Patent Application
20110153469
Structural warehouses are typically used to house inventory. Information is routinely gathered regarding the inventory in the warehouse on a regular basis, to maintain an updated record of the inventory in the warehouse. Such information may include the quantity and the type of inventory within the warehouse, for example. When an order is received at the warehouse, such as from a retail store, the warehouse manager compares the requested quantity and type of inventory on the request order with the warehouse records, to determine if the order can be fulfilled. If the warehouse records indicate that a sufficient quantity of the type of inventory is present in the warehouse, and thus that the order can be fulfilled, a truck or other transport vehicle is loaded with cargo corresponding to the requested inventory, and departs from the warehouse with an “in-transit” mode for the destination.
Once the transport vehicle has departed from the warehouse with the cargo with the “in transit” mode, the warehouse records are modified to remove the ordered inventory, as this inventory has been removed from the warehouse system and is no longer eligible to fulfill future request orders. Although various checkpoints may be established along the route of the transport vehicle during the “in transit” mode, and the time at which the cargo crosses each checkpoint can be reported, the vehicle nevertheless continues to the destination in the “in transit” mode. Delivery services companies such as Fed-ex® and UPS® utilize such a system, and report these crossing times on a website, for example.
It would be advantageous to provide a system for managing inventory which addresses some of the shortcomings of conventional warehouse inventory record keeping, as well as the mode of transporting the inventory to a destination, to provide greater overall flexibility.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided for managing mobile inventory within a virtual warehouse. The system includes mobile units, each configured to house a respective portion of the mobile inventory. The system further includes units, each unit configured to gather data relating to the respective portion of the mobile inventory. The system further includes position sensors, each position sensor configured to determine a location of the respective mobile unit. The system further includes communication devices, each configured to collect respective data from each unit and respective location data from each position sensor. Additionally, the system includes a central station in communication with the communication devices, to receive the respective data and the respective location data and in further communication with delivery locations of the mobile inventory, to receive a delivery request from a respective delivery location, the delivery request including a requested inventory and a requested delivery location. The central station is configured to determine a movement of the mobile inventory within a service area, based on the respective data, the respective locations of the mobile units, the requested inventory and the requested delivery location.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided for managing mobile inventory within a virtual warehouse. The system includes one or more mobile unit(s) to house a respective portion of the mobile inventory. The system further includes one or more unit(s) to gather data relating to the respective portion of the mobile inventory, and one or more position sensor(s) to determine a location of a respective mobile unit. Additionally, the system includes one or more communication device(s) to collect the respective data and the respective location from the respective unit and the respective position sensor. A movement of the mobile inventory within a service area is determined, based on the respective data and the respective location. The system also includes a central station in further communication with delivery locations of the mobile inventory, to receive a delivery request from a respective delivery location, the delivery request including a requested inventory and a requested delivery location. The central station is configured to determine a movement of the mobile inventory within a service area, based on the respective data, the respective locations of the mobile units, the requested inventory and the requested delivery location.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for managing mobile inventory within a virtual warehouse. The method includes housing a respective portion of the mobile inventory within a respective mobile unit among a plurality of mobile units. The method further includes collecting respective data relating to the portion of the mobile inventory within each mobile unit. The method further includes receiving a delivery request for a requested inventory to a delivery location. The method further includes determining a delivery mobile unit among the plurality of mobile units, based on comparing the respective portion of the mobile inventory with the requested inventory and comparing a transit time of each mobile unit to the delivery location, based on the collecting of the respective data.
The exemplary embodiments of the present invention involve the concept of managing the transport of inventory distributed within one or more mobile units, around a service area that may include one or more delivery locations, such as retail stores, for example. In conventional inventory management systems, a delivery request is received from a delivery location, such as a retail store, and the requested inventory is loaded onto a mobile unit, such as a truck trailer, after which the mobile unit departs from the warehouse to the delivery location with a permanent “in-transit” mode. In these conventional systems, once the mobile unit departs from the warehouse for the delivery location with the requested inventory, the mobile unit is in a permanent “in-transit” mode for the delivery location, and cannot be re-routed from this path of travel. However, in reality, various unforeseen scenarios may arise in which the delivery location may no longer need the requested inventory or may develop a need for different inventory other than the initially requested inventory. For example, if a retail store in Florida requests a large quantity of water in anticipation of a hurricane forecast scheduled in the vicinity of the retail store, and yet the eventual hurricane does not pass within a vicinity of the retail store, the retail store may want to cancel or modify the requested water order, and yet this would not be possible with conventional warehouse management systems, if the water has already departed from the warehouse on a truck trailer in an “in-transit” mode. In a similar example, the retail store in Florida may request a quantity of laundry detergent, but after the truck trailer departs from the warehouse with the requested laundry detergent, the hurricane forecast may suddenly develop and indicate the possibility of a hurricane in the vicinity of the store, and necessitate that the order be modified to include a large quantity of water, batteries and can food, for example. However, as previously discussed, none of the conventional inventory management systems would be capable of fulfilling these requests from the delivery locations.
