Apparatus and method for estimating damage to a building
First Claim
1. A system for assessing construction work for a building which incorporates a plurality of building elements, said system comprising:
- a medium displaying a plurality of indica, each representing one of the building elements;
a data input device for selecting one of the plurality of indica and producing a signal that indicates the selected one of the plurality of indica; and
a portable computer connected to the data input device and comprising a storage device, a processor and output device, the portable computer responding to the signal from the data input device by storing in the storage device an designation of a given building element corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of indica.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method provide a mechanism by which an insurance adjuster or a contractor can accurately inventory damage to a building and calculate the total cost of repairing that damage. A plurality of sheets contain printed indicia representing different building elements that may need to be evaluated in appraising the damage. An input device, such as a barcode reader, is used to scan a selected indicium and provides a signal to a portable computer. The portable computer stores a table of the cost for each of the building elements and the signal is employed to access the cost in the table for the selected building element. That cost is added to the total damage cost and information about the selected building element is stored by the computer. After information for all of the damaged building elements has been entered into the computer, a report is generated detailing the damaged elements, the cost of each one, and the total cost of the damage to the building.
77 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for assessing construction work for a building which incorporates a plurality of building elements, said system comprising:
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a medium displaying a plurality of indica, each representing one of the building elements;
a data input device for selecting one of the plurality of indica and producing a signal that indicates the selected one of the plurality of indica; and
a portable computer connected to the data input device and comprising a storage device, a processor and output device, the portable computer responding to the signal from the data input device by storing in the storage device an designation of a given building element corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of indica. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for estimating cost of damage to a building which has a plurality of building elements, said method comprising:
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(a) providing, at the building, a portable computer having a storage device that stores a data table containing a cost for each of the plurality of building elements, and an input device connected to the portable computer;
(b) identifying a given building element that is damaged;
(c) at the building, utilizing the input device to designate the given building element and producing a signal indicating the given building element;
(d) the portable computer utilizing the signal to access the data table and obtain the cost of the given building element (e) the portable computer employing the cost of the given building element to calculate a total cost of damage to the building;
(f) repeating steps (b) through (e) for other building elements that were damaged; and
(g) producing an output signal from the output device that indicates the total cost of damage to the building. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for estimating a value for a building comprising a plurality of building elements, said method comprising:
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(a) providing, at the building, a portable computer having a storage device that stores a data table containing a value for each of the plurality of building elements, and an input device connected to the portable computer;
(b) at the building utilizing the input device to produce a signal designating a given building element which is present in the building;
(c) the portable computer utilizing the signal to access the data table and obtain the value of the given building element;
(d) employing the value of the given building element to calculate a total value for the building;
(e) repeating steps (b) through (d) for additional building elements; and
(f) producing an output signal from the output device that indicates the total value for the building. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification