KR20210118675A - Method and Apparatus for Informing of Arrival Time of Goods - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and device for informing the arrival time of goods. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method for informing the arrival time of goods includes the steps of: determining a travel time between intermediate stops determined from addresses of delivery points of goods; determining the delivery business processing time at each of the intermediate stops; determining the expected arrival time to the delivery points based on the travel time and the delivery business processing time; and transmitting the expected arrival time to a customer terminal.

Description

Method and Apparatus for Informing of Arrival Time of Goods

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for announcing the arrival time of an article.

In the case of mail that does not require a customer's signature, such as a regular letter or parcel, delivery is completed by mailing it to a designated mailbox. In addition, in the case of parcels or couriers, even if it is not a regular mail box, it is difficult to deliver to the customer due to the absence of the customer. Delivery may be considered complete by storage in a third location, ie, non-face-to-face delivery. The completion of delivery means that there is no need to revisit the customer's address for specific delivery.

According to the current courier delivery service, notification information for selecting a consignment storage location when the customer is absent may be provided to the customer. For example, the notification information may be configured as shown in FIG. 1 . For example, the notification information, as shown in Fig. 1 (a) or (b), a guide phrase 112 or 122 for requesting a storage location selection, interface items 114 or 124 for selecting a storage location, It may include an input interface 116 or 126 for entering other requests, and a save button 118 or 128 . As another example, the notification information may include a button 134 for inputting message details 132 and a delivery message, as shown in FIG. 1C . In order not to visit the customer more than twice for the same delivery, the interfaces as shown in Fig. 1 are used to complete the delivery by storing it in a specific place when the customer is absent, such as a general courier company that can deliver untact delivery. have.

However, in an environment where mail or goods must be delivered to the customer after receiving the customer's signature, such as registered mail or cash delivery service, or in an environment where face-to-face delivery such as delivery that requires payment, etc., delivery is required depending on the customer's absence If this is not completed, a re-visit may be required. Accordingly, there is a need for an alternative for more convenient and efficient delivery of goods and the like to both the person in charge of delivery and the customer.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for more effectively carrying out the delivery of a face-to-face item.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for determining the time of arrival or time of arrival of an article.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for informing the arrival time or time of arrival of an article.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for changing the arrival time of an article at the request of a customer.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present invention. Further, it will be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the claims.

In order to achieve the above object, the method for notifying the arrival time of goods according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: determining a transit time between intermediate stops determined from addresses of delivery points of goods; delivery at each of the intermediate stops; Determining a business processing time, determining an expected arrival time to the delivery points based on the moving time and the delivery business processing time, and transmitting the estimated arrival time to a customer terminal. .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method and apparatus for notifying the arrival time of an article may be provided.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a delivery environment in which the product must be delivered by meeting the customer in person, the delivery person in charge checks the absence status of a specific customer on the day in advance, thereby reducing the phone call time for checking whether the customer is absent. can

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, by establishing a delivery route plan excluding the corresponding delivery point in the course of performing the delivery task, the time wasted for visiting the absent customer can also be greatly reduced.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, by selecting a desired delivery time within the availability of direct receipt and the changeable time period allowed for the customer, the customer satisfaction along with the one-time delivery success rate can also be significantly increased.

1 shows examples of an interface screen for designating a consignment storage place of a delivered article.
2 illustrates a system for providing a user responsive absence situation and receivable time setting service according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 shows an example of intermediate waypoint identification according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 shows an example of the main delivery point identification according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart for calculating an expected arrival time to a delivery point according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is an example of the time required for delivery business processing at at least one delivery point included in the transit time for each section, the arrival time and departure time of the intermediate stopover, and the intermediate stopover based on the delivery route according to an embodiment of the present invention. show
7 shows an example of calculating the estimated arrival time and delivery service processing time for each detailed delivery point in units of one main delivery point included in the intermediate stopover according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a flowchart for providing notification information according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 illustrates an example of an interface screen provided to a customer in order to provide delivery-related information and change an absence situation or scheduled arrival time according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 illustrates an example of an interface item for displaying section information on an expected arrival time and additional information on an expected arrival time according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily implement them. However, the present invention may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

In describing an embodiment of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a well-known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. And, in the drawings, parts not related to the description of the present invention are omitted, and similar reference numerals are attached to similar parts.

In the present invention, the components that are distinguished from each other are for clearly explaining their respective characteristics, and do not necessarily mean that the components are separated. That is, a plurality of components may be integrated to form one hardware or software unit, or one component may be distributed to form a plurality of hardware or software units. Accordingly, even if not specifically mentioned, such integrated or dispersed embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention.

In the present invention, components described in various embodiments do not necessarily mean essential components, and some may be optional components. Accordingly, an embodiment composed of a subset of components described in one embodiment is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, embodiments including other components in addition to the components described in various embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention.