The embodiments of the present invention provide an inventory management system which is capable of modifying delivery order requests, thereby providing greater flexibility to the changing demands and circumstances at each delivery location, in terms of inventory requests. The inventory is distributed among one or more mobile units, and the inventory within each mobile unit may be regularly monitored in terms of quantity/type and other characteristics relating to the inventory, which is then communicated to a central station. Examples of such an arrangement is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/961,533 filed on Dec. 20, 2007, as well as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/861,548 filed on Sep. 26, 2007, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present application and are incorporated by reference herein. The embodiments of present invention is not limited to the use of truck trailers as mobile units, and includes the use of any land, sea or air vehicles. In one example, a first portion of the mobile inventory may be placed within a first truck trailer, while a second portion of the mobile inventory may be placed within a second truck trailer. Since the first and second truck trailers move within a service area, the inventory is mobile within that service area. Additionally, as discussed in greater detail below, since the truck trailers may conduct their own respective inventory and receive delivery request orders, each truck trailer acts as one piece of a larger virtual warehouse that includes all of the truck trailers.
Each mobile unit 16,18,20 houses a respective portion 36,38,40 of the mobile inventory 12. The portions 36,38,40 of the mobile inventory 12 distributed among the mobile units 16,18,20 may be the same type but of varying quantity, the same quantity but of varying type, or of varying quantity and of varying type. The system 10 further includes a plurality of communication devices 22,24,26, where each communication device 22,24,26 is assigned to a respective mobile unit, and each communication device 22,24,26 collects respective data relating to the portion 36,38,40 of the mobile inventory 12 within its respectively assigned mobile unit 16,18,20. For example, as illustrated in
In an exemplary embodiment, one or more units 41 gather data relating to the respective portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12, including but not limited to one or more of a quantity of the inventory, and a type/brand of the inventory, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, the unit 41 may be a barcode scanner, which is used to scan a barcode or other identifying insignia on an inventory item, to determine the type and/or quantity of the inventory. In addition the units, one or more sensors 42 are used, to gather additional data regarding the respective portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12, including a temperature/humidity in the vicinity of the inventory, a physical condition of the inventory (e.g., packaging), a spoil condition of the inventory (e.g., food), a value of the inventory, and a fragile status of the inventory. Such data from the units 41 and/or the sensors 42 may be automatically inputted into the communication device 22 at regular time intervals, based on the communication device 22 receiving a regular input from the units and/or sensors 42 positioned within the mobile unit 16 and in wireless communication with the communication device 22. For example, a temperature sensor and/or humidity sensor may be positioned within or in a vicinity of the portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12, to measure a temperature/humidity within or in the vicinity of the portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12. Additionally, a pressure sensor may be positioned on or within a packaging of the portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12, to determine if the physical condition of the packaging has been affected. Additionally, a vapor sensor may be positioned in a vicinity of the portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12, particularly food inventory, to detect a presence of a methane gas as being indicative of a current or oncoming spoil condition of the food inventory. The value and fragile status of the portion 36 of the inventory 12 may be pre-programmed into the communication device 22, upon loading the portion 36 of the inventory 12 into the mobile unit 16. Instead of the data being automatically inputted at regular time intervals into the communication device 22, such data may be automatically inputted into the communication device 22, upon a manual input from a driver or worker into the communication device 22. Additionally, such data may be manually inputted, without the use of the sensors discussed above, but instead by the driver or worker manually inputting each piece of data regarding the quantity, type, condition, etc of the portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12.
In addition to the sensors 42 discussed above, which measure parameters relating to the portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12 within the mobile unit 16, one or more sensors 44 measure a parameter related to an operation of the mobile unit 16, such as a tire pressure, an engine parameter, and a vibration of the mobile unit 16, for example. In addition to the data from the sensors 42, the data from the sensors 44 may be regularly inputted to the communication device 22, which is in wireless communication with the sensors 44. As with the sensors 42 discussed above, the data from the sensors 44 may be automatically inputted to the communication device 22 at regular time intervals, automatically inputted to the communication device 22 upon a manual input and/or may be manually inputted to the communication device 22 by a driver and/or worker on the mobile unit 16, after having acquired this data of the parameter relating to the operation of the mobile unit 16.
In addition to the sensors 42,44 and units 41 discussed above, each mobile unit 16,18,20 includes a position sensor 43 which determines a respective location 30,32,34 of the respective mobile unit 16,18,20. For example, the position sensor 43 may be a global position satellite (GPS) sensor, or any sensor configured to measure or determine a current location of the respective mobile unit. The position sensor 43 may automatically transmit the respective location 30,32,34 of the respective mobile unit 16,18,20 to the respective communication device 22,24,26, at the regular time intervals, as discussed above.
