Systems and methods for scheduling repair of home equipment

• US 10,579,971 B1
• Filed: 08/10/2015
• Issued: 03/03/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2015
• 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, Justin, Hailey, John, Matesevac, III, Edward P., O'Flaherty, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Stamber, Eric W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Karmis, Alissa D
• Application Number:
  US14/822,330
• Time in Patent Office: 1,667 Days
• Field of Search: 705 712
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance

Abstract

A method and system may automatically detect failures and schedule repairs for home equipment in a smart home environment. A smart home controller may receive sensor data from each of several pieces of home equipment to detect whether any failures have occurred. If the smart home controller detects a failure in one of the pieces of home equipment based on the sensor data, the smart home controller may communicate with a repair service provider to schedule a repair of the piece of home equipment which experiences the failure.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for automatically scheduling repair of home equipment, the method executed by one or more processors programmed to perform the method, the method comprising:

for each of a plurality of pieces of home equipment located at a property which includes a smart home system;

collecting, at one or more first sensors communicatively coupled to a first piece of home equipment, a first set of sensor data for the first piece of home equipment;

collecting, at one or more second sensors communicatively coupled to a second piece of home equipment which is physically connected to the first piece of home equipment and is separate from the first piece of home equipment, a second set of sensor data for the second piece of home equipment, wherein the first piece of home equipment is functionally dependent on the second piece of home equipment and the first and second pieces of home equipment are different home equipment devices;

receiving, at a smart home controller, the first set of sensor data for the first piece of home equipment from the one or more first sensors and the second set of sensor data for the second piece of home equipment from the one or more second sensors;

obtaining, by the smart home controller, one or more equipment conditions for determining whether the first or second pieces of home equipment need to be repaired based on a type of equipment for the first and second pieces of home equipment, wherein the one or more equipment conditions include a set of normal operating characteristics for the first and second pieces of home equipment which change based on an operating state of the first and second pieces of home equipment;

identifying, by the smart home controller, a failure at the first piece of home equipment;

in response to identifying the failure at the first piece of home equipment, determining whether the first or the second piece of home equipment is a cause of the failure by determining, by the smart home controller, that the first piece of home equipment needs to be repaired based on a collective analysis of both the first and second sets of sensor data for the first and second pieces of home equipment, respectively, the collective analysis including;

comparing the first set of sensor data and a current operating state of the first piece of home equipment to the one or more equipment conditions to detect that the first piece of home equipment is operating outside of normal operating characteristics and comparing the second set of sensor data and a current operating state of the second piece of home equipment to the one or more equipment conditions to detect that the second piece of home equipment is operating within normal operating characteristics;

transmitting, by the smart home controller, a notification to a repair service provider for scheduling a repair of the first piece of home equipment including a message explaining a difference between the current operating state of the first piece of home equipment and the normal operating characteristics for the first piece of home equipment;

transmitting, by the smart home controller, a notification to a client device of a property owner indicating that the first piece of home equipment is operating outside of normal operating characteristics, the notification including a graphic depiction of the first piece of home equipment and the portion of the first piece of home equipment that is operating outside of normal operating characteristics.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitted notification is a first notification, and further comprising:

receiving, at the one or more processors, a second notification from the repair service provider including a proposed scheduled time for repairing the first piece of home equipment;

obtaining, at the one or more processors, an indication of acceptance of the proposed scheduled time from an owner of the property; and

transmitting, by the one or more processors, a confirmation to the repair service provider indicating the acceptance of the proposed scheduled time.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising causing, at the one or more processors, a schedule for the repair service provider to be displayed which indicates one or more time slots which the repair service provider has available for repairing the first piece of home equipment;

and

wherein transmitting a confirmation to the repair service provider includes transmitting, by the one or more processors, a selection of one of the one or more time slots which the repair service provider has available.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of pieces of home equipment is a refrigerator, the first set of sensor data includes at least one of:

refrigerator temperature data, refrigerator current data, or fluid flow data, the one or more equipment conditions for a refrigerator type piece of home equipment includes a predetermined threshold refrigerator temperature, and further comprising;

comparing, by the one or more processors, the refrigerator temperature data generated by the one or more first sensors to the predetermined threshold refrigerator temperature; and

when the refrigerator temperature data indicates that a temperature for the refrigerator exceeds the predetermined threshold refrigerator temperature, determining, by the one or more processors, that the refrigerator needs to be repaired.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of pieces of home equipment is a sump pump, the first set of sensor data includes fluid level data, the one or more equipment conditions for a sump pump type piece of home equipment includes a predetermined threshold fluid level, and further comprising:

comparing, by the one or more processors, the fluid level data generated by the one or more first sensors to the predetermined threshold fluid level; and

when the fluid level data indicates that a fluid level in a sump pump basin in which the sump pump is disposed exceeds the predetermined threshold fluid level, determining, by the one or more processors, that the sump pump needs to be repaired.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more obtained equipment conditions are indicative of a failure of the first or second pieces of home equipment.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the property is a first property and wherein obtaining one or more equipment conditions for determining whether the piece of home equipment needs to be repaired includes obtaining, at the one or more processors, indications of pieces of home equipment which experienced a failure at one or more second properties along with sensor data corresponding to the failure;

and

adjusting, by the one or more processors, the one or more obtained equipment conditions based on the obtained sensor data from the one or more second properties.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors include at least one of:

a voltage sensor, a current sensor, a flow rate sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a proximity sensor, or a level sensor.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pieces of home equipment include at least one of:

a refrigerator, a freezer, a dish washer, a washing machine, a dryer, an oven, a stove, a microwave, a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) unit, a furnace, a sump pump, a plumbing fixture, or an electrical outlet.

