value at which the user moves from the connection arrival position to the connection starting position is retrieved from the connection time statistics value database 152. At block 1011, the delay time associated with transport infrastructure saturation is retrieved from the saturation statistics value database 151. [ At block 1010, the expected delay for each interval schedule of this pair is retrieved from delay database 150. [

The passenger profile information 45 (FIG. 3) may be used to retrieve information from the connection time statistics database 152 at block 1012. At block 1014, the minimum connection time eMCT is dynamically estimated for the current connection based on the statistical value information received at blocks 1010, 1011, and 1012. At block 1016, the initial compatibility condition associated with the estimated minimum connection time eMCT is the arrival date / time of the outbound connection section ("arrival date time"), the departure date / time of the inbound connection section ") And an estimated minimum connection time (eMCT).

More specifically, at block 1016, the time difference between the scheduled arrival date / time for the inbound connection interval and the scheduled departure date / time for the outbound connection interval is determined at block 1016 as a minimum Transit time must be less than eMCT.

At block 1018, an additional compatibility condition may be checked for the current connection associated with the interval schedule of the current pair (the previous schedule, the next schedule) using a function (ValidateWithRules () function) that validates with the rule. In particular, the additional compatibility check may include checking whether the time difference between the scheduled arrival date / time for the inbound connection interval and the scheduled departure date / time for the outbound connection interval satisfies a predefined business rule and / Can be considered. For example, if the schedule of the inbound interval uses the business rate, the user may not want to travel using the economy rate in the outbound interval. As another example, inbound and outbound travel providers may not be compatible to be booked together for the itinerary.

If all the conditions checked in blocks 1016 and 1018 are satisfied, a "true" value is returned (block 1022) indicating that the schedule for the checked pair of intervals is compatible. The current connection including this pair of interval schedules is selected at block 910 (FIG. 10), and the next pair of interval schedules is processed at block 909 (FIG. 10).

If all the conditions checked in blocks 1016 and 1018 are not satisfied, a "false" value is returned (block 1024) indicating that the schedule for the checked pair of intervals is not compatible. The interval schedule for this pair is not selected in block 910 (Fig. 10) and the current itinerary ("a itinerary") is not updated with the new schedule and is not added to the list of itinerary options (tmp itinerary list). The next pair of interval schedules are processed at block 909 of Fig.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary view illustrating a route planning method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 12, the routing request received by the routing planning system 16 is a routing request from the originating location A to the destination location B. Further, the itinerary request specifies that the itinerary starts after the date "date time 1" and ends before the target date "date time 2". To facilitate illustration only in this example, the path calculation only determines a single path comprising a pair of interconnected interconnects at interval C (interval 1 and interval 2). Thus, the initial section (section 1) extends from the origin point 1 to the connection point C, and the subsequent section (section 2) extends from the connection point C to the destination point B. This example also shows that three possible interval schedules, referred to as interval 1-schedule 1, interval 1-schedule 2 and interval 1-schedule 3, are determined in interval 1, and interval 2-schedule 1, interval 2-schedule 2, It is assumed that four possible interval schedules, referred to as 2-schedule 3 and interval 2-schedule 4, are determined in interval 2, respectively.

The estimated connection time for each combination of interval schedules is indicated as "transfer k" in FIG. 12, where k corresponds to the reference number of the interval schedule combination. Similarly, the estimated delay for each interval of each iteration combination is indicated by "delay k" in FIG. 12, where k corresponds to the number of itinerary combinations.

For each combination of interconnected interval schedules corresponding to case 1 in FIG. 12, Table 1 indicates whether the routing option satisfies the minimum connection time (eMCT) condition. Case 1 corresponds to the situation where the delay is expected for all schedule combinations.

  Section 1   Section 2 Are the eMCT conditions satisfied?  Schedule 1  Schedule 1 Yes  Schedule 1  Schedule 2 Yes  Schedule 1  Schedule 3 Yes  Schedule 1  Schedule 4 Yes  Schedule 2  Schedule 1 no  Schedule 2  Schedule 2 Yes  Schedule 2  Schedule 3 Yes  Schedule 2  Schedule 4 Yes  Schedule 3  Schedule 1 no  Schedule 3  Schedule 2 no  Schedule 3  Schedule 3 Yes  Schedule 3  Schedule 4 Yes

From Table 1 it can be seen that the three journey combinations do not satisfy the eMCT condition. Routing combination (interval 1-schedule 2) (interval 2-schedule 1) does not satisfy the eMCT condition because (interval 2-schedule 1) is not compatible with eMCT. Routing combination (interval 1-schedule 3) (interval 2-schedule 1) does not satisfy the eMCT condition because (interval 2-schedule 1) is not compatible with eMCT. Routing combination (interval 1-schedule 3) (interval 2-schedule 2) does not satisfy the eMCT condition because (interval 2-schedule 2) is not compatible with eMCT.

In the cases (2), (3) and (4) in FIG. 12, the delay statistic values are considered below to determine the itinerary schedule.

