Automobile repair estimation method apparatus, and system
First Claim
1. A method of estimating cost of paintless dent repair of automobile body damage susceptible of the same comprising:
- (a) gathering information about body damage susceptible of P.D.R. of an automobile;
(b) processing the information according to a pre-existing estimation program;
(c) generating an estimate of repair costs based on the information.
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Abstract
A method, system and apparatus for estimating automobile damage susceptible of paintless dent repair (P.D.R.). The method includes characterizing damage susceptible of P.D.R. by inspection of the vehicle; communicating those characterizations to a central computer, processing the characterizations based on predetermined rules stored in the central computer, and generating a report including a estimation of repair costs for the vehicle. The communication can be over a global computer network, a WAN, a LAN, or other ways to communicate between remote and central devices. A template can be used to assist in the characterization of damage.
53 Citations
51 Claims
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1. A method of estimating cost of paintless dent repair of automobile body damage susceptible of the same comprising:
- (a) gathering information about body damage susceptible of P.D.R. of an automobile;
(b) processing the information according to a pre-existing estimation program;
(c) generating an estimate of repair costs based on the information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- (a) gathering information about body damage susceptible of P.D.R. of an automobile;
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14. An apparatus for estimating cost of paintless dent repair of automobile body damage susceptible of the same comprising:
- (a) a device to record information about body damage susceptible of P.D.R. of an automobile based on a characterization of the damage;
(b) a computer having a data input adapted to digitally store said information about body damage;
(c) a computer with an application program adapted to receive and process said data input and generate an estimation report based on said input data. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
- (a) a device to record information about body damage susceptible of P.D.R. of an automobile based on a characterization of the damage;
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26. An apparatus for estimating cost of paintless dent repair of automobile body damage susceptible of the same comprising:
- (a) a hand carryable and manipulatable device having a length, width and thickness;
(b) a plurality of openings in the device of varying areas correlated to a range of areas;
(c) a first opening of the plurality of openings defining a designated smallest dent size susceptible of P.D.R. and a second opening of the plurality of opening defining a designated largest dent size susceptible of P.D.R. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
- (a) a hand carryable and manipulatable device having a length, width and thickness;
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45. A kit for estimating cost of paintless dent repair of automobile body damage susceptible of the same comprising:
- (a) a hand carryable and manipulatable device having a length, width and thickness, the device having a plurality of openings in the device of varying areas correlated to a range of areas;
a first opening of the plurality of openings defining a smallest dent size susceptible of P.D.R. and a second opening of the plurality of opening defining a largest dent size susceptible of P.D.R.;
(b) a recording medium having indicia prompting a user to record a set of identifying information about the vehicle and a set of characterizing information about damage to the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
- (a) a hand carryable and manipulatable device having a length, width and thickness, the device having a plurality of openings in the device of varying areas correlated to a range of areas;
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51. A subscriber-based system for estimating cost of paintless dent repair of automobile body damage susceptible of the same comprising:
- (a) a server adapted to host a web site, the web site being password accessible according to a level of authorization, the server being in communication with a database containing information characterizing damage to an automobile;
(b) a subscriber computer adapted for connection to the web site via a global computer network;
(c) access to information in the database being dependent on a level of authorization given to a subscriber for compensation.
- (a) a server adapted to host a web site, the web site being password accessible according to a level of authorization, the server being in communication with a database containing information characterizing damage to an automobile;
Specification