• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    SUMMARY Methods (500, 600) and system (400) in a vehicle (100) and a vehicle external entity (360)for assisting a vehicle external entity (360) in providing a delivery service to a third party(410). The method (500) comprises detecting (501) vacant load capacity in the vehicle(100); determining (502) size of the detected (501) vacant load capacity; determining (503)geographical position of the vehicle (100); determining (504) destination (220) of the vehi-cle (100); and transmitting (507) a message comprising an identification reference of thevehicle (100), the determined (502) size of the vacant load capacity, the determined (503)geographical position of the vehicle (100) and the determined (504) destination (220) of the vehicle (100), to be received by the vehicle external entity (360). (Pubi. Fig. 2)
    公开号:SE1550586A1
    申请号:SE1550586
    申请日:2015-05-07
    公开日:2016-11-08
    发明作者:Ekman Mats；Melin Martin
    申请人:Scania Cv Ab；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    RETURN LOAD CAPACITY TECHNICAL FIELD This document discloses a method and a system in a vehicle, and a vehicle external entityand a method therein. More particularly, a mechanism is provided for assisting a vehicle external entity in providing a delivery service to a third party.
    BACKGROUND There are many situations Where it is desired to transport a relatively small cargo while theown usual means of transportation is unavailable. At the same time, there are probablymany vehicles carrying cargo only in one direction and then return back empty. There mayalso be many vehicles having an additional load capacity also when driving in the first di- rection.
    Some examples of such vehicles may comprise a truck, a distribution truck, a bus or similar vehicle.
    Thus there is an enormous potential for saving energy by better using the additional loadcapacity of vehicles. However there is no present solution to get in contact with a truck onthe road passing nearby to find out if it has load capacity and if it will drive in the desired direction towards the desired destination, in a convenient way. lt thus appear that further development in this field may reduce energy consumption of thevehicles and reduce pollution caused by vehicle combustion engines. Also the number ofvehicles on the road may be reduced, potentially leading to reduced traffic congestion, traf- fic noise and perhaps even less traffic accidents. lt may in total be more profit for the transport company if the trucks run with higher average load and/ or cheaper for the customer who order the additional transports.
    SUMMARY lt is therefore an object of this invention to solve at least some of the above problems and providing a delivery service to a third party.
    According to a first aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a method in a ve-hicle for assisting a vehicle external entity in providing a delivery service to a third party.
    The method comprises detecting vacant load capacity in the vehicle. Further the method comprises determining size of the detected vacant load capacity. The method also com-prises determining geographical position of the vehicle. Additionally, the method furthercomprises determining destination of the vehicle. The method also comprises transmittinga message comprising an identification reference of the vehicle, the determined size of thevacant load capacity, the determined geographical position of the vehicle and the deter- mined destination of the vehicle, to be received by the vehicle external entity.
    According to a second aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a system in avehicle for assisting a vehicle external entity in providing a delivery service to a third party.The system comprises at least one sensor, configured for detecting vacant load capacity inthe vehicle and also configured for determining size of the detected vacant load capacity.Further the system comprises a positioning device, configured for determining geographi-cal position of the vehicle. The system furthermore comprises a navigation unit, whereinthe destination of the vehicle is stored. ln addition, the system also comprises a computingunit, configured for collecting information from the sensor, the positioning device and thenavigation unit and composing a message comprising an identification reference of thevehicle, the determined size of the vacant load capacity, the determined geographical posi-tion of the vehicle and the determined destination of the vehicle, to be received by the ve-hicle external entity. The system also comprises a wireless transmitter, configured for transmitting the composed message, to be received by the vehicle external entity.
    According to a third aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a method in avehicle external entity, configured for providing a delivery service to a third party. Themethod comprises receiving a message comprising an identification reference of a vehicle,a determined size of a vacant load capacity of the vehicle, a determined geographical posi-tion of the vehicle, and the determined destination of the vehicle, from the vehicle. Furtherthe method also comprises storing data comprised in the received message in a database, associated with time information.
    According to a fourth aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a vehicle exter-nal entity, configured for providing a delivery service to a third party. The vehicle externalentity comprises a receiver configured for receiving a message comprising an identificationreference of a vehicle, a determined size of a vacant load capacity of the vehicle, a deter-mined geographical position of the vehicle, and the determined destination of the vehicle,from the vehicle. Further the vehicle external entity comprises a database configured for storing data comprised in the received message, associated with time information.
