Hub-based distribution and delivery network for autonomous trucking services

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11775915-B2
Application number	US-202016917699-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2020
Priority date	Jun 30, 2020
Publication date	Oct 3, 2023
Grant date	Oct 3, 2023

Abstract

Systems and techniques disclosed in this patent document provide novel and efficient ground transportation of goods by self-driving trucks based on a system of infrastructures with shipping hub facilities serving as warehouses and services centers in accordance with unique characteristics of operating autonomous self-driving trucks without entirely relying on human drivers, including features to cover technological issues, fleet management issues, and customer service issues. In addition, the disclosed systems and techniques may be implemented to integrate other fleet services and modes of transportation of goods with transportation services by self-driving trucks.

First claim

What is claimed is what is described and illustrated, including:

1. A method for using self-driving trucks and shipping hub facilities to provide a delivery service in a selected geographical region, comprising:
establishing shipping hub facilities distributed at different locations in the selected geographical region to provide delivery of goods to customers in the selected geographical region, wherein each shipping hub facility includes a warehouse space for storing customer goods to be delivered to another shipping hub facility,
wherein the shipping hub facilities distributed at different locations in the selected geographical region are structured to include a plurality of tiers respectively equipped with different levels of technology and functionalities in connection with interfacing self-driving trucks, including:
a first tier of the plurality of tiers in which each first tier shipping hub facility is equipped with in-bound and out-bound truck lanes with sensors or markers to enable a self-driving truck to autonomously navigate through the in-bound and out-bound truck lanes to respectively enter the first tier shipping hub facility from outside the first tier shipping hub facility and to exit the first tier shipping hub facility from inside the first tier shipping hub facility based on operations of on-board computers and sensors on the self-driving truck and interactions with the sensors or markers of the in-bound and out-bound truck lanes, and
a second tier of the plurality of tiers in which a second tier shipping hub facility is not equipped with the in-bound and out-bound truck lanes with the sensors or markers of a first tier shipping hub facility, thus providing less functionalities for interfacing the self-driving truck;
providing a computer system of computer servers coupled to one or more communication networks or links to (1) communicate with one another to maintain, monitor and track status of goods at the shipping hub facilities including feeding facility-specific high-definition map information and navigation data to on-board computers in self-driving trucks for navigating self-driving trucks on one or more selected and designated routes between shipping hub facilities, (2) communicate with on-board computers in self-driving trucks registered in the computer system to monitor, track and manage status and operations of registered self-driving trucks for delivering goods between the shipping hub facilities and to detect or identify one or more conditions of a registered self-driving truck suitable for being serviced or repaired at one of suitable shipping hub facilities, and (3) provide a customer interface for registered customers to access the computer system for (i) ordering, tracking and making payment for, a delivery service by one or more self-driving trucks to transport goods from an origin shipping hub facility to a destination shipping hub facility, wherein the customer interface enables the registered customers to specify the origin and the destination shipping hub facilities, and (ii) accessing inventory status of goods for registered customers at one or more shipping hub facilities;
registering the self-driving trucks to be eligible for delivery of goods between the shipping hub facilities to comply with selected safety and operational requirements in a computer database stored in the computer servers that communicate with one another via the one or more communication networks or links
wherein the status of each self-driving truck registered in the computer system includes a location in real time and a health condition of each registered self-driving truck and a status of a delivery assignment of the registered self-driving truck, and
wherein the operations of the registered self-driving trucks for delivering goods between the shipping hub facilities include information on one or more assignments of each registered self-driving truck for performing one or more customer ordered deliveries of goods from one shipping hub facility to another shipping hub facility, and scheduling of the one or more assignments of each registered self- driving truck for performing the one or more customer ordered deliveries of goods from one shipping hub facility to another shipping hub facility;
performing the one or more customer ordered deliveries of goods from one shipping hub facility to another shipping hub facility by the registered self-driving trucks by navigating the registered self-driving trucks on the one or more selected and designated routes between shipping hub facilities using the navigation data fed to the on-board computers of the registered self-driving trucks,
wherein the registered self-driving trucks that perform the one or more customer ordered deliveries of goods from one shipping hub facility to another shipping hub facility with at least one first tier shipping hub facility are configured and enabled to autonomously navigate through the in-bound and out-bound truck lanes based on the information from the sensors or markers equipped in the in-bound and out-bound truck lanes to enable a registered self-driving truck to autonomously navigate through the in-bound and out-bound truck lanes;
allowing registration of delivery trucks from a third party company trucking fleet service in the computer system to be eligible for delivery of goods between the shipping hub facilities that would otherwise be carried out only by the registered self-driving trucks without using the delivery trucks from the third party company trucking fleet service,
wherein the registration of the delivery trucks of the third party company trucking fleet service enables customers of the third party company trucking fleet service to use the customer interface provided for registered customers of the delivery service by the one or more self-driving trucks;
assigning the registered delivery trucks from the third party company trucking fleet service for delivering goods between shipping hub facilities to supplement performance of customer-ordered transportation of goods between shipping hub facilities that would otherwise be performed only by registered self-driving trucks;
rendering the registered self-driving trucks available for delivering goods between shipping hub facilities as part of performance of a delivery service by the third party company trucking fleet service that would otherwise be performed by delivery trucks of the third party company trucking fleet service without using the shipping hub facilities and any of the registered self-driving trucks; and
assigning an available registered self-driving truck to deliver goods between shipping hub facilities as part of performance of the delivery service by the third party company trucking fleet service that would otherwise be performed by delivery trucks of the third party company trucking fleet service without using the shipping hub facilities and the registered self-driving trucks.

2. The method as in claim 1 , comprising:
operating self-driving trucks to deliver goods for registered customers between shipping hub facilities; and
providing driver-operated trucks to deliver goods for registered customers between shipping hub facilities and sites of registered customers.

3. The method as in claim 1 , comprising:
configuring the computer system to deploy and activate an inspection protocol at on-board computers in a self-driving truck registered in the computer system to initiate an inspection procedure on safety and one or more operating conditions of the registered self-driving truck before assigning the registered self-driving truck for delivering goods between hub facilities.

4. The method as in claim 3 , comprising:
configuring the computer system, upon identification by the inspection procedure a safety or operating condition issue of a registered self-driving truck, to initi

Assignees

• Tusimple Inc

Inventors

• Hou Xiaodi
• Wallace Jason
• Lu Cheng

Classifications

• G06Q10/083 Primary

  Shipping · CPC title

• G06Q10/087

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• G06Q10/0631

  Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations · CPC title