Patent Document ID: 20130077496
Application ID: 13702782
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
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; solving a Minimum Cost Flow problem for the flow network with negated arc costs to obtain flow values for the assignments; and assigning a said resource to a said resource-utilising entity dependent on the flow value obtained for a said assignment associated with that resource.