    Hereby, thanks to the disclosed aspects, a service is provided for matching a customerwith a certain need for transportation with an appropriate vehicle passing by towards thesame, or almost the same destination, e.g. when returning empty or anyhow with additionalavailable load capacity from a delivery. The price for such transportation may becomecheaper than any comparable alternative for the customer. For the engaged vehicle owner,the provided service brings an additional income. Further, the total amount of fuel con-sumption and pollution caused by vehicle combustion engines is reduced, in comparisonwith engaging separate vehicles for the respective transportations, which both would returnempty after having made the respective delivery. Also, in a large scale implementation, thenumber of vehicles on the road may be reduced, potentially leading to reduced traffic con- gestion, traffic noise, environmental impact and perhaps even less traffic accidents.
    Other advantages and additional novel features will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description.
    FIGURES Embodiments of the invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a vehicle; Figure 2 illustrates an example of route planning of a vehicle; Figure 3 illustrates an example of a vehicle interior according to an embodiment ofthe invention; Figure 4 illustrates a system in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the inven-tion; Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method in a vehicle; Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method in a vehicle externalentity; Figure 7 is an illustration depicting a vehicle external entity according to an embodi- ment.
    DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the invention described herein are defined as a method and a system in avehicle, and a vehicle external entity and a method therein, which may be put into practice in the embodiments described below. These embodiments may, however, be exemplified and realised in many different forms and are not to be limited to the examples set forthherein; rather, these illustrative examples of embodiments are provided so that this disclo- sure will be thorough and complete.
    Still other objects and features may become apparent from the following detailed descrip-tion, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. lt is to be understood,however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as adefinition of the limits of the herein disclosed embodiments, for which reference is to bemade to the appended claims. Further, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scaleand, unless othenNise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.
    Figure 1 illustrates a scenario with a vehicle 100 driving in a driving direction 105.
    The vehicle 100 may be e.g. a truck, a bus, a van, a car, a boat, a train, an aeroplane, orany other similar type of vehicle running on wheels, rails, air or water. The vehicle 100 may be configured for running on a road, in terrain or in water, for example.
    The vehicle 100 may be driver controlled or driverless autonomously controlled vehicles indifferent embodiments. However, for enhanced clarity, the vehicle 100 is subsequently de- scribed as having a driver.
    According to some embodiments of the disclosed method, the present weight of the vehicle100 may be measured, e.g. by dedicated weight sensors, and it may thereby be estimatedhow much additional load it is able to carry. The positioning system in the vehicle 100 knowwhere the vehicle 100 is situated at any moment. Further, a navigator in the vehicle 100has the destination of the vehicle 100 entered. Also, further information concerning e.g. thekind of vehicle 100 such as e.g. a truck, a car transporter, a milk truck, a dumper truck etc.,and/ or load may be retrieved from a database. This information may be collected by anentity external to the vehicle 100 such as e.g. a server collecting various data from variousvehicles. An example of such vehicle external entity may be the Scania Fleet Management system.
    Further, a third party customer with a certain transportation requirements may make a re-quest to the vehicle external entity concerning if any vehicle is available to carry the loadfrom a certain point to the destination. lf the additional load is accepted by the vehicle 100, the transport may be cheaper for the third party customer, while the additional load may bring an additional income for the transport company/ vehicle owner. Reducing the energyconsumption, when the vehicle 100 is using fossil fuel, other fuel or electric power, leads tonot only cheaper transport, but also reduced emissions of harmful exhaust gas such ascarbon dioxide or less energy consumption. Also, by compacting load and avoiding travelswith empty vehicles, less vehicles are required to traffic the road, leading to reduced traffic congestion, less generated noise from the traffic.
    Figure 2 illustrates an example of an interface where a route for a vehicle 100 from a start-ing point 210 to a destination 220 via a pick-up point 230. The starting point 210 here is thegeographical coordinate where the vehicle 100 currently is situated. This point 210 may bedetermined by a positioning unit in the vehicle 100. The destination 220 may be extractedfrom the navigator of the vehicle 100. The pick-up point 230 is the point where the third party customer has cargo that is to be delivered to the destination 220. ln this scenario, a question may be transmitted to the driver, asking if it is possible, or thedriver likes, to stop at the pick-up point 230, load the cargo into the vehicle 100 and con-tinue to the destination 220. This is merely a non-limiting example with one pick-up point230 and one destination 220. ln other examples there may be a plurality of pick-up pointsand/ or a plurality of destinations. There may also in some embodiments be a plurality ofalternative pick-up points and/ or destinations, and the driver may be encouraged to select among them (when the demand is exceeding the supply).
    Figure 3 illustrates an example of how the previous scenario in Figure 1 may be perceivedby the driver of the vehicle 100 when driving towards the destination 220, according to an embodiment.
