1. A travel planning system comprising:
a) a route planning component configured to provide one or more possible routes between an input point of origin and a destination; and
b) a commodity price forecasting component configured to provide an estimate of the commodity prices associated with the routes supplied by the route planning component.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the commodity price forecasting component is configured to provide the estimate of commodity prices for future travel along the routes.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the commodity price forecasting component is configured to utilize spot price data and offset factors in determining the commodity price estimate.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein the commodity price forecasting component is configured to geographically code the spot price data and the offset factors.
5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a user input device operably connected to the route planning system and the commodity price forecasting component and configured to enable a user to input trip criteria for use by the route planning system to determine various routes for the trip, and user optimizing criteria for use by the route planning component and the commodity price forecasting system in determining the optimal route based on the user optimizing criteria.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein the user trip criteria comprises the point of origin, the destination, the time frame in which the trip is to be taken, the type of vehicle and its gas mileage that is to be used in making the trip, the type(s) and weight of cargo to be carried in the vehicle making the trip.
7. The system of claim 5 wherein the user optimizing criteria is selected from the group consisting of: the shortest route in terms of travel time, the shortest route in terms of overall distance, and the cheapest route in terms of overall gas price for the entire trip, one way or round trip.
8. A commodity price forecasting system comprising a processing device operably connected to a worldwide data network and configured to access an obtain spot price data for the selected commodity, to average the spot price data over time to develop a forecasting function for the price of the commodity, geographically code the averaged spot price data based on the locations for which the spot price data is obtained, and to provide an estimate of the commodity price for a specified location in response to a request from a user from a remote communications device.
9. The commodity price forecasting system of claim 8 wherein the processing device is further configured to develop an offset for the averaged spot price data for a particular geographic location to be used in estimating the commodity price for a specified geographic location.
10. The commodity price forecasting system of claim 9 wherein the processing device is configured to obtain data pertaining to transportation route delays for the selected commodity, commodity delivery methods, original spot prices of the commodity, transportation costs for the commodity, local and state taxes for a particular geographic location to be utilized in obtaining the offset employed in determining the estimated commodity price.
11. The commodity price forecasting system of claim 8 further comprising a route planning component located on the processing device, and wherein the processing device is configured to receive point of origin and destination information from a user on the remote communications device, to determine a route between the point of origin and destination, and to provide estimates of the prices for the commodity at various geographic locations located along the route.
12. The commodity price forecasting system of claim 11 wherein the processing device is further configured to optimize the route between the point of origin and the destination based on optimization criteria provided by the user.
13. A method for determining the cost for travel along a route, the method comprising the steps of:
a) providing a system including a route planning component and a commodity price estimating component;
b) entering a relevant trip planning criteria including a point of origin and a destination into the route planning component to be utilized in determine a route; and
c) estimating prices of the commodity at geographic locations along the route.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of estimating prices of the commodity at geographic locations along the route further comprises the steps of:
a) obtaining spot price data for the selected commodity in a number of geographic locations;
b) averaging the spot price data over time for each of the geographic locations to develop a forecasting function for the price of the commodity;
c) geographically coding the averaged spot price data based on the locations for which the spot price data is obtained; and
d) providing an estimate of the commodity price for locations disposed along the route.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of averaging the spot price data further comprises the step of developing an offset for the averaged spot price data for a particular geographic location to be used in forecasting the commodity price for a specified geographic location.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of developing an offset comprises:
a) obtaining data pertaining to transportation route delays for the selected commodity, commodity delivery methods, original spot prices of the commodity, transportation costs for the commodity, and local and state taxes for a particular geographic location; and
b) utilizing this data to determine the offset employed in determining the estimated commodity price for the particular location.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An ostomy appliance belt for use by a user having an ostomy pouch and stoma area, for supporting and concealing the ostomy pouch and stoma area, comprising:
a flexible belt made of flexible and waterproof material, having a pair of belt ends and a belt middle, a front and rear, a storage pocket at the front, hook and loop fastener material located at each of the belt ends for selectively securing the belt around the user and selectively detaching the belt therefrom, and a flexible pocket retainer located at the belt middle; and
a retainer cup attached to the flexible pocket retainer at the belt rear and having a sealing barrier ring for adhering to the user around the stoma reason for containing the ostomy pouch within the retainer cup, the retainer cup has a one-way release valve to allow air to escape the retainer cup to facilitate a seal at the sealing barrier ring between the retainer cup and user.