In the present invention, terms such as first, second, etc. are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from other components, and unless otherwise specified, do not limit the order or importance between the components. Accordingly, within the scope of the present disclosure, a first component in one embodiment may be referred to as a second component in another embodiment, and similarly, a second component in one embodiment is referred to as a first component in another embodiment. can also be called

When a component of the present invention is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in between. It should be understood that there may be On the other hand, when it is said that a certain element is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there is no other element in the middle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention is to inform the arrival time of goods, to determine and notify the arrival time to the delivery destination in the delivery environment of the necessary goods that require a face-to-face between the delivery person and the customer, and to adjust the arrival time. Specifically, the present invention provides information on the expected arrival time in the form of a time section to each customer before arrival at each delivery point, that is, the delivery place, that the delivery person in charge must visit for same-day delivery in a delivery environment of goods requiring face-to-face delivery (eg, '10 :00~10:30 delivery scheduled'), and each customer can directly decide 'whether to receive the goods or not (out of office on the same day)' at the time the delivery person is scheduled to arrive at their address, or If the time zone is directly changed within the changeable time range provided for each customer because it is difficult to receive the product at the scheduled time, the route is regenerated to allow the customer to move to the next delivery point without visiting the delivery point while out of office, and the newly updated estimated arrival time based on the route It relates to a method and apparatus for providing a user responsive absence situation and receipt time designation service for continuously providing location information together with information to customers.

Estimated arrival time for a specific location is universal information that is used and provided in various fields as well as delivery of goods. Typically, the estimated arrival time may be provided when using a means of transportation such as a train or an aircraft, or in a vehicle navigation system for guiding a road. Estimated arrival time information is partially provided to recipient customers even in a delivery environment such as general mail or parcel delivery, and this may be useful information to recipient customers.

In the case of a navigation service, the accuracy of calculating the estimated time of arrival is basically based on speed information, but may vary depending on how appropriate weights are applied to reflect external environmental factors such as road type or traffic volume by time period for each section. Therefore, navigation service providers are making great efforts to improve accuracy by appropriately reflecting various weighting factors. Nevertheless, it is not easy to consider all the numerous factors that may occur in the actual driving process in the route search stage before departure. Therefore, in order to reduce the error of the estimated arrival time due to various and unpredictable external factors occurring in the actual driving process, the remaining distance to the destination is continuously recalculated based on the current location while moving, and the updated arrival schedule is continuously updated. A method of providing visual information to a user is used. Accordingly, the error between the initially provided expected arrival time and the actual arrival time decreases as the destination approaches, that is, as the remaining distance decreases.

Estimated arrival times, which are mainly provided in the delivery environment, are mostly provided in the form of time sections, unlike those provided by the aforementioned train or aircraft or navigation for directions. The provision of estimated time of arrival in the form of segments is related to accuracy. It is not easy for customers to wait all day at the delivery location to receive the goods. If the customer is provided with an expected arrival time at a specific time, such as on a train or navigation system, if the delivery person does not arrive very close to that time (e.g. within ± 10 minutes), the customer's other schedule may be disrupted; This can lead to very large customer dissatisfaction. Most of the customer complaints lead to complaints, which act as one of the biggest grievances for the actual delivery person. Therefore, in most cases, even if it is 'scheduled for same-day delivery' or information on expected arrival time is provided for product delivery, it is provided in a relatively wide range of several hours (eg, 2 hours).

The wider the range of time zone information provided to customers, the more likely they will arrive within the corresponding time zone. In general postal and courier delivery environments, the deviation of the average daily delivery volume is relatively large, but there are many cases where there are as few as about 50 cases and as many as 150 cases or more. In particular, in the case of a delivery manager whose unit price is set in units of one quantity, it is often the case that more than 200 items are delivered per day. Assuming that 100 items are delivered for 10 hours a day, it takes about 6 minutes to deliver one item even with simple calculations. Therefore, the estimated arrival time range of 2 hours is sufficient to absorb most of the changes that can cause delivery delays. In other words, in a typical delivery environment, a unique situation in which delivery is delayed for more than two hours is rare. From the customer's point of view, the shorter the time interval, the shorter the waiting time to receive the product, so satisfaction may increase. However, it is not easy to narrow the range of the expected arrival time due to difficult situations that may occur in the actual delivery environment.

Also, since the operating time is relatively constant in the case of transportation means operating on a predetermined route, the scheduled arrival time once set is continuously effective unless there is a special change. However, in the case of a delivery environment, the locations of delivery points to be visited by the delivery person are determined only when the goods to be delivered on the same day are determined, and the delivery route may vary depending on the locations (eg, addresses) of delivery points and the quantity of goods. In addition, in the case of delivery, unlike navigation, where the estimated arrival time is provided for only one final destination, a plurality of stopovers or intermediate stopovers exist, and the estimated arrival times for all delivery points to be visited must be provided. This is analogous to a train, where the estimated arrival time is provided for each stopover station as well as the final destination station. In order to determine the estimated time of arrival for all stopovers, the length of stay at each station must be taken into account. In the case of a train, the amount of time a train arrives at one stopover and stays at that station for disembarkation and boarding of passengers can be predicted relatively consistently (e.g., typically two minutes), whereas in the case of a delivery environment, the time spent at one address can be predicted. It is difficult to determine consistently. Because even if a single volume is delivered to one address, the time from getting off the vehicle or two-wheeled vehicle to the customer's front door, waiting for the customer at the front door, receiving the customer's signature and delivering the goods, and returning the product after delivery This is because the time it takes to get back to the vehicle can vary greatly depending on the type of building and the circumstances. In particular, in multi-family or multi-family buildings such as townhouses and apartments, multiple buildings may exist in one basic address, and multiple delivery stores may exist in each building. In other words, the walking distance varies depending on the type of building corresponding to one address, and the time it takes to move within a building varies depending on whether stairs or elevators are moved, and whether there is a locking facility at the entrance to the building. It is not easy to uniformly apply the time to stay at the delivery point, such as the time to stay at the stopover station.