    A computing unit 310 may be comprised in the vehicle 100, configured for assisting a vehi- cle external entity 360 in providing a delivery service to a third party.
    The computing unit 310 may be connected to, and configured for collecting information from one or more sensors 380 in the vehicle 100, e.g. in the cargo area of the vehicle 100.
    Furthermore, the computing unit 310 may be connected to a positioning device 330 and a navigation unit 335 in the vehicle 100.
    The computing unit 310 may also be connected with a communication device 350, which may communicate wirelessly with the vehicle external entity 360. The vehicle external en- tity 360 may comprise, or be connected to a database 370, which database 370 may com- prise vehicle related data and/ or geographical map data.
    The communication between the communication device 350 and the vehicle external entity360 may be made by a wireless signal such as e.g. a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) signal, orany other wireless signal based on, or at least inspired by wireless communication technol-ogy such as Wi-Fi, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB),Bluetooth (BT), or infrared transmission to name but a few possible examples of wireless communications.
    The geographical position of the vehicle 100 may be determined by a positioning device330 in the vehicles 100, which may be based on a satellite navigation system such as theNavigation Signal Timing and Ranging (Navstar) Global Positioning System (GPS), Differ-ential GPS (DGPS), Galileo, GLONASS, or the like.
    The geographical position of the positioning device 330, (and thereby also of the vehicle100 may be done continuously with a certain predetermined or configurable time intervals according to various embodiments.
    Positioning by satellite navigation is based on distance measurement using triangulationfrom a number of satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4. The satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3,340-4 continuously transmit information about time and date (for example, in coded form),identity (which satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 which broadcasts), status, and wherethe satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 are situated at any given time. GPS satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 sends information encoded with different codes, for example, butnot necessarily based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). This allows informationfrom an individual satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 distinguished from the others' infor-mation, based on a unique code for each respective satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4.This information can then be transmitted to be received by the appropriately adapted posi- tioning device 330 in the vehicle 100.
    Distance measurement can according to some embodiments comprise measuring the dif-ference in the time it takes for each respective satellite signal transmitted by the respectivesatellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 to reach the positioning device 330. As the radio sig-nals travel at the speed of light, the distance to the respective satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 may be computed by measuring the signal propagation time.
    The positions of the satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 are known, as they continuouslyare monitored by approximately 15-30 ground stations located mainly along and near theearth's equator. Thereby the geographical position, i.e. latitude and longitude, of the vehicle100 may be calculated by determining the distance to at least three satellites 340-1, 340-2,340-3, 340-4 through triangulation. For determination of altitude, signals from four satellites340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 may be used according to some embodiments.
    Having determined the geographical position of the positioning device 330, or having de-termined the position of the vehicle 100 in another way like e.g. input from the driver, it maybe presented on a map, where the position of the vehicle 100 may be marked for exampleon a screen or display 320, as illustrated in Figure 2. The display 320 may comprise atouch screen or similar in some embodiments, i.e. thereby also configured for user input.
    Also, various information for the driver may be displayed on the display 320.
    The vehicle external entity 360 may, when a request is received from any third part, trans-mit a request to the driver of the vehicle 100, asking the driver to confirm additional capac-ity to pick up an additional piece of cargo. Possibly, a time delay estimation may be calcu-lated and presented to the driver. The driver may reject the additional cargo if the original delivery is time sensitive, for example.
    Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a system 400 in a vehicle 100, for assisting a vehicle external entity 360 in providing a delivery service to a third party 410.
    The third party 410 may be any entity that desire transportation of cargo from the pick-uppoint 230 to the destination 220.
    The system 400 in the vehicle 100 comprises at least one sensor 380, configured for de-tecting vacant load capacity in the vehicle 100 and also configured for determining size ofthe detected vacant load capacity. The system 400 further comprises a positioning device330, configured for determining geographical position of the vehicle 100. Furthermore, thevehicle 100 comprises a navigation unit 335, wherein the destination of the vehicle 100 is stored. ln addition the system 400 comprises a computing unit 310, configured for collecting infor-mation from the sensor 380, the positioning device 330 and the navigation unit 335 andcomposing a message comprising an identification reference of the vehicle 100, the deter- mined size of the vacant load capacity, the determined geographical position of the vehicle 100 and the determined destination 220 of the vehicle 100, to be received by the vehicle external entity 360.
    The system 400 also comprises a wireless transmitter 350, configured for transmitting the composed message, to be received by the vehicle external entity 360. ln some embodiments, the computing unit 310 may further be configured for estimatingtime of arrival of the vehicle 100 to the determined destination of the vehicle 100. Thecomputing unit 310 may further be configured for providing the estimated time of arrival in the composed message to be received by the vehicle external entity 360.
