Patent ID: 9473354
Filing Date: 2016-10-18
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A method of assigning a resource from amongst a plurality of resources to a resource-utilising entity from amongst a plurality of resource-utilising entities, wherein a resource-to-resource-utilising entity assignment has an associated cost, the method comprising: computing network flow costs of assignments for assigning said resources to said resource-utilising entities; constructing/updating a flow network including source nodes corresponding to the resources, transhipment nodes corresponding to the assignments and a demand node, the flow network having arcs representing flow between the nodes, each said arc having an associated said network flow cost; computing said network flow cost of each said arc in accordance with at least one arc cost approximation scheme, wherein the computing of the network flow costs comprises: computing the network flow costs (C wherein: a represents a resource from said plurality of resources; p a t U(t) represents a penalty cost U(t) if an entity t is not properly served by a resource; p C solving a Minimum Cost Flow problem for the flow network with negated arc costs to obtain flow values for the assignments; and assigning said resource to said resource-utilising entity dependent on the flow value obtained for said assignment associated with said resource.