10. A system for automatically scheduling repair of home equipment within a smart home, the system comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more sensors communicatively coupled to a plurality of pieces of home equipment located at a property which includes a smart home system, wherein the one or more sensors collect sensor data for the plurality of pieces of home equipment;

a communication network; and

a non-transitory computer-readable memory coupled to the one or more processors, the one or more sensors, and the communication network, and storing thereon instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to;

for each of the plurality of pieces of home equipment;

receive a first set of sensor data for a first piece of home equipment generated by at least one of the one or more sensors which are communicatively coupled to the first piece of home equipment;

receive a second set of sensor data for a second piece of home equipment which is physically connected to the first piece of home equipment and is separate from the first piece of home equipment, wherein the first piece of home equipment is functionally dependent on the second piece of home equipment and the first and second pieces of home equipment are different home equipment devices, and wherein the second set of sensor data is generated by at least one of the one or more sensors which are communicatively coupled to the second piece of home equipment;

obtain one or more equipment conditions for determining whether the first or second pieces of home equipment need to be repaired based on a type of equipment for the first and second pieces of home equipment, wherein the one or more equipment conditions include a set of normal operating characteristics for the first and second pieces of home equipment which change based on an operating state of the first and second pieces of home equipment;

identify a failure at the first piece of home equipment;

in response to identifying the failure at the first piece of home equipment, determining whether the first or the second piece of home equipment is a cause of the failure including determine that the first piece of home equipment needs to be repaired based on a collective analysis of both the first and second sets of sensor data for the first and second pieces of home equipment, respectively, the collective analysis including;

comparing the first set of sensor data and a current operating state of the first piece of home equipment to the one or more equipment conditions to detect that the first piece of home equipment is operating outside of normal operating characteristics and comparing the second set of sensor data and a current operating state of the second piece of home equipment to the one or more equipment conditions to detect that the second piece of home equipment is operating within normal operating characteristics; and

transmit, via the communication network, a notification to a repair service provider for scheduling a repair of the first piece of home equipment including a message explaining a difference between the current operating state of the first piece of home equipment and the normal operating characteristics for the first piece of home equipment;

wherein the one or more sensors cause the one or more processors to identify a failure and facilitate repair of the first piece of home equipment; and

transmit, via the communication network, a notification to a client device of a property owner indicating that the first piece of home equipment is operating outside of normal operating characteristics, the notification including a graphic depiction of the first piece of home equipment and the portion of the first piece of home equipment that is operating outside of normal operating characteristics.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the transmitted notification is a first notification, and the instructions further cause the system to:

receive, via the communication network, a second notification from the repair service provider including a proposed scheduled time for repairing the first piece of home equipment;

obtain an indication of acceptance of the proposed scheduled time from an owner of the property; and

transmit, via the communication network, a confirmation to the repair service provider indicating the acceptance of the proposed scheduled time.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the instructions further cause the system to cause a schedule for the repair service provider to be displayed which indicates one or more time slots which the repair service provider has available for repairing the first piece of home equipment;

and

wherein to transmit a confirmation to the repair service provider, the instructions cause the system to transmit, via the communication network, a selection of one of the one or more time slots which the repair service provider has available.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein one of the plurality of pieces of home equipment is a refrigerator, the first set of sensor data includes at least one of:

refrigerator temperature data, refrigerator current data, or fluid flow data, the one or more equipment conditions for a refrigerator type piece of home equipment includes a predetermined threshold refrigerator temperature, and the instructions further cause the system to;

compare the refrigerator temperature data generated by the one or more first sensors to the predetermined threshold refrigerator temperature; and

when the refrigerator temperature data indicates that a temperature for the refrigerator exceeds the predetermined threshold refrigerator temperature, determine that the refrigerator needs to be repaired.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein one of the plurality of pieces of home equipment is a sump pump, the first set of sensor data includes fluid level data, the one or more equipment conditions for a sump pump type piece of home equipment includes a predetermined threshold fluid level, and the instructions further cause the system to:

compare the fluid level data generated by the one or more first sensors to the predetermined threshold fluid level; and

when the fluid level data indicates that a fluid level in a sump pump basin in which the sump pump is disposed exceeds the predetermined threshold fluid level, determine that the sump pump needs to be repaired.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein each of the one or more obtained equipment conditions are indicative of a failure of the first or second pieces of home equipment.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the property is a first property and wherein to obtain one or more equipment conditions for determining whether the piece of home equipment needs to be repaired, the instructions cause the system to obtain indications of pieces of home equipment which experienced a failure at one or more second properties along with sensor data corresponding to the failure;

and

adjust the one or more obtained equipment conditions based on the obtained sensor data from the one or more second properties.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more sensors include at least one of:

a voltage sensor, a current sensor, a flow rate sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a proximity sensor, or a level sensor.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of pieces of home equipment include at least one of:

a refrigerator, a freezer, a dish washer, a washing machine, a dryer, an oven, a stove, a microwave, a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) unit, a furnace, a sump pump, a plumbing fixture, or an electrical outlet.