    The transmitted message may be transmitted by means of a wireless signal. The wirelesssignal may be e.g. a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) signal, or any other wireless signal based on,or at least inspired by wireless communication technology such as Wi-Fi, Wireless LocalArea Network (WLAN), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT), or infrared trans- mission, to name but a few possible examples of wireless communications.
    Figure 5 illustrates an example of a first method 500 according to an embodiment. Theflow chart in Figure 5 shows the method 500 in a vehicle 100, for assisting a vehicle exter- nal entity 360 in providing a delivery service to a third party 410.
    The vehicle external entity 360 may comprise a server providing e.g. fleet managementservices. Fleet management is a function which allows companies which rely on transpor-tation in business to e.g. remove or reduce the risks associated with vehicle investment,improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation and staff costs,providing compliance with government legislation etc. These functions may be dealt with byeither an in-house fleet-management department or an outsourced fleet-management pro- vider in different embodiments.
    The vehicle 100 may be any arbitrary kind of means for conveyance, configured for trans-portation of e.g. cargo, such as a truck, a bus, a car, or similar. The vehicle 100 may be driven by a driver, or be autonomous in different embodiments. ln order to correctly be able to assist a vehicle external entity 360 in providing a deliveryservice to a third party 410, the method 500 may comprise a number of steps 501-507.However, some of these steps 501-507 may be performed solely in some alternative em- bodiments, like e.g. step 505 and/ or step 506. Further, the described steps 501-507 may be performed in a somewhat different chronological order than the numbering suggests.Step 504 may be performed before step 503, step 502 and/ or 501 for example in some embodiments, just as an example. The method 500 may comprise the subsequent steps: Step 501 comprises detecting vacant load capacity in the vehicle 100.
    Vacant load capacity in the vehicle 100 may be detected by one or more sensors 380 inthe vehicle 100, such as weight sensors for detecting load capacity in weight. The sensor380 may comprise a camera arranged in the cargo area of the vehicle 100, and appropriatesoftware for detecting free volume space and/ or floor area in the vehicle 100 in some em-bodiments. The vacant load capacity may be calculated based on measurements made bythe vehicle sensors 380 without input from the driver. However, in some other embodi- ments, vacant load capacity may be detected and/ or confirmed by input from the driver.
    Step 502 comprises determining size of the detected 501 vacant load capacity. Step 502and step 501 may be seen as one conjunct method step in some embodiments, or be per- formed simultaneously.
    The size of the detected vacant load capacity may be determined by at least one sensor380 in the vehicle 100 in some embodiments. Such sensor 380 may comprise a cameraarranged in the cargo area of the vehicle 100, and appropriate software for detecting freevolume space and/ or floor area in the vehicle 100 in some embodiments. The size of thedetected vacant load capacity may be in weight, in volume or in floor area of the cargo areaof the vehicle 100.
    The weight of the vehicle 100 may thus be determined by one or more weight sensors 380in the vehicle 100 in some embodiments. However, the vehicle weight may be approxi-mated to a static value in some embodiments, or determined to one value in a set of staticvalues (no cargo/ half loaded/ loaded). ln other embodiments, for example when the vehi-cle 100 is a bus, the number of passengers on the bus may be counted, and an estimatedaverage weight of each passenger may be added to the weight of the vehicle 100. How-ever, in some embodiments the number of passengers on e.g. a bus may be estimatedbased on statistics, or estimated based on the time of the day, the day of the year etc., as it is known that the number of passengers will increase during rush hours.
    The size of the detected vacant load may be calculated by the vehicle sensors 380 withoutinput from the driver in some embodiments. However, in some other embodiments, vacant load capacity may be determined and confirmed by input from the driver.
    Step 503 comprises determining geographical position of the vehicle 100.
    The current vehicle position 210 may be determined by a geographical positioning unit 330 in the vehicle 100, such as e.g. a GPS.
    However, the current vehicle position 210 may alternatively be determined by the driver ofthe vehicle 100 and inserted by him/ her, e.g. by Writing an address or any other conven-ient way of determining the vehicle position, such as distance from a reference point measured by the trip meter and a reference to the road.
    Step 504 comprises determining destination 220 of the vehicle 100.
    The destination 220 of the vehicle 100 may e.g. be extracted from the geographical posi-tioning unit 330 or navigator of the vehicle 100, or obtained from the driver, or by determin- ing a scheduled route of the vehicle 100.
    Step 505, which only may be performed in some embodiments, comprises estimating time of arrival of the vehicle 100 to the determined 504 destination 220 of the vehicle 100.
