Real-Time Inbound Trip Automation Through Shipment Location Monitoring

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing trip monitoring systems rely on manual trip creation, leading to errors and inefficiencies, particularly in high-volume scenarios, consuming significant internal resources and increasing operational disruptions.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for real-time inbound trip automation and event monitoring that automatically creates trips based on predefined rules, utilizing monitoring devices to track product attributes and locations, ensuring accurate trip creation and destination determination.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If manual trip creation is used, then operational control is maintained, but trip creation accuracy deteriorates and errors increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetrip creation accuracyVSAvoidmanual intervention requirement
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables self-service trip creation by automatically generating trips based on monitoring device activation data. The server autonomously matches detected locations with origin locations from trip automation rules, creates trips without manual intervention, and populates trip details automatically, eliminating human error while maintaining operational control

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

Trip automation rules are pre-configured with origin locations, product mappings, and destination criteria before shipment. When monitoring devices activate, the system immediately executes the pre-defined rule logic to create trips, ensuring accuracy through pre-planned parameters rather than manual entry at the time of shipment

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If manual trip creation is used, then resource consumption is high, but productivity is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetrip creation efficiencyVSAvoidinternal resource consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs self-service trip creation where the server automatically processes monitoring device data, matches locations, creates trips, and manages trip details without requiring internal staff intervention. This eliminates the labor resources previously needed for manual trip creation while increasing trip creation throughput and productivity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system continuously receives feedback from monitoring devices about product location and status, automatically adjusts trip creation based on this real-time data, and updates trip information dynamically. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables high-speed automated trip creation that adapts to actual shipment conditions without manual resource input

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Productivity

If automated trip creation is implemented, then trip creation speed increases, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetrip creation speedVSAvoidsystem architecture complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The server acts as an intermediary layer between monitoring devices and trip management functions. It receives raw location data from monitoring devices, automatically matches it with pre-configured trip automation rules, and generates trips without requiring complex integration logic elsewhere in the system. This intermediary approach simplifies overall system architecture while enabling high-speed automated trip creation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The trip creation system is segmented into independent modular components: monitoring device activation detection, location entity detection, trip automation rule matching, trip object instantiation, and product mapping. Each module operates independently with well-defined interfaces, enabling high processing speed through parallelization while keeping individual components simple and manageable

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4597386A1System and method for real-time inbound trip automation and event monitoring for shipments
Publication Date: 2025.08.06 CARRIER CORP
  • EP4597386A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4597386A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4597386A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Described herein is a system (100) for real-time inbound trip automation and event monitoring for shipments. The system (100) comprises one or more products (112) associated with one or more shipments, one or more monitoring devices (114) assigned to the one or more shipments and affixed to the one or more products (112). Each of the monitoring devices (114) is configured to monitor attributes and a location of the one or more products (112). The system (100) comprises a server (102) configured to receive a set of data packets pertaining to a predefined trip automation rule defined for an inbound trip for the one or more shipments, detect a location of the one or more monitoring devices (114), and automatically create the trip for the one or more shipments associated with the activated monitoring devices (114) upon a positive matching of the detected location with the predefined origin and mark the detected location as an origin for the created trip.