As described above, it is also difficult to determine the expected arrival time with high accuracy in the delivery environment, but it is also not easy to successfully deliver the product with a single visit at the provided scheduled arrival time. This is because the estimated arrival time information provided to the customer is only the time that is unilaterally notified to the customer by the delivery route created by the delivery person's personal experience or the logistics system, and is not determined in consideration of the customer's schedule on the day, This is because there is no guarantee that the customer will be present at the location. In other words, not all customers are waiting for the estimated arrival time provided to them.

It is also not easy to change the estimated arrival time provided to the customer to another time zone. This is because, unless it is a change between two very adjacent delivery points, a change in the delivery order changes the delivery person's entire travel route, resulting in a complicated situation in which the estimated arrival times of all other customers must also be changed. Therefore, the reckless change of the expected arrival time may act as a cause of lowering the success rate of one-time delivery to the delivery person, and increasing the inefficiency and cost of the delivery service due to re-visiting or re-delivery.

Therefore, in reality, the delivery person in charge often uses a method of once again checking the absence or visit time of the day by using a phone call or text message with each customer before the delivery departure. In the case of a customer who has not been called, arrive near the customer's delivery store and try to talk to the customer again just before the visit, or if the call is not answered, visit the customer's house and check the customer's absence. the current situation. This has become one of the main factors that reduce delivery efficiency and customer satisfaction at the same time, and worsen the delivery environment due to excessive labor.

To reduce redelivery in a face-to-face delivery environment where items must be delivered face-to-face with customers, delivery personnel can confirm delivery availability by phone call with each customer. Assuming that it takes 1 minute to check availability with one customer, if the daily delivery quantity is 60 pieces, it takes more than an hour to deliver. This is because if the call connection with the customer is not immediately established, the delivery person must try to make a call again. Therefore, in order to reduce the time it takes for delivery personnel to check whether delivery is possible with the customer, especially in the case of delivery using a two-wheeled vehicle, it is difficult to make a phone call while driving for safety reasons. Most of the cases are trying to make a call while moving to .

Therefore, the present invention removes inefficient waste factors such as unnecessary phone call time and unnecessary delivery store visits in advance by automatically checking the customer's absence status before a phone call, and increases work efficiency by reducing the direct work time of the delivery person In addition, we propose various ways to reduce the inconvenience of customers having to wait for a long time according to the estimated arrival time provided in advance, while at the same time increasing the success rate of one-time delivery.

2 illustrates a system for providing a user responsive absence situation and receivable time setting service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the user responsive absence situation and each setting service providing system upon receipt of goods according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a delivery person terminal 220 , a customer terminal 230 , and a service device 240 . can do.

The delivery person terminal 220 is a device used by the delivery person, and may perform communication with the service device 240 . For example, the delivery person terminal 220 may have a form of a personal data assistant (PDA) or a smart phone for work. The delivery person uses the delivery person terminal 220 to obtain delivery-related information on the goods 210 to be processed on the same day. The obtained information may include a code for product identification, such as a registration number, customer name, address, contact information, and other product-related information. For example, the person in charge of delivery may obtain product information through a method of recognizing a barcode or a QR code, etc. using the terminal 220 in charge of delivery. In this case, the delivery article 210 may be in the form of a tangible article or an intangible service such as mail, parcel, and courier. In the case of an intangible service type, information may be obtained through a system or the like, not through a method such as direct scanning. The obtained delivery-related information may be stored in the delivery information storage unit 246 .

The customer terminal 230 is a device used by a customer and may communicate with the service device 240 . For example, the customer terminal 230 may have the form of a personal computer (PC), a PDA, or a smart phone.

The service device 240 is a device for storing information necessary for delivery of the delivery product 210 and managing a route based on the stored information. The service device 240 may communicate with the delivery person terminal 220 and the customer terminal 230 using an external communication network. The service device 240 generates a delivery route for same-day delivery, and provides delivery-related information to a customer, and a delivery route management unit 242 and delivery information providing unit 244 and delivery person terminal 220 to obtain a customer response. It may include a delivery information storage unit 246 for storing the delivery information received from the customer terminal interface 248 for communication with the customer terminal (230).

The delivery route management unit 242 is a delivery point pre-processing unit 252 that performs the processing necessary to determine a delivery route from the delivery product information stored in the delivery information storage unit 246, information processed by the delivery point pre-processing unit 252. Based on the delivery route generator 254 to determine the delivery route, based on the delivery route determined by the delivery route generator 254 may include an arrival time calculator 256 for predicting the arrival time for each delivery point. Delivery information providing unit 244 is a delivery notification information sending unit 262 for generating estimated arrival time information to be transmitted to the customer terminal 230, delivery status information to generate delivery status information to be transmitted to the customer terminal 230 Study 264, it may include a customer response information acquisition unit 266 for processing the customer response information received from the customer terminal (230).