    The expected arrival time may be estimated, based on the determining 503 geographicalposition of the vehicle 100 and the distance between the vehicle position and the deter-mined 504 destination. However, the expected arrival time may be estimated based on time table information in some alternative embodiments. ln some embodiment, the time of arrival of the vehicle 100 may be determined based on historical statistics, using time of the day, season of the year etc., as input values.
    Further, knowledge about any possible ahead traffic jam, accident, road work etc. may be taken into account when estimating the time of arrival.
    Step 506, which only may be performed in some embodiments, comprises extracting drive time information from a tachograph 305 in the vehicle 100. 11 The tachograph 305 keeps a record over the driving time and resting periods of the driver,who is obliged by law in some jurisdictions to limit the number of driving hours in a row and/or per day. By extracting this information, it may be avoided to make the driver exceed theallowed amount of driving hours when suggesting new driving orders. Also, the tachographinformation may be used for estimating 505 time of arrival, e.g. when the driver has to take a resting break.
    Step 507 comprises transmitting a message comprising an identification reference of thevehicle 100, the determined 502 size of the vacant load capacity, the determined 503 geo-graphical position of the vehicle 100 and the determined 504 destination 220 of the vehicle 100, to be received by the vehicle external entity 360.
    According to some embodiments, the detected 501 vacant load capacity in the vehicle 100and the determined 502 size of the detected 501 vacant load capacity may be confirmed by the driver in the vehicle 100 before transmitting the message. ln some embodiments, the transmitted message may comprise the estimated 505 time ofarrival. Further, in some embodiments, the transmitted message comprises the extracted 506 drive time information.
    The transmitted message may be transmitted by means of a wireless signal. The wirelesssignal may be e.g. a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) signal, or any other wireless signal based on,or at least inspired by wireless communication technology such as Third Generation Part-nership Project (3GPP 3G), 4G, Wi-Fi, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra MobileBroadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT), or infrared transmission, to name but a few possible examples of wireless communications.
    Figure 6 illustrates an example of a second method 600 according to an embodiment. Theflow chart in Figure 6 shows the method 600 in in a vehicle external entity 360, configured for providing a delivery service to a third party 410.
    The vehicle external entity 360 may comprise a server providing e.g. fleet managementservices. Fleet management is a function which allows companies which rely on transpor-tation in business to e.g. remove or reduce the risks associated with vehicle investment,improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation and staff costs,providing compliance with government legislation etc. These functions may be dealt with by either an in-house fleet-management department or an outsourced fleet-management pro- 12 vider in different embodiments. An example of such vehicle external entity may be the Scania Fleet Management.
    Further information concerning e.g. the kind of vehicle 100 such as e.g. a truck, a cartransporter, a milk truck, a dumper truck etc., and/ or load may be retrieved from a data-base 370, together with information such as driver, haulier information, contact information to the haulage company etc.
    The vehicle 100 may be any arbitrary kind of means for conveyance, configured for trans-portation of e.g. cargo, such as a truck, a bus, a car, or similar. The vehicle 100 may be driven by a driver, or be autonomous in different embodiments. ln order to correctly be able to provide the delivery service to the third party 410, themethod 600 may comprise a number of steps 601-609. However, some of these steps 601-609 may be performed solely in some alternative embodiments, like e.g. step 603, 604,605, 606, 607, 608 and/ or step 609. Further, the described steps 601-609 may be per-formed in a somewhat different chronological order than the numbering suggests. The method 600 may comprise the subsequent steps: Step 601 comprises receiving a message comprising an identification reference of a vehi-cle 100, a determined size of a vacant load capacity of the vehicle 100, a determined geo-graphical position of the vehicle 100, and the determined destination 220 of the vehicle100, from the vehicle 100.
    The received message may be received over a wireless interface by a wireless signal. Thewireless signal may be e.g. a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) signal, or any other wireless signalbased on, or at least inspired by wireless communication technology such as Wi-Fi, Wire-less Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT), or infra- red transmission, to name but a few possible examples of wireless communications.
    Step 602 comprises storing data comprised in the received 601 message in a database 370, associated with time information.
    The database 370 may comprise further information related to the vehicle 100 such as type of vehicle, contact information to the driver, and/ or vehicle owner, etc. 13 Step 603, which only may be performed in some embodiments, comprises detecting dis- tances and time information where vehicles 100 regularly drive with vacant load capacity. ln these embodiments, a candidate vehicle for transportation may be detected, based on historical information stored in the database 370.
