COMPUTER-ASSISTED AND/OR ENABLED SYSTEMS, METHODS, TECHNIQUES, SERVICES AND USER INTERFACES FOR CONDUCTING MOTOR VEHICLE AND OTHER INSPECTIONS
First Claim
1. A method of performing item inspections at least in part through use of a handheld computer device including at least one input device and at least one output device, comprising:
- downloading, onto said handheld computer device, plural sets of predetermined inspection preferences corresponding to a plurality of different clients;
activating, on the handheld computer device, the inspection preference of a particular client on behalf of whom the inspection is being conducted;
presenting a user interface at least in part via said output device, said user interface being customized for said particular client in accordance with said activated inspection preference; and
inputting inspection data into said handheld computer device in response to said presented user interface.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer-assisted inspection system including an integrated software suite provides vehicle inspection services for various clients. The system provides customized workflow based on different inspection clients, different types of inspections and other factors. Different clients may have different inspection needs. Some clients may not care about certain defects that other clients want to know about. The system can provide, on the inspection appliance, different rules that can be activated in response to which client the inspection is being provided for and/or other factors for inspection criteria, valuation/pricing, rule-based validation and automatic grading. The resulting rule-driven user interface is thus customized—allowing the inspector to be more efficient in gathering the precise data desired at the time of data collection. Features include flat car part picking, highly client-customizability, easy to use, ability to run in an environment where the inspector has no constant connectivity to the network (no guaranteed access to the internet, full data replication, intermittent connectivity, synch back up), inspectors can be geographically separated (e.g., all over the country), system is installable over the internet to provide efficient installation to far-flung install sites.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of performing item inspections at least in part through use of a handheld computer device including at least one input device and at least one output device, comprising:
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downloading, onto said handheld computer device, plural sets of predetermined inspection preferences corresponding to a plurality of different clients; activating, on the handheld computer device, the inspection preference of a particular client on behalf of whom the inspection is being conducted; presenting a user interface at least in part via said output device, said user interface being customized for said particular client in accordance with said activated inspection preference; and inputting inspection data into said handheld computer device in response to said presented user interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A handheld computer system for performing item inspections comprising:
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a processor; at least one input device coupled to said processor; at least one output device coupled to said processor; and a memory coupled to said processor, said memory storing instructions that, when executed by said processor, control said processor to; (a) download plural sets of predetermined preferences corresponding to a plurality of different clients, (b) activate a selected one of said predetermined preferences for conducting an inspection to be used by a particular client; (c) presenting a user interface at least in part via said output device, said user interface being at least in part customized for said particular client in accordance with said activated preference; and (d) inputting inspection data into said handheld computer device at least in part in response to said presented user interface. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A data storage device that stores instructions for controlling a handheld computer system of the type including a processor, at least one input device coupled to said processor, and at least one output device coupled to said processor, said data storage device storing:
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a first set of instructions that control said processor to download plural sets of predetermined preferences corresponding to a plurality of different clients, a second set of instructions that control said processor to activate a selected one of said predetermined preferences for conducting an inspection to be used by a particular client; a third set of instructions that present a user interface on a touch screen, said user interface being at least in part customized for said particular client in accordance with said activated preference; and a fourth set of instructions that accept inspection data inputted into said handheld computer device at least in part in accordance with said presented user interface.
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Specification