Hereinafter, with reference to the configuration of the service device 240 illustrated in FIG. 2 , the provision of the absence status and receivable time setting service according to various embodiments of the present invention will be described as follows.

When the information on the same-day delivery items obtained by the delivery person is stored in the delivery information storage unit 246, the delivery route management unit 242 creates a delivery route for same-day delivery based on the corresponding delivery item information. In order to generate a delivery route, address information capable of identifying a location may be used. To create a delivery route, the delivery point preprocessor 252 extracts a list of intermediate waypoints for route generation. Intermediate waypoint extraction can be understood as a grouping operation for duplicate addresses. For example, even if there are multiple deliveries to one address or multiple deliveries to one building where multiple households reside, it is not necessary to duplicate them for route creation. Therefore, in order to help understanding, the address information is briefly described as follows.

A commonly used address may be divided into a 'basic address' and a 'detailed address' as shown in Table 1 below.

address #1001, 901-dong, 251, Jukdong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon base address 251, Jukdong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon Detailed Address Building 901, Room 1001

For general route navigation, including navigation for directions, the base address is used for geographic location identification. For example, if two different households in a two-story house live in rooms 101 and 201, respectively, the basic address is the same. Since the geographic locations of the two addresses are the same, they do not need to be distinguished as different intermediate stopovers in the route search. In particular, in the case of a building of a type such as an apartment, there may be dozens or hundreds of deliveries to the same basic address. However, in the case of route search, a basic address related to a plurality of delivery items corresponds to one stopover. As an exception, in the case of some large apartment complexes, there may exist cases where even the dong information of the detailed address (eg, 101 dong) can be identified. Nevertheless, call information of the detailed address (eg, number 1001) is not used. This is because, as in the case of the two-story house described above, it is not necessary to identify several households belonging to one dong by geographically different locations. In general, even if several buildings exist in one apartment complex, they are usually identified by one address.

As described above, a basic address and a detailed address may be extracted from the address information. The 'basic address' is information used for guiding a route to a destination, and may be part or all of the entire address. The 'detailed address' is information other than the basic address from the total address. In some cases, the base address may be the same as the full address. For example, when there is only one household in one building, the base address and the full address may be the same.

3 shows an example of intermediate waypoint identification according to an embodiment of the present invention. Addresses for buildings exist on the map, and points corresponding to each address for route search may be configured along a road as shown in FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , an example of detailed attribute information for each address is shown in <Table 2>.

address number of floors number of generations number of delivery points Detailed number of delivery points default address Detailed Address 245, Jukdong-ro does not exist 3 One One One 247, Jukdong-ro No. 101 No. 201 2 2 One 2 249, Jukdong-ro 101
No. 201
Room 301 3 3 One 3 251, Jukdong-ro Building 901, Room 101
Building 901, Room 102
Building 901, Room 201
Building 901, Room 202
…
Building 904, Room 1001
Building 904, Room 1002 10
(by each dong) 20
(by each dong) 4
(1 for each building) 80
(by each dong) 253, Jukdong-ro does not exist 2 One One One 255, Jukdong-ro does not exist One One One One 257, Jukdong-ro 101, 102
No. 201, No. 202
Room 301 3 5 One 5

According to the example of FIG. 3 and <Table 2>, 'Jukdong-ro 251' is an apartment complex composed of four 10-story buildings (eg, 901, 902, 903, 904), and each floor is 1 It consists of two households, No. 2 and No. 2, and 20 households live in one dong, and 80 households live in all 4 dongs. The rest of the addresses consist of single-building houses.

Because the basic address expresses up to 'road name (eg Jukdong-ro) + building number (eg 245)', the address of 'Jukdong-ro 245' can be identified as a delivery store only with the basic address. This is because, as in the example of <Table 2>, the address is a three-story detached house in which only one household resides. More specifically, the building corresponding to 'Jukdong-ro 245' is a three-story house, and a detailed address is not required because one household lives alone. However, in the case of '247, Jukdong-ro,' the building is a two-story house, and different households live on the first and second floors, so detailed addresses for identifying each of 101 and 201 are required. Therefore, since the detailed address can distinguish one household, it can represent a delivery point for one delivery.

As described above, a 'Delivery Point (DP)' is a place corresponding to a specific customer that a delivery person must visit for a single delivery. In the case of a detached house in which only one household resides, one delivery point can be identified only by the basic address without a detailed address. However, when multiple households reside in a single building (eg, a building), such as a multi-family house or apartment, a detailed address is required to identify each household as a different delivery point. In the case of a two-story house in which two households reside, such as '247 Jukdong-ro' illustrated in FIG. 3 and <Table 2>, two delivery points can be identified only when there is a detailed address for each household.

Therefore, in order to more clearly distinguish the meaning of the term delivery point, the present invention divides the delivery point into a 'Primary Delivery Point (PDP)' and a 'Detailed Delivery Point (DDP)'. For better understanding, the main delivery point and the detailed delivery point are described separately from the intermediate stopovers constituting the above-described delivery route.