    Step 604, which only may be performed in some embodiments, comprises extractingstored data information associated with the received identification reference of the vehicle100 from the database 370.
    Such stored data information may comprise e.g. kind of vehicle 100 driver, haulier informa- tion, contact information to the haulage company, driver, etc.
    Step 605, which only may be performed in some embodiments, comprises providing infor-mation associated with the detected 603 distances, time information and vehicle related information to the third party 410.
    Thereby the third party 410 is provided with information concerning transportation time, in order to determine to Whether to use the transportation service or not.
    Step 606, which only may be performed in some embodiments, comprises receiving a re-quest for a delivery service from the third party 410, from a pick-up point 230 to a destina-tion 220.
    The request further may comprise information, e.g. coordinates or address of the pick-uppoint 230 and the destination 220. Also other information such as kind of goods to be de- livered, contact information to the third party 410 or a contact person may be provided.
    Step 607, which only may be performed in some embodiments, comprises comparing the received 606 request for the delivery service with the stored 602 data in the database 370.
    By making a comparison, a vehicle 100 may be detected that is available and appropriate for delivering the goods.
    Step 608, which only may be performed in some embodiments, comprises detecting a ve-hicle 100 having vacant load capacity and is driving on a route passing the pick-up point230, to the destination 220. 14 Step 609, which only may be performed in some embodiments, comprises presenting in-formation related to the detected 608 vehicle 100 for the third party 410.
    The information to be presented may comprise contact information to the driver of the vehi-cle 100 and/ or the haulage company, and/ or information concerning the vehicle 100, such as kind of vehicle, amount of vacant capacity of the vehicle 100 etc.
    Figure 7 illustrates an embodiment of a vehicle external entity 360, configured for providing a delivery service to a third party 410, which vehicle external entity 360.
    The vehicle external entity 360 may comprise a receiver 710 configured for receiving amessage comprising an identification reference of a vehicle 100, a determined size of avacant load capacity of the vehicle 100, a determined geographical position of the vehicle100, and the determined destination 220 of the vehicle 100, from the vehicle 100.
    The receiver 710 may also be configured for receiving a request for a delivery service from the third party 410, from a pick-up point 230 to a destination 220 in some embodiments.
    Furthermore, the vehicle external entity 360 may comprise, or be connected to a database370 configured for storing data comprised in the received message, associated with timeinformation. The database 370 is configured for storing data comprised in the received message, associated with time information. ln some embodiments, the vehicle external entity 360 in addition may comprise a comput-ing unit 720, configured for detecting distances and time information Where vehicles 100regularly drive with vacant load capacity, based on stored data in the database 370, such as historical data.
    Further the computing unit 720 according to some embodiments may be configured fordetecting distances and time information where vehicles 100 regularly drive with vacantload capacity. The computing unit 720 may also be configured for providing informationassociated with the detected distances, time information and vehicle related information tothe third party 410.
    The computing unit 720 may in some embodiments comprise extracting stored data infor-mation associated With the received identification reference of the vehicle 100 from thedatabase 370.
    Furthermore, the computing unit 720 may in addition be configured for comparing a re-ceived request for the delivery service with the stored data in the database 370. The com-puting unit 720 may also be configured for detecting a vehicle 100 having vacant load ca-pacity and is driving on a route passing the pick-up point 230, to the destination 220. Fur-ther the computing unit 720 may be configured for presenting information related to thedetected vehicle 100 for the third party 410.
    The computing unit 720 may comprise a processor configured for performing at least someof the previously described steps 601-609 according to the method 600, in some embodi- ments.
    Such processor may comprise one or more instances of a processing circuit, i.e. a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor, or other processing logic that mayinterpret and execute instructions. The herein utilised expression ”processor” may thusrepresent a processing circuitry comprising a plurality of processing circuits, such as, e.g., any, some or all of the ones enumerated above.
    Furthermore, the vehicle external entity 360 in addition may comprise a transmitter 730configured for providing information associated With the detected distances, time informa- tion and vehicle related information to the third party 410.
    The previously described steps 601-609 to be performed in the vehicle external entity 360may be implemented through the one or more computing unit 720, together with computerprogram product for performing at least some of the functions of the steps 601-609. Thus acomputer program product, comprising instructions for performing the steps 601-609 in thevehicle external entity 360 may perform the method 600 comprising at least some of thesteps 601-609 for providing a delivery service to a third party 410 by when the computer program is loaded into the computing unit 720 of the vehicle external entity 360.
