System and Method for Intermodal Materials Delivery
AssigneeTulips Corporation
InventorEric Fosgard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for the intermodal delivery of materials within an at least substantially autonomous carrier traveling along a delivery path. The carrier may dock with a transit vehicle or engage directly with a railway to travel along a transit line while making a delivery. The carrier may also be suitable for securably storing materials therein, such as where a plurality of carriers stop at a storage hub located substantially near and/or along the delivery path. The storage hub may include a charging station for the carriers, and serve as a portable warehouse for both materials and carriers. When adequately charged, the carrier may deliver materials to their final destinations. Or, the materials may be transferred to a load transporter to facilitate first- and/or last-mile delivery.
Claims20
A smart delivery system, comprising:
- at least one substantially autonomous carrier configured to:
- deliver at least one material along a delivery path, from an origin zone to a destination zone,
- utilize a mode of transit to facilitate movement of the carrier during at least one transit leg of the delivery path, and
- navigate safely along the delivery path based on environmental data obtained via a plurality of sensors;
- a server configured to:
- communicate delivery data with a carrier transceiver of the carrier, the delivery data including at least one of a parcel quantity and a means of parcel identification,
- communicate transit data with the carrier transceiver, the transit data including at least one of a transit vehicle location and a transit link location;
- and
- a computing device with a memory and processor configured to:
- communicatively connect with the server,
- process the delivery data and transit data to compute the delivery path, based at least in part on the delivery data and the transit data, and
- re-compute the delivery path in real time based on at least the environmental data.
A method of delivery, comprising the steps of:
- selecting at least one substantially autonomous carrier suitable for delivering at least one material from an origin zone to a destination zone,
- determining a suitable delivery path for the at least one carrier to deliver the at least one material from the origin zone to the destination zone, and
- selecting at least one transit vehicle suitable for facilitating movement of the at least one carrier for at least one transit leg of the delivery path.
A substantially autonomous parcel carrier, comprising:
- a carrier body configured to:
- contain at least one parcel to be delivered from an origin zone to a destination zone and along a substantially pre-determined delivery path, and
- removably dock with a transit vehicle to thereby enable the carrier to travel along a transit line for at least one transit leg of the delivery path;
- a carrier transceiver configured to:
- communicatively connect with at least a server,
- receive delivery data from the server, wherein the delivery data includes at least one of a parcel quantity and a means of parcel identification,
- receive transit data from the server, wherein the transit data includes at least one of a transit vehicle location, a transit link location, and a transit schedule, and
- transmit carrier data to the server as the carrier travels along the delivery path, wherein the carrier data at least includes at least a carrier location;
- and
- a navigation control operatively connected to the carrier transceiver, and including a memory and a processor configured to:
- receive environmental data via a plurality of sensors,
- compute the delivery path based on at least one of the delivery data, the transit data, and the environmental data,
- re-compute the delivery path in real time based on the environmental data, and
- determine at least one safety parameter based on the environmental data, wherein the at least one safety parameter includes at least a carrier travel speed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.