A 'detailed delivery point' is a delivery point identified through a detailed address, and is information that generally identifies one independent household. Accordingly, according to the example of <Table 2>, the number of all households residing in one basic address becomes the number of detailed delivery stores. When one address is an apartment complex, there may be as many detailed delivery points as the number of households.

A 'main delivery point' may be understood as a point corresponding to one basic address unit. One basic address may be one main delivery point, and one main delivery point may correspond to several detailed delivery points. However, when one household lives alone as in '245 Jukdong-ro', only one detailed delivery point may exist for one main delivery point. That is, in some cases, the main delivery point and the detailed delivery point may be the same. However, in the case of an apartment complex, since several buildings may exist in one basic address, one building may be defined as one main delivery point. In the example of <Table 2>, since each of the four dongs is set as the main delivery point, and 20 households reside in each dong, 20 detailed delivery points are mapped to each one main delivery point. That is, the main delivery point can be understood as a unit that bundles the detailed delivery points that need to be delivered before the delivery person arrives at a specific location using a transportation means, gets off the transportation means, and moves to the next main delivery point. As such, the main delivery point and the detailed delivery point need to be distinguished from the intermediate stopovers constituting the delivery route.

One intermediate waypoint or waypoint may correspond to one main delivery point. Here, the stopover is a relative concept, and one main delivery point may be a waypoint in relation to any one delivery article, and may be a final destination in relation to another delivery article. In some cases, a main delivery point may not have a status as a stopover. For example, a main delivery point located at the end of a delivery route may not have a status as a stopover. However, according to the understanding, the last main delivery point may also be treated as a stopover.

Figure 4 shows an example of the main delivery point identification according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4 , an intermediate stopover constituting a delivery route may be expressed along a road for a specific address. A primary delivery point may be defined based on the location of a building relative to a delivery address or an entrance to the building. Detailed delivery points are not usually indicated on the map. This is because the first and second floors of the same building are geographically the same. Accordingly, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 , as an embodiment of the present invention, address information, intermediate stopovers, and delivery points for same-day delivery are shown in <Table 3>.

Item number Address (base address + detailed address) intermediate stop main delivery point Detailed delivery store 01 245, Jukdong-ro One One One 02 245, Jukdong-ro 03 Room 101, 249, Jukdong-ro 2 One One 04 Room 201, 249, Jukdong-ro 2 05 #101, 901, 251, Jukdong-ro 3 One One 06 Room 301, 901, 251, Jukdong-ro 2 07 Room 502, 901, 251, Jukdong-ro 3 08 #801, 901, 251, Jukdong-ro 4 09 Room 201, 904-dong, 251, Jukdong-ro 2 One 10 Room 402, Building 904, 251, Jukdong-ro 2 11 255, Jukdong-ro 4 One One … … … … …

Referring to the example of <Table 3>, items #01 and #02 should be delivered to 245 Jukdong-ro, and there is only one detailed delivery point corresponding to one main delivery point of items #01 and #02. This means that there are two deliveries in the same house. Items #03 and #04 are delivered to 249, Jukdong-ro, but since they are items to be delivered to Nos. 101 and 201, respectively, there is one main delivery point but two detailed delivery points. Therefore, in the example of <Table 3>, Accordingly, the delivery point preprocessor 254 extracts a list of a total of four intermediate waypoints for route generation, and the delivery route generator 254 generates an optimal route through the four intermediate waypoints. A general route optimization problem is solved based on various routing algorithms, but the time spent at each intermediate stop is not considered. Accordingly, the estimated time required for the movement of the entire route is the sum of the estimated travel times for each section constituting the entire route from the starting point to the regression point, as shown in Equations 1 and 2 below.

In <Equation 1>, eTTij represents the expected travel time from the intermediate waypoint i to the intermediate waypoint j (Expected Travel Time), and Tij represents the travel time value from the intermediate waypoint i to the intermediate waypoint j previously determined for route search. In the case of route search, since the starting point and the return point are also treated as one waypoint, the estimated travel time from the starting point to the first intermediate waypoint and the estimated travel time from the last intermediate waypoint to the regression point are also calculated when calculating the estimated travel time of the entire route. are considered

In <Equation 2>, eTTT represents the expected total travel time for the entire route, and eTTij represents the estimated travel time from the intermediate stop i to the intermediate stop j.

However, the estimated arrival time information provided to the customer is the estimated arrival time of the detailed delivery store. For example, stopover number 1 (eg, 245 Jukdong-ro) includes one detailed delivery point, and two deliveries (eg, article #01, article #02) are performed. In this case, two deliveries to one house must be processed. It is necessary to consider the time it takes at stop 1 until just before leaving for the next stop after completing the two deliveries. Therefore, the system according to the present invention may consider the time required for delivery service processing at each intermediate stopover as shown in the following <Equation 3> to <Equation 5> in order to provide information on the estimated arrival time to all customers.

In <Equation 3>, ePTi represents the expected processing time required for processing the delivery task at the intermediate stop i (Expected Processing Time), and ePTij represents the estimated time required for the delivery task processing at the delivery point j included in the intermediate stop i.