    The computer program product mentioned above may be provided for instance in the formof a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing at least some of the step 601-609 according to some embodiments when being loaded into the computing unit 720 16 of the vehicle external entity 360. The data carrier may be, e.g., a hard disk, a CD ROMdisc, a memory stick, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device or any otherappropriate medium such as a disk or tape that may hold machine readable data in a non-transitory manner. The computer program product may furthermore be provided as com-puter program code on a server and downloaded to the vehicle, and/ or vehicle external entity 360 remotely, e.g., over an lnternet or an intranet connection.
    The terminology used in the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the accompa-nying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the described methods 500, 600; the vehicleexternal entity 360; the computer program and/ or the vehicle 100. Various changes, sub-stitutions and/ or alterations may be made, without departing from invention embodiments as defined by the appended claims.
    As used herein, the term "and/ or" comprises any and all combinations of one or more ofthe associated listed items. The term ”or” as used herein, is to be interpreted as a mathe-matical OR, i.e., as an inclusive disjunction; not as a mathematical exclusive OR (XOR),unless expressly stated otherwise. ln addition, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are tobe interpreted as “at least one", thus also possibly comprising a plurality of entities of thesame kind, unless expressly stated otherwise. lt will be further understood that the terms"includes", "comprises", "including" and/ or "comprising", specifies the presence of statedfeatures, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/ or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, actions, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/ or groups thereof. A single unit such as e.g. aprocessor may fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact thatcertain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that acombination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. A computer program may bestored/ distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distrib- uted in other forms such as via lnternet or other wired or wireless communication system.
    权利要求:
    Claims (15)
    [1] 1. A method (500) in a vehicle (100) for assisting a vehicle external entity (360) inproviding a delivery service to a third party (410), which method (500) comprises: detecting (501) vacant load capacity in the vehicle (100); determining (502) size of the detected (501) vacant load capacity; determining (503) geographical position of the vehicle (100); determining (504) destination (220) of the vehicle (100); and transmitting (507) a message comprising an identification reference of the vehicle(100), the determined (502) size of the vacant load capacity, the determined (503) geo-graphical position of the vehicle (100) and the determined (504) destination (220) of the vehicle (100), to be received by the vehicle external entity (360).
    [2] 2. The method (500) according to claim 1, further comprising:estimating (505) time of arrival of the vehicle (100) to the determined (504) desti-nation of the vehicle (100); and wherein the transmitted (507) message comprises the es- timated (505) time of arrival.
    [3] 3. The method (500) according to any of claims 1 or 2, further comprising:extracting (506) drive time information from a tachograph (305) in the vehicle(100); and wherein the transmitted (507) message comprises the extracted (506) drive time information.
    [4] 4. The method (500) according to any of claims 1-3, wherein vacant load capacity inthe vehicle (100) is detected (501) and the size of the detected (501) vacant load capacityis determined (502) by at least one sensor (380) in the vehicle (100).
    [5] 5. The method (500) according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the detected (501) va-cant load capacity in the vehicle (100) and the determined (502) size of the detected (501)vacant load capacity is confirmed by a driver in the vehicle (100) before transmitting (507) the message.
    [6] 6. A system (400) in a vehicle (100) for assisting a vehicle external entity (360) inproviding a delivery service to a third party (410), which system (400) comprises: At least one sensor (380), configured for detecting vacant load capacity in the ve-hicle (100) and also configured for determining size of the detected vacant load capacity; a positioning device (330), configured for determining geographical position of thevehicle (100); 18 a navigation unit (335), wherein the destination of the vehicle (100) is stored; a computing unit (310), configured for collecting information from the at least onesensor (380), the positioning device (330) and the navigation unit (335) and composing amessage comprising an identification reference of the vehicle (100), the determined size ofthe vacant load capacity, the determined geographical position of the vehicle (100) and thedetermined destination (220) of the vehicle (100), to be received by the vehicle externalentity (360); and a wireless transmitter (350), configured for transmitting the composed message, to be received by the vehicle external entity (360).
    [7] 7. The system (400) according to claim 6, wherein the computing unit (310) is furtherconfigured for estimating time of arrival of the vehicle (100) to the determined destination ofthe vehicle (100); and for providing the estimated time of arrival in the composed message to be received by the vehicle external entity (360).
    [8] 8. A method (600) in a vehicle external entity (360), configured for providing a deliv-ery service to a third party (410), which method (600) comprises: receiving (601) a message comprising an identification reference of a vehicle(100), a determined size of a vacant load capacity of the vehicle (100), a determined geo-graphical position of the vehicle (100), and the determined destination (220) of the vehicle(100), from the vehicle (100); and storing (602) data comprised in the received (601) message in a database (370), associated with time information.
