Patents by Inventor Keith B. Ligon

Keith B. Ligon has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Selecting shipping methods dependent on a dynamic model of shipping activity
    Patent number: 8000988
    Abstract: A method and system for selecting a shipping method dependent upon a dynamic model of shipping activity. In one embodiment, a method may include detecting a given shipment event for which one of a plurality of shipping methods is to be selected, determining a current output state of a discrete event model representative of shipping method selections for one or more previous shipment events, and in response to detecting the given shipping event, producing a selection of a particular one of the plurality of shipping methods that mathematically optimizes an objective function, wherein the objective function is dependent on a cost of shipping associated with the given shipment event and on a weighted deviation between the current output state of the discrete event model and a target output state of the discrete event model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Llewellyn W. Bezanson, Keith B. Ligon, Girish S. Lakshman