In <Equation 4>, eTPT represents the expected total processing time required for processing the delivery service at all stopovers, and ePTi represents the estimated time required for processing the delivery service at the intermediate stop point i.

In <Equation 5>, eTWT represents the total expected working time (Expected Total Working Time), eTTT represents the total estimated travel time for the entire route, and eTPT represents the total estimated work time required for delivery business processing at all stopovers.

As described above, the estimated total business time required for movement and delivery may be calculated as the sum of the total estimated travel time (eTTT) for the entire route and the total estimated business time (eTPT) required to process the entire delivery task.

The arrival time calculation unit 256 calculates an estimated business time required for delivery business processing at one intermediate stop (wpi). Estimated working hours can be understood as the elapsed time from arriving at one stopover along a route to returning to the vehicle after completing the delivery. Specifically, the estimated business hours at one intermediate stop are the travel time from the intermediate stop to the main delivery point by vehicle, two-wheeled vehicle, and on foot, the time it takes to move the delivered goods to the customer's entrance in the building, and arrive at the customer's entrance Afterwards, it may include the time it takes to meet the customer and handle the delivery task, and the time it takes to travel back to the vehicle after completing the delivery task. When a plurality of detailed delivery points exist in one building, such as an apartment, the time taken to move to the next detailed delivery point within the building may be further considered. Therefore, the time required for delivery service processing at one intermediate stopover wpi may be calculated based on the number of detailed delivery points to be visited rather than the number of delivery quantities.

<Table 4> is an example of the delivery task processing for each intermediate stop according to the same-day quantity example in <Table 3>.

waypoint number address number of items main delivery point number Detailed number of delivery points wp1 245, Jukdong-ro 2 One One wp2 249, Jukdong-ro 2 One 2 wp3 251, Jukdong-ro 6 1 (Building 901) 4 2 (Wing 904) 2 wp4 255, Jukdong-ro One One One

Referring to <Table 4>, in the case of intermediate stop #1, there are two deliveries, but the delivery is completed when only one detailed delivery store is visited. For intermediate stop #3, there are 4 deliveries and 2 deliveries at each of the two main delivery points (eg, Buildings 901 and 904). The arrival time calculation unit 256 calculates the time required to process the delivery service at each intermediate stop by using the same-day delivery list in units of detailed delivery points. In order to calculate the time required for delivery business processing, the average time through actual time measurement is used, or based on GPS (Global Positioning System) information installed in vehicles and delivery personnel terminals, processing time information recorded in business processing events, etc. Past history data for each delivery point may be used.

By using the delivery task processing time for each intermediate stop and the movement time for each section provided from the delivery route generation unit 254, the estimated arrival time for each intermediate stop, the main delivery point, and the detailed delivery point can be calculated. At this time, the estimated time ePTi required for delivery task processing at one intermediate stopover wpi may be calculated as in Equation 3 above.

5 is a flowchart for calculating an expected arrival time to a delivery point according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 , in step S501 , the service device 240 determines a movement time for each section based on product delivery information. In other words, the service device 240 calculates the time required to move between intermediate stops to deliver the goods for each section. Specifically, the service device 240 extracts intermediate waypoints from the list of delivery points, determines a route through all of the extracted intermediate waypoints, checks the distance between the intermediate waypoints according to the order on the route, and determines the moving speed and distance. Based on this, it is possible to determine the travel time for each section. Here, at least one of the intermediate stopovers may be a part, not all, of the address of the corresponding customer.

In step S503, the service device 240 determines the delivery task processing time for each intermediate stopover. In other words, the service device 240 calculates the time required to perform delivery at each intermediate stop for each intermediate stop. To this end, the service device 240 may consider at least one of the structure of the building in which the delivery is performed, the past history of the delivery performed in the building, the distance between detailed delivery points in the intermediate stop, and the average customer response time. . In this case, when a plurality of detailed delivery points exist at the corresponding intermediate stopover, the service device 240 may determine an optimal route between the detailed delivery points, and may determine a delivery task processing time based on the determined optimal route.

In step S505, the service device 240 determines the expected arrival time for each delivery point based on the moving time and delivery business processing time. In this case, in order to determine the expected arrival time of any one delivery point, the service device 240 may calculate the sum of the travel time and delivery service processing time related to at least one intermediate stopover ahead of the delivery point on the route.

According to the procedure described with reference to FIG. 5, the estimated time of arrival at the delivery point may be determined. Hereinafter, a specific example of the determination result of the estimated arrival time will be described with reference to FIG. 6 .

6 is an example of an expression of the time required for delivery business processing at at least one delivery point included in the moving time for each section, the arrival time and departure time of the intermediate stopover, and the intermediate stopover based on the delivery route according to an embodiment of the present invention. show Referring to FIG. 6 , 4 basic addresses among 7 basic addresses correspond to delivery points. Of the four basic addresses including at least one delivery point, 251 Jukdong-ro includes a plurality of main delivery points. An example of determining the arrival time, delivery service processing time, and departure time by treating basic addresses as intermediate stopovers is shown in <Table 5> below.

