# US 10,373,113 B2 · Transport vector management

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- Number: US 10,373,113 B2
- Document ID: US10373113B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/434,728
- Filed: 2017-02-16
- Published: 2018-08-16
- Granted: 2019-08-06
- Earliest claimed: 2017-02-16
- Assignees: International Fulfillment Solutions, LLC
- Applicants: International Fulfillment Solutions, LLC
- Inventors: Devin C. Johnson; Ben Whitesides
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10373113B2

## CPC

- G06Q 10/0843: {using forecasting or optimisation}
- G06Q 10/087: Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
- G06Q 10/083: Shipping
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A computer system for dynamically managing the transport vector of items receives a client identification and handling parameters from an input device. The system identifies, within a client database, different transport vectors associated with the client identification. The system then accesses one or more item-specific variables associated with the particular item. The system also filters the different transport vectors by the item-specific variables and the handling parameters such that a remaining subset of the different transport vectors all conform with the item-specific variables and the handling parameters. The system selects a specific transport vector from the remaining subset of the different transport vectors based upon a ranking of a user specified attribute. The system then generates a physical digital encoding that conforms with a particular template associated with the specific transport vector.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A computer system for dynamically managing one or more transport vectors of items, comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors configure the computer system to perform at least the following:
receive a client identification and handling parameters from an input device, wherein the handling parameters describe various attributes associated with shipment of a particular item;
identify, within a client database, system attributes associated with the client identification, wherein the system attributes comprise indications of different transport vectors associated with the client identification, wherein each one of at least some of the different transport vectors is processed through a transport vector tree that includes tree layers corresponding to different intersection points of the processed transport vectors, and wherein a number of the tree layers in the transport vector tree is limited based on at least one of the handling parameters;
access one or more item-specific variables associated with the particular item, wherein the item-specific variables comprise indications of attributes of the particular item;
filter the different transport vectors by the item-specific variables and the handling parameters such that a remaining subset of the different transport vectors all conform with the item-specific variables and the handling parameters;
select a specific transport vector from the remaining subset of the different transport vectors based upon a ranking of a user specified attribute; and
generate a physical digital encoding that conforms with a particular template associated with the specific transport vector, wherein the physical digital encoding is configured to be applied to the particular item.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, wherein the handling parameters comprise a destination location.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The computer system of claim 2, wherein the handling parameters comprise a time frame in which the particular item should arrive at the destination location, and wherein the at least one handling parameter used to limit the number of tree layers in the transport vector tree is the time frame such that the number of tree layers in the transport vector tree is equal to or less than a number of days within the time frame.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, wherein the system attributes comprise an indication of a location associated with the client identification.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The computer system of claim 4, wherein the transport vectors associated with the client identification are determined based upon the location associated with the client identification.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, wherein:
the system attributes comprise indications of multiple locations associated with the client identification, and the handling parameters comprise an indication of a particular location selected from the multiple locations that are associated with the particular item.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The computer system of claim 6, wherein different subsets of the transport vectors associated with the client identification are associated with different locations within the multiple locations.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The computer system of claim 7, wherein filtering the different transport vectors comprises filtering a particular subset of the transport vectors, wherein the particular subset of the transport vectors is selected based upon the particular location selected from the multiple locations that are associated with the particular item.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more item-specific variables comprise indications that the particular item is only eligible for ground-based transport vectors.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, wherein the physical digital encoding comprises a shipping label.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The computer system of claim 10, wherein generating the physical digital encoding further comprises:
accessing a visual indicator from a transport vectors dataset, wherein the transport vectors dataset comprises a set of different visual indicators associated with each transport vector such that each transport vector is associated with a unique visual indicator.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, wherein the physical digital encoding comprises a near field communication chip (NFC).

### Claim 13

A method for dynamically managing one or more transport vectors of items, comprising:
receiving a client identification and handling parameters from an input device, wherein the handling parameters describe various attributes associated with shipment of a particular item;
identifying, within a client database, system attributes associated with the client identification, wherein the system attributes comprise indications of different transport vectors associated with the client identification, wherein each one of at least some of the different transport vectors is processed through a transport vector tree that includes tree layers corresponding to different intersection points of the processed transport vectors, and wherein a number of the tree layers in the transport vector tree is limited based on at least one of the handling parameters;
accessing one or more item-specific variables associated with the particular item, wherein the item-specific variables comprise indications of attributes of the particular item;
filtering the different transport vectors by the item-specific variables and the handling parameters such that a remaining subset of the different transport vectors all conform with the item-specific variables and the handling parameters;
selecting a specific transport vector from the remaining subset of the different transport vectors based upon a ranking of a user specified attribute; and
generating a physical digital encoding that conforms with a particular template associated with the specific transport vector, wherein the physical digital encoding is configured to be applied to the particular item.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein:
the system attributes comprise indications of multiple locations associated with the client identification, and the handling parameters comprise an indication of a particular location selected from the multiple locations that is associated with the particular item.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein different subsets of the transport vectors associated with the client identification are associated with different locations within the multiple locations.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The computer system of claim 15, wherein filtering the different transport vectors comprises filtering a particular subset of the transport vectors, wherein the particular subset of the transport vectors is selected based upon the particular location selected from the multiple locations that are associated with the particular item.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the physical digital encoding comprises a shipping label.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein generating the physical digital encoding further comprises:
accessing a visual indicator from a transport vectors dataset, wherein the transport vectors dataset comprises a set of different visual indicators associated with each transport vector such that each transport vector is associated with a unique visual indicator.

### Claim 19 (depends on 13)

The computer system of claim 13, wherein the handling parameters comprise a destination geo-spatial location.

### Claim 20

A non-transitory computer readable medium including software for causing a processor to:
receive a client identification and handling parameters from an input device, wherein the handling parameters describe various attributes associated with shipment of a particular item;
identify, within a client database, system attributes associated with the client identification, wherein the system attributes comprise indications of different transport vectors associated with the client identification, wherein each one of at least some of the different transport vectors is processed through a transport vector tree that includes tree layers corresponding to different intersection points of the processed transport vectors, and wherein a number of the tree layers in the transport vector tree is limited based on at least one of the handling parameters;
access one or more item-specific variables associated with the particular item, wherein the item-specific variables comprise indications of attributes of the particular item;
filter the different transport vectors by the item-specific variables and the handling parameters such that a remaining subset of the different transport vectors all conform with the item-specific variables and the handling parameters;
select a specific transport vector from the remaining subset of the different transport vectors based upon a ranking of a user specified attribute; and
generate a physical digital encoding that conforms with a particular template associated with the specific transport vector, wherein the physical digital encoding is configured to be applied to the particular item.