As further illustrated in
Although the embodiments discussed above involve the sensors 42,43,44 transmitting their respective data to the communication devices 22,24,26 at a respective time interval, which in-turn transmit this respective data to the central station 28, the sensors 42,43,44 may instead (or in addition) transmit their respective data to the central station 28, thereby bypassing the communication devices 22,24,26.
Based on the received respective data from the communication devices 22,24,26, the central station 28 includes a processor 29 which determines a movement of the mobile inventory 12 within a service area 31. In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 29 may optimize the movement of the mobile inventory 12 within the service area 31, as discussed below. As illustrated in
In an exemplary embodiment, the central station 28 may optimize a movement of the mobile inventory 12 within the service area 31, based on the respective locations 30,32,34 of the mobile units 16,18,20 and the respective portion 36,38,40 of the mobile inventory 12 within each mobile unit 16,18,20. For example, if the respective portions 36,38 of the mobile units 16,18 include significant overlap in terms of either quantity or type of inventory, the central station 28 may transmit a signal to one of the mobile devices 22,24 such that the mobile units 16,18 distribute themselves more evenly throughout the service area 31. Conversely, if the respective portions 36,40 of the mobile units 16,20 do not include significant overlap in terms of either quantity or type of inventory, the central station 28 may transmit a signal to one of the mobile devices 22,26 such that the mobile units 16,20 maintain a closer separation than their present locations 30,34.
In an exemplary embodiment, the central station 28 may optimize a movement of the mobile inventory 12 within the service area 31, based on the respective parameter received from the mobile units 22,24,26. For example, if the central station 28 receives data from the mobile unit 22 that the tire pressure of the truck which is towing the mobile unit 16 is low, the central station 28 may transmit a signal to the mobile unit 22 such that the driver redirects the truck and mobile unit 16 to a service station so that the tire pressure may be corrected to a safe level. Even further, the central station 28 may consider the received value and/or fragile status of the respective portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12, when deciding whether or not the tire pressure has exceeded a safe level. For example, if the respective portion 36 of the mobile unit 12 is plasma televisions having a high value and/or a product having a fragile status, the safety threshold of the tire pressure may be higher than if the respective portion 36 of the mobile unit 12 is produce having a low value and/or no fragile status. If the central station 28 determines that the respective portion 36 of the mobile unit 12 has a high value and the received tire pressure is lower than the safety threshold, the central station 28 may transmit a signal to the communication device 22, requesting that the mobile unit 16 be redirected to the respective location 32 of the mobile unit 18 and that the portion 36 of the mobile inventory 12 on the mobile unit 16 be transferred to the mobile unit 18. Although the above example is discussed with regard to tire pressure, the central station 28 may make such a determination as to any parameter relating to the operation of the mobile unit, including vibration, engine temperature, etc.
As discussed above, the embodiments of the present invention present an inventory system which is capable of managing the mobile inventory 12, based on one or more inventory requests received from one or more retail stores 45,47 positioned at respective delivery locations 46,49. Although
As illustrated in
In an exemplary embodiment, an initial delivery request within the signal 48 from the store 45 at the delivery location 46 to the central station 28 may request large quantities of emergency inventory, such as water, flashlights and/or batteries, based on an upcoming emergency weather forecast at the delivery location 46. At a subsequent time, a second request may be transmitted from the store 45 to the central station 28, to cancel the requested large quantities of emergency inventory, since the emergency weather forecast was redirected from the delivery location 46 to the delivery location 49. Based on the emergency weather forecast being redirected to the delivery location 49, a delivery request may be transmitted from the store 47 at the delivery location 49 to the central station 28, to request emergency inventory, and the central station 28 transmits a signal to the mobile unit 16, to re-route the emergency inventory from being delivered to the retail store 45 at the deliver location 46 to being delivered to the retail store 47 at the delivery location 49. Although
Either in the absence of or during the delivering 104 phase, the method 100 may enter the managing 106 phase, in which the received data from the communication devices 22,24,26 of the respective portions 36,38,40 of the mobile inventory 12, the received data regarding the parameters relating to the operation of the mobile units 16,18,20 and the locations 30,32,34 of the mobile units 16,18,20 is reviewed by the processor 29. Based on this review, the processor 29 may transmit a signal to one of the communication devices 22,24,26, to modify a current path of travel of a mobile unit 16,18,20, based on one or more of a condition of the respective portions 36,38,40; a condition of the mobile units 36,38,40; a value of the respective portions 36,38,40; the locations 30,32,34; and a location of adjacent mobile units.
This written description uses examples to disclose embodiments of the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the embodiments of the invention. The patentable scope of the embodiments of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