For each combination of interconnected interval schedules corresponding to case 2 in FIG. 12, Table 2 indicates whether the routing option satisfies the minimum connection time (eMCT) condition. The entry in Table 2 reflects the schedule determined to be compatible with interval 1-schedule 1 in interval 2.

  Section 1   Section 2 Are the eMCT conditions satisfied? Results for routing options  Schedule 1  Schedule 1 Yes Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is possible, and the destination date time constraint is also satisfied.  Schedule 1  Schedule 2 Yes Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is possible, and the destination date time constraint is also satisfied.  Schedule 1  Schedule 3 Yes Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is possible, and the destination date time constraint is also satisfied.  Schedule 1  Schedule 4 no Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is possible, but the destination date time constraint can not be satisfied.

For each combination of interconnected interval schedules corresponding to case 3 in FIG. 12, Table 3 indicates whether the routing option satisfies the minimum connection time (eMCT) condition. The entry in Table 3 reflects the schedule determined to be compatible with interval 1-schedule 2 for interval 2.

  Section 1   Section 2 Are the eMCT conditions satisfied? Results for routing options  Schedule 2  Schedule 1 no Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is not possible  Schedule 2  Schedule 2 no Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is not possible  Schedule 2  Schedule 3 Yes The connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is possible, but satisfies the constraint on the destination date / time.  Schedule 2  Schedule 4 no Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is possible, but the constraint on destination date / time can not be satisfied.

For each combination of interconnected interval schedules corresponding to case 4 in FIG. 12, Table 4 indicates whether the routing option satisfies the minimum connection time (eMCT) condition. The entry in Table 4 reflects the schedule determined to be compatible with interval 1-schedule 3 for interval 2.

  Section 1   Section 2 Are the eMCT conditions satisfied? Results for routing options  Schedule 3  Schedule 1 no Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is not possible  Schedule 3  Schedule 2 no Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is not possible  Schedule 3  Schedule 3 no Connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is not possible  Schedule 3  Schedule 4 no The connection between interval 1 and interval 2 is possible, but the constraint on the destination date / time can be satisfied.

Instead of using the static and theoretical information to determine the best routing option, the routing planning system 16 determines the best routing option based on the dynamically-calculated minimum transfer time based on the statistical analysis of the actual delay- That is, a routing option that satisfies the associated request constraint). The traveler experience may generate a display of a delay indicator for each routing option (where the delay indicator represents a delay risk (expected delay level) for the corresponding itinerary), or the best itinerary Can be improved by selecting an option. The traveler can form an appointment at the final destination location of the selected journey by considering the expected delay level or by selecting a trip with a delay level considered acceptable by the user.

Statistical value information for delays derived from past travel delays, samples of connection times evaluated for past routing connections, or routes available from the saturation conditions of the infrastructure used in the connection. By using the minimum transfer time, the itinerary planning system 16 can provide a limited probability of delay and an optimized connection to the routing options. The itinerary planning system 16 can ensure that the schedule information of the proposed itinerary option is as close as possible to the actual itinerary conditions, while minimizing the probability that the traveler will miss the connection. The traveler experience can be improved and the travel provider can receive less complaints from the traveler. More generally, the overall organizational processing of a travel provider, such as an airline, can be improved by the itinerary planning system 16. In particular, the complex processing for real-time rerouting of passengers resulting from a missed connection can be avoided and the need to wait for the passenger until the passenger arrives at the boarding gate corresponding to the starting position of the connection section can be limited.

In general, the routines executed to implement embodiments of the present invention, whether implemented as an operating system or a particular application, component, program, object, module, or portion of a command sequence, or even a subset thereof, Quot; computer program code "or simply" program code ". The program code typically includes one or more instructions resident in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and the instructions, when read and executed by one or more processors in the computer, cause the computer to perform various aspects of the invention To perform the steps necessary to implement the step or element to be implemented. Moreover, while the present invention has been described in the context of fully functional computer and computer systems, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many embodiments of the present invention may be distributed in various types of program products, It will be appreciated that the invention is equally applicable regardless of the particular type of computer readable medium used to carry out the invention.

Program codes embodied in any of the applications / modules described herein may be distributed individually or collectively to a number of different types of program products. In particular, the program code may be distributed using a computer-readable medium and a communication medium, which may include a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium that is essentially non-volatile includes volatile and non-volatile, implemented in any method or technology for storing information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data, and Removable and non-removable type media. The computer readable storage medium may be any of a variety of storage devices including but not limited to RAM, ROM, erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM), or other optical storage media, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be read by a computer and used to store the desired information can do. The communication medium may embody computer readable instructions, data structures, or other program modules. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media, e.g., wired networks or direct-wired connections, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Any combination of the above may also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

Computer program instructions that may be stored on a computer, other type of programmable data processing apparatus, or other device capable of functioning in a particular manner are also stored in a computer-readable medium, such that the instructions and / And instructions that implement the function / action specified in the block or blocks of the article.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded into a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a computer to execute a sequence of operations that may be performed on the computer, other processing apparatus, or other device, A computer-implemented process that provides one or more processes that implement the functions / operations specified in the blocks or blocks.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described in considerable detail, it is not intended that the applicant intend to limit or limit the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the path configuration step and the itinerary step are described as having separate sequential steps in certain embodiments of the present invention, but these steps can be performed simultaneously. Further, while the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate repeats performed recursively, some or all of these repetitions may be performed in parallel in certain embodiments of the present invention.

