Systems and methods for ordering a replacement component or repair service

• US 10,565,566 B1
• Filed: 09/10/2015
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Inventors: Davis, Timothy Joel
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunham, Jason B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Loharikar, Anand R
• Application Number:
  US14/850,398
• Time in Patent Office: 1,622 Days
• Field of Search: 705 261- 272
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

Systems and methods for ordering a replacement component or repair service are disclosed. According to some aspects, condition data indicating a condition of a consumable component may be generated by sensor and transmitted to an order assistance system. The order assistance system may determine whether the consumable component requires at least one of replacement or repair by comparing the condition data with one or more maintenance parameters. Additionally, in response to a determination that the consumable component requires at least one of replacement or repair, the order assistance system may recommend at least one of a replacement component or a repair service in accordance with one or more order parameters pre-selected by a user. In some aspects, an insurance policy associated with the consumable component may be adjusted based on the successful repair or replacement of the consumable component.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a monitored device comprising;

a consumable component having a condition that depends upon use of the monitored device by a user;

a sensor configured to detect the condition of the consumable component and generate condition data; and

a first communication unit coupled to the sensor and configured to transmit the condition data; and

an order assistance system comprising;

a second communication unit configured to receive the condition data from the first communication unit;

a processing unit; and

a storage unit coupled to the processing unit, the storage unit including non-transitory computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to;

determine whether the consumable component requires at least one of replacement or repair by comparing the condition data with one or more maintenance parameters;

in response to a determination that the consumable component requires at least one of replacement or repair, recommending at least one of a replacement component or a repair service in accordance with one or more order parameters pre-selected by the user; and

store the one or more order parameters pre-selected by the user prior to the determination that the consumable component requires at least one of replacement or repair.

2. The system of claim 1, the one or more order parameters including at least one of:

a website for ordering the replacement component or the repair service, a price range for the replacement component or the repair service, a telephone number for ordering the replacement component or the repair service, a delivery date for the replacement component, a geographical area for locating a repair service provider, a time period for a repair service provider to be available, or a minimum aggregate consumer rating for the replacement component or the repair service.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable instructions include instructions that cause the processing unit, in response to the determination that the consumable component requires at least one of replacement or repair, to search the Internet for sellers of the replacement component or providers of the repair service in accordance with the one or more order parameters and generate a list of search results to be displayed to the user.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable instructions include instructions that cause the processing unit, in response to the determination that the consumable component requires at least one of replacement or repair, to solicit bids from a plurality of repair service providers and generate a list of the bids to be displayed to the user.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable instructions include instructions that cause the processing unit, in response to the determination that the consumable component requires at least one of replacement or repair, to automatically order the replacement component or the repair service via the Internet without input from the user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable instructions include instructions that cause the processing unit, in response to an indication that the user has authorized an order for the replacement component or the repair service, to place the order for the replacement component or the repair service via the Internet.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable instructions include instructions that cause the processing unit, in response to a determination that the consumable component has not been repaired or replaced following the recommendation to repair or replace the consumable component, to generate a reminder notification for display to the user.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable instructions include instructions that cause the processing unit to store in the storage unit at least one of:

(i) an order completion flag indicating that the processing unit has placed an order for the replacement component or the repair service, (ii) a failure to repair or replace flag indicating that the consumable component has not been repaired or replaced following the recommendation to repair or replace the consumable component, (iii) a successful repair or replacement flag indicating that the consumable component has been successfully repaired or replaced, (iv) reminder history information indicating a number of the reminder notifications provided to the user, or (v) repair time information indicating an amount of time between the determination that the consumable component requires at least one of replacement or repair and a determination that the consumable component has been successfully repaired or replaced.

9. The system of claim 8, comprising a data analysis system configured to determine one or more risk indicators indicating a likelihood of a recognizable loss under an insurance policy associated with the monitored device based on at least one of the order completion flag, the failure to repair or replace flag, the successful repair or replacement flag, the reminder history information, or the repair time information.

10. The system of claim 9, the data analysis system being configured to adjust an insurance policy based on the one or more risk indicators.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitored device is an appliance or a vehicle.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the second communication unit is configured to wirelessly receive the condition data from the first communication unit.

13. The system of claim 1, the order assistance system including at least one of a mobile telephone, a tablet computer, or a personal computer.