    [9] 9. The method (600) according to claim 8, further comprising: detecting (603) distances and time information where vehicles (100) regularlydrive with vacant load capacity; and providing (605) information associated with the detected (603) distances, timeinformation and vehicle related information to the third party (410).
    [10] 10. The method (600) according to any of claims 8-9, further comprising:extracting (604) stored data information associated with the received identificationreference of the vehicle (100) from the database (370).
    [11] 11. The method (600) according to any of claims 8-10, further comprising:receiving (606) a request for a delivery service from the third party (410), from a pick-up point (230) to a destination (220); 19 comparing (607) the received (606) request for the delivery service with the stored(602) data in the database (370); detecting (608) a vehicle (100) having vacant load capacity and is driving on aroute passing the pick-up point (230), to the destination (220); and presenting (609) information related to the detected (608) vehicle (100) for thethird party (410).
    [12] 12. iterated for a plurality of requests for delivery services from any third party (410) for as long The method (600) according to any of claims 8-11, wherein steps 606-609 are as the vehicle (100) has vacant load capacity.
    [13] 13.party (410), which vehicle external entity (360) comprises: A vehicle external entity (360), configured for providing a delivery service to a third a receiver (710) configured for receiving a message comprising an identificationreference of a vehicle (100), a determined size of a vacant load capacity of the vehicle(100), a determined geographical position of the vehicle (100), and the determined destina-tion (220) of the vehicle (100), from the vehicle (100); and a database (370) configured for storing data comprised in the received message,associated with time information.
    [14] 14. The vehicle external entity (360), further comprising: a computing unit (720), configured for detecting distances and time informationwhere vehicles (100) regularly drive with vacant load capacity, based on stored data in thedatabase (370).
    [15] 15. The vehicle external entity (360), further comprising: a transmitter (730) configured for providing information associated With the de- tected distances, time information and vehicle related information to the third party (410).
    类似技术:
    公开号 | 公开日 | 专利标题
    US10698409B1|2020-06-30|Navigable path networks for autonomous vehicles
    US10681498B2|2020-06-09|Standardization of addresses and location information
    US20200333785A1|2020-10-22|Autonomously delivering items to corresponding delivery locations proximate a delivery route
    US9273975B1|2016-03-01|Concepts for determining the accuracy of map data
    Ando et al.2006|Travel time reliability in vehicle routing and scheduling with time windows
    KR20180012794A|2018-02-06|Method and system for determining transportation service charges
    CA2985509A1|2016-11-17|Determining street segment headings
    US11004031B2|2021-05-11|Determining estimated pick-up/delivery windows using clustering
    EP2835773A1|2015-02-11|Delivery forecasting system
    WO2015147723A1|2015-10-01|Destination dependent cruise control
    US20210035233A1|2021-02-04|Detecting transportation company trips in a vehicle based upon on-board audio signals
    JP5244322B2|2013-07-24|Vehicle delivery system
    US20210182997A1|2021-06-17|Method and system for distributing the costs among platooning vehicles based on collected sensor data
    SE1550586A1|2016-11-08|Detecting vacant load capacity in a delivery vehicle
    US20180349861A1|2018-12-06|Systems, methods, apparatuses and computer program products for providing notification of items for pickup and delivery
    US20200160245A1|2020-05-21|Vehicle production and distribution system for ride share programs and method thereof
    JP5123530B2|2013-01-23|Vehicle delivery system
    JP4969033B2|2012-07-04|Delivery availability analysis device, route connection device
    US20210056443A1|2021-02-25|Estimating fuel economy
    JP2020159800A|2020-10-01|Delivery order determination system, method for determining delivery order, and computer program
    SE1550608A1|2016-11-12|Method and control unit for planning a route
    Clarke et al.2018|Report on the Portering Trial
    CHANG et al.2013|Freight vehicle routing optimization for sporadic orders using floating car data
    Bell et al.2013|Ancillary Functions for Smartphone Weight–Mile Tax Truck Data: Evaluation of Data on Smartphone Weight–Mile Tax for Trucks for Supporting Freight Modeling, Performance Measures, and Planning
    SE541020C2|2019-03-12|Methods, control unit and computing unit for assisting a driver of a vehicle in reducing energy consumption
    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    SE538875C2|2017-01-17|
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    US20190188637A1|2017-12-15|2019-06-20|Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha|Information processing device, information processing method, image acquisition method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium|
    法律状态:
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    SE1550586A|SE538875C2|2015-05-07|2015-05-07|Detecting vacant load capacity in a delivery vehicle|SE1550586A| SE538875C2|2015-05-07|2015-05-07|Detecting vacant load capacity in a delivery vehicle|
    [返回顶部]