Claims (15)

CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A method of generating a journey option in response to a routing request (801) from a source to a destination (30)
Selecting, by the computer, a plurality of paths from the origin to the destination, the candidates satisfying the journey in the itinerary request;
Determining, by the computer, delay-related statistical information (1010, 1011, 1012) derived from delay-related data for the past journey;
Estimating, by the computer, a minimum connection time at a connection point between a first section and a second section of each path based on the statistical information (1014);
Determining a plurality of itinerary combinations from the routes based on the departure time from the origin, the arrival time at the destination (31), and the schedule information (8040) for the first and second sections of each route );
For each path of each iteration combination, determining (908) by the computer whether the schedule information for the first and second intervals satisfies a condition associated with a minimum connection time; And
Selecting, by the computer, each journey combination for which the condition is satisfied by each route including the journey combination as a routing option of one of the routing options (910). The method according to claim 1,
The schedule information includes a scheduled arrival date of the first section, a scheduled arrival time of the first section, a scheduled departure date of the second section, and a scheduled departure time of the second section, the condition being that the schedule of the second section Wherein the time difference between the scheduled departure date and the scheduled departure time and the scheduled arrival time of the first section and the scheduled departure time is less than an estimated minimum connection time for the connection. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein at least a portion of the delay-related data comprises delay at the connection at the connection point for at least one time period and associated with the past journey from the origin to the destination. The method according to claim 1,
Characterized in that the statistical information comprises a transportation infrastructure saturation statistic (151) derived from saturation information (42) of the transportation infrastructure measured during one or more time periods. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the statistical information includes a connection time statistics value based on a plurality of connection times at a connection point measured for a plurality of travelers for one or more time periods, And a time required to move from the arrival position to the starting position of the second section from the connection point. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the connection time statistics value is further based on each traveler &apos; s user profile. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein at least a portion of each connection time is measured using an application on a mobile client device configured to detect each traveler's movement at a connection point. The method according to claim 1,
Determining a delay indicator for the routing combination associated with each routing option; And
Returning a delay indicator for the routing option and each routing option from the computer to the client device in response to the request. The method according to claim 1,
Determining a delay indicator for the routing combination associated with each routing option; And
And in response to the request, returning the routing option, wherein the delay indicator exceeds a given threshold, from the computer to the client device. An apparatus for generating a routing option in response to a routing request from a source to a destination,
At least one processor; And
A memory coupled to the at least one processor and including instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to:
Selecting a plurality of paths (48) that are candidates to meet the journey in the itinerary from the origin to the destination;
Determining delay-related statistical information (36) derived from delay-related data (40, 42, 44) for the past journey;
Estimating a minimum connection time at a connection point between the first section and the second section of each path based on the statistical information;
Determining a plurality of route combinations from the route based on the departure time from the departure point, the arrival time at the destination, and the schedule information for the first and second sections of each route;
Determining, for each path of each routing combination, whether the schedule information for the first and second intervals satisfies a condition associated with a minimum connection time; And
To select each journey combination that the condition is satisfied by each route including the journey combination as a travel option of one of the travel options (34). 11. The method of claim 10,
The schedule information includes a scheduled arrival date of the first section, a scheduled arrival time of the first section, a scheduled departure date of the second section, and a scheduled departure time of the second section, the condition being that the schedule of the second section Wherein the time difference between the scheduled departure date and the scheduled departure time and the scheduled arrival time of the first section and the scheduled departure time is less than the estimated minimum connection time at the connection point. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein at least a portion of the delay-related data comprises a connection at the connection point for one or more time periods and delay information associated with the past journey from the origin to the destination. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the statistical information comprises a transport infrastructure saturation statistic value derived from saturation information of the transport infrastructure measured during one or more time periods. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the statistical information includes a connection time statistics value based on a plurality of connection times at a connection point measured for a plurality of travelers for one or more time periods, And a time required to move from the connection point to the start position of the second section from the arrival time. A computer program product for generating routing options in response to a routing request from a source to a destination,
Non-transient computer readable storage medium; And
Comprising instructions stored on a non-transient computer readable storage medium, the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
Selecting a plurality of paths from the source to the destination that are candidates satisfying the journey in the itinerary request;
Determining delay-related statistical information derived from delay-related data for the past journey;
Estimating a minimum connection time at a connection point between the first section and the second section of each path based on the statistical information;
Determining a plurality of route combinations from the route based on the departure time from the departure point, the arrival time at the destination, and the schedule information for the first and second sections of each route;
Determining, for each path of each routing combination, whether the schedule information for the first and second intervals satisfies a condition associated with a minimum connection time; And
Wherein the condition is selected for each journey combination that is satisfied by each route including the journey combination as a travel option of one of the travel options.

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