Route Determination Using Fuel Stops and Waypoints

Solution Overview

Problem

Current navigation services often generate inefficient routes when trying to comply with route restrictions and include fuel stops, leading to wasted resources and inefficient vehicle operations.

Innovation Solution

A route management platform that integrates route restrictions and fuel stop selection to generate optimal routes by considering waypoints, fuel availability, cost, traffic, and weather, thereby automating the process and reducing human intervention.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If navigation services generate routes that include fuel stops and comply with route restrictions, then route completeness and vehicle operational efficiency are improved, but route efficiency and resource utilization deteriorate due to wasted processing resources and inefficient paths

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveroute completenessVSAvoidroute efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines route restriction compliance and fuel stop selection into a single integrated route determination process. The route management platform simultaneously considers waypoints from route restrictions and identifies optimal fuel stops along the same route, eliminating the need for separate processing steps and avoiding resource waste from generating and discarding non-compliant routes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary filtering of fuel stops based on route restrictions before final route generation. By pre-identifying which fuel stops are compatible with route restrictions (waypoints), the system avoids generating inefficient routes that would later need to be discarded and recalculated, thus improving overall route efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If navigation services iterate through multiple routes to find compliant paths, then route restriction compliance is improved, but processing resources and time are wasted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveroute restriction complianceVSAvoidprocessing resources

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary filtering of fuel stops based on route restrictions before final route generation. By pre-identifying which fuel stops are compatible with route restrictions (waypoints), the system avoids generating inefficient routes that would later need to be discarded and recalculated, thus improving overall route efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts and applies route restriction constraints directly to the fuel stop selection process. By taking the waypoints from route restrictions and using them as filtering criteria for fuel stop identification, the system ensures compliance is built into the route generation itself rather than requiring post-generation validation and iteration.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Ease of operation

If third-party fuel planning services are used without access to route restriction data, then fuel stop identification is simplified, but route compliance is lost requiring recalculation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefuel stop identificationVSAvoidroute compliance

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines route restriction compliance and fuel stop selection into a single integrated route determination process. The route management platform simultaneously considers waypoints from route restrictions and identifies optimal fuel stops along the same route, eliminating the need for separate processing steps and avoiding resource waste from generating and discarding non-compliant routes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The route management platform acts as an intermediary between route restrictions and fuel planning. It receives route restriction data, processes it to identify compliant waypoints, and then uses this information to guide fuel stop selection, ensuring that fuel stops are chosen only from locations that satisfy route restriction requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS11402222B2Route determination based on fuel stops and waypoints that are part of route restrictions

Publication Date: 2022.08.02 VERIZON PATENT & LICENSING INC

AI summary

A device receives, from another device, a request for navigational instructions for a vehicle. That request includes data that identifies stops for the vehicle. The device receives route restriction data that identifies route restrictions that include a set of waypoints. The device selects, by analyzing the route restriction data, particular waypoints to include in the stops. The device determines an initial route through the stops that include the particular waypoints. The device obtains fuel selection data to use to identify fuel stops. The device identifies a subset of the fuel stops that are near the initial route. The device selects a fuel stop, to include in the stops, based on at least one of: fuel data, fuel cost data, weather data, or traffic data. The device determines a final route that includes the stops, and provides, to the other device, the final route to permit the vehicle to be navigated.