Intermediate stop number (address) arrival time Delivery business processing time departure time wp1 (245, Jukdong-ro) 10:00 7 minutes 10:07 ↓ 3 minutes (travel time) wp2 (249, Jukdong-ro) 10:10 9 minutes 10:19 ↓ 4 minutes (travel time) wp3 (251 Jukdong-ro) 10:23 34 minutes 10:57 ↓ 7 minutes (travel time) wp4 (255 Jukdong-ro) 11:04 5 minutes 11:09 … …

As shown in <Table 5>, in determining the delivery task processing time for each intermediate stopover, if a plurality of detailed delivery points exist at the intermediate stopover, the travel time between the detailed delivery points and the delivery task processing time for each detailed delivery point are determined at the intermediate stopover. It is taken into account to determine the delivery business processing time. For example, the delivery task processing time of the intermediate stopover wp2 having the base address of 249 Jukdong-ro may be determined as shown in FIG. 7 .

7 shows an example of calculating the estimated arrival time and delivery service processing time for each detailed delivery point in units of one main delivery point included in the intermediate stopover according to an embodiment of the present invention. 7 is an example of the detailed estimated arrival time calculation for each detailed delivery point in wp2, which is one intermediate stopover illustrated in FIG. Each arrival and departure time, and delivery service processing time at the detailed delivery point are: the travel time from wp2 to DDP1, the time required for the delivery service from DDP1, the time required for the delivery service from DDP1, the travel time from DDP1 to DDP2, the time required for the delivery service from DDP2, and the time required for the delivery service from DDP2 to wp2 It may include the travel time required to return. Here, 'wp2→DDP1', which means moving from wp2 to the first detailed delivery point, more specifically, may include 'wp2→PDP1→DDP1' because it passes the main delivery point PDP1. Similarly, 'DDP2→wp2', which means a movement back to wp2 from the last detailed delivery point, may also include 'DDP2→PDP1→wp2'. Specific examples of the above-described delivery time required and travel time are shown in Table 6 below.

Intermediate stop number (address) arrival time Delivery business processing time departure time wp2 (249, Jukdong-ro) 10:10 9 minutes 10:19 wp2→DDP1 2 minutes (travel time) DDP1 10:12 2 minutes 10:14 DDP1→DDP2 1 minute (travel time) DDP2 10:15 2 minutes 10:17 DDP2→wp2 2 minutes (travel time) wp2 10:19 10:19

The intermediate stopover and detailed delivery point arrival time information calculated through the above-described process by the arrival time calculation unit 256 are the customer terminals ( 230) may be notified.

Based on the estimated arrival time determined as described above, the service device 240 may provide notification information including the expected arrival time to the customer terminal 230 . Hereinafter, an embodiment for providing notification information will be described.

8 is a flowchart for providing notification information according to an embodiment of the present invention. 8 is an example of a procedure for providing notification information to one customer. When there are a plurality of customers, the service device 240 may repeatedly perform a procedure to be described later for each customer.

Referring to FIG. 8 , in step S801 , the service device 240 checks an expected arrival time. Estimated arrival time is determined by considering the travel time between intermediate stops and delivery service processing time for each intermediate stop.

In step S803, the service device 240 determines whether the expected arrival time can be changed. Whether to change the estimated arrival time may be determined based on at least one of a location of another intermediate stop, whether there is a conflict with another customer's request for a time change, and efficiency of route modification according to a time change. Additionally, when it is possible to change the expected arrival time, the service device 240 may further determine the range of the changeable time.

If the time change is possible, in step S805 , the service device 240 generates data for notification information including a time change item. That is, the service device 240 generates notification information for requesting a change in the estimated arrival time. Here, the time change item may include at least one of an item for inputting a request for a time change, an item for inputting the degree of the requested change, and an item for classifying a method (eg, extension or movement) of the requested change. can

If the time change is not possible, in step S807 , the service device 240 generates data for notification information that does not include a time change item. That is, the service device 240 generates notification information that cannot request a change of the estimated arrival time.

Thereafter, in step S809 , the service device 240 transmits data for notification information. The service device 240 may transmit data indicating notification information to the customer terminal using the customer terminal interface 248 .

In the procedure described with reference to FIG. 8 , the service device 240 determines whether the expected arrival time is changeable. Here, a criterion for determining whether a change in the estimated arrival time is possible may be defined in various ways. As an example, the efficiency of path correction may be a criterion for determining whether change is possible. In this case, according to an embodiment, the efficiency of the route modification may be evaluated by comparing an increase in travel time that occurs as the route is modified according to a time change and a threshold value. According to another embodiment, the efficiency of the route modification may be evaluated by comparing whether the modified route causes overlapping movement on the same road or by comparing the number of overlapping movements and a threshold.

After the notification information provided through the procedure shown in FIG. 8 is received by the customer terminal 230 , it is displayed on the screen of the customer terminal 230 . In this case, the screen configuration may vary according to a specific embodiment. A specific example of the notification information is shown in FIG. 9 below.

9 illustrates an example of an interface screen provided to a customer in order to provide delivery-related information and change an absence or scheduled arrival time according to an embodiment of the present invention. 9 is an example of a customer interface screen displayed based on data provided to the customer terminal 230 through the delivery notification information sending unit 262 . 9 illustrates an interface screen when it is determined that the expected arrival time can be changed.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the interface screen displays an estimated arrival time 902 , a non-receiptable feedback button 904 , an input item 906 for requesting a change of the estimated arrival time, and a phrase guiding a method of requesting a change of the estimated arrival time It may include at least one of 908 , an explanatory text related to change 910 , and other function buttons 912 .

Unlike the conventional mobile phone text message, the delivery of expected arrival time information in text form through a conversation application, according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Changeable range information may be provided for a customer who wants to acquire information or change the time zone of the expected arrival time provided through the input item 906 . When it is impossible to receive the goods due to the absence situation on the day, when the customer clicks the button 904 marked 'absent on the day', information on the absence situation on the day may be transmitted to the delivery person. By using the input item 906 as shown in FIG. 9 , the customer may change within the provided changeable range or extend the expected arrival time zone. The changed customer response information is stored in the delivery information storage unit 246 through the customer response information acquisition unit 266, and the delivery path is re-searched using the customer response information acquired by the delivery path generation unit 254. A notification message is sent to the customer through the newly updated re-delivery notification information sending unit 262 .

When the delivery person starts delivery based on the delivery path regenerated through the customer response, the delivery status information providing unit 264 can continuously provide delivery-related information such as the location and delivery status of the delivery person to the delivery person and customers. have. The customer may check the delivery status by using the customer terminal 230 as necessary.

10 illustrates an example of an interface item for displaying section information on an expected arrival time and additional information on an expected arrival time according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the interface item may include an item 1002 indicating an expected arrival time expressed as a time zone and an indicator 1004 indicating a more specific arrival time within the estimated arrival time. In the case of FIG. 10 , the indicator 1004 is exemplified as a delivery man-shaped icon, but the shape of the indicator 1004 may vary according to specific embodiments. 10 , more specific arrival time information within the expected arrival time section of the delivery person in charge of delivery together with the estimated arrival time information provided to the customer while the delivery is in progress may be provided together in a graphical form.

In a typical delivery environment, even if customers are provided with information on expected arrival times in a range of several hours, it is impossible to predict when they will actually arrive in the corresponding section, so they have no choice but to wait for the entire range of hours. On the other hand, according to the present invention, since it is possible to calculate the delivery time required for each detailed delivery point, the estimated arrival time information can be provided in a much narrower section within 30 minutes or 1 hour, and furthermore, it starts in the corresponding section Since it is possible to additionally provide additional information on whether to arrive close to the vicinity or close to the end, a more accurate delivery service can be provided, and an improvement in customer satisfaction can be achieved together.

As described above, in order to provide the expected arrival time for each customer in a typical two-hour or narrower range suitable for a delivery environment that requires face-to-face, the present invention confirms the same-day delivery of the delivery person and visits the location for all visits. When a delivery route is determined, a method of calculating the estimated arrival time for each customer is proposed in consideration of the time required for delivery service at each delivery point.

In addition, the present invention automatically provides the expected arrival time for each customer by using services such as SMS text message and notification talk message to the mobile terminal of the customer receiving the goods on the same day, and changes the customer's absence or non-absence information of the expected arrival time provided We provide a range of changes for each customer to customers who want to, and propose an interface for automatically acquiring customer response information.

Furthermore, the present invention regenerates the delivery route by reflecting the absence status information and the changed time information obtained from the customer, provides the updated estimated arrival time zone information again, and sets the estimated arrival time that is dynamically changed as the actual delivery progresses. We propose a technique for continuously providing graphical information along with a section.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure do not list all possible combinations, but are intended to describe representative aspects of the present disclosure, and the details described in various embodiments may be applied independently or in combination of two or more.

In addition, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For implementation by hardware, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), general purpose It may be implemented by a processor (general processor), a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, and the like. For example, it is self-evident that it can be implemented in the form of a program stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium that can be used at the end or edge, or in the form of a program stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium that can be used at the edge or in the cloud. do.

For example, the method for controlling the optimal transmission/reception power level for each radar beam according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a program stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, A method of dividing and displaying by index may also be implemented in the form of a computer program.

The scope of the present disclosure includes software or machine-executable instructions (eg, operating system, application, firmware, program, etc.) that cause an operation according to the method of various embodiments to be executed on a device or computer, and such software or and non-transitory computer-readable media in which instructions and the like are stored and executable on a device or computer.

The present invention described above can be various substitutions, modifications and changes within the scope without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention for those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, so the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above. It is not limited by one embodiment and the accompanying drawings.

210: delivery goods
220: delivery person terminal
230: customer terminal
240: service device
242: Delivery route management department
244: delivery information provider
246: delivery information storage unit
248: customer terminal interface
252: delivery store pre-processing unit
254: delivery route generator
256: arrival time calculator
262: delivery notification information sending unit
264: delivery status information providing unit
266: customer response information acquisition unit

Claims (1)

How to notify the arrival time of goods:
determining a transit time between intermediate stops determined from addresses of delivery points of goods;
determining a delivery business processing time at each of the intermediate stops;
determining an expected arrival time to the delivery points based on the travel time and the delivery business processing time; and
and transmitting the estimated time of arrival to a customer terminal.

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