Method and System for Communicating Vehicle Repair Information to a Business-to-Business Rental Vehicle Reservation Management Computer System

• US 20080162199A1
• Filed: 10/05/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Crawford Group Incorporated (Jack Taylor Family Voting Trust U A D 4 14 99)
• Original Assignee: The Crawford Group Incorporated (Jack Taylor Family Voting Trust U A D 4 14 99)
• Inventors: Smith, David Gary, Klopfenstein, Anita K., Miller, Owen R., Dittmar, Russell E., Kelly, Doug, Bickett, Erick, Pham, Carmela, Hastings, Michael Anthony
• Granted Patent: US 10,366,352 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events

Abstract

Various aspects of a system and method are disclosed for communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties, wherein a data pump is employed to automate the extraction of vehicle repair data such as labor hours estimation data from a repair facility computer system for delivery to interested parties, including a rental vehicle service provider that provides replacement rental vehicles to drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repairs at repair facilities. A reservation management computer system operated by the rental vehicle service provider can thus use the received vehicle repair data to facilitate management of replacement rental vehicle reservations by its business partners, such as insurance companies.

Claims

1. A system for communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties, the system comprising:

a first computer system associated with a repair facility; and

a second computer system;

wherein the repair facility computer system is in communication with the second computer system over a network;

wherein the repair facility computer system has vehicle repair data stored thereon, the vehicle repair data comprising labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility;

wherein the repair facility computer system is configured to execute a software application; and

wherein the software application is configured to (1) automatically retrieve vehicle repair data that is stored by the repair facility computer system without human intervention, the retrieved vehicle repair data including labor hours estimation data, and (2) automatically send the retrieved vehicle repair data including the retrieved labor hours estimation data to the second computer system over the network without human intervention.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the repair facility computer system is further configured to, after installation of the software application thereon, execute the software application automatically without human intervention.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises at least one repair estimate file, and wherein the software application is further configured to (1) automatically perform without human intervention a search in a file system of the repair facility computer system to identify whether any new repair estimate files and any updated repair estimate files exist, and (2) automatically retrieve without human intervention each new repair estimate file and each updated repair estimate file found during the search.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the software application is further configured to perform the search on a scheduled basis.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the software application is further configured to perform the search on an event basis.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the software application includes a configuration file that defines a configurable parameter for identifying an estimating platform used by the repair facility computer system, the configurable parameter identifying where in the repair facility computer system'"'"'s file system that the software application is to perform the search.

7. The system of claim 2 wherein the vehicle repair data further comprises repair order data.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the repair facility computer system comprises a database in which the repair order data is stored, and wherein the software application is further configured to (1) automatically query the database for new repair order data and updated repair order data without human intervention, and (2) automatically retrieve the repair order data that is responsive to the query from the database without human intervention.

9. The system of claim 2 further comprising a reservation management computer system in communication with the second computer system over a network;

wherein the vehicle repair data corresponds to at least one vehicle undergoing repairs that is associated with a replacement rental vehicle reservation;

wherein the second computer system comprises a data server, the data server being configured to (1) receive the vehicle repair data sent thereto by the software application, and (2) forward at least a portion of the received vehicle repair data to the reservation management computer system; and

wherein the reservation management computer system is configured for access over a network by a remote computer to thereby provide a user of the remote computer with an ability to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations, wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to store at least a portion of the vehicle repair data forwarded to it by the data server for use with respect to management of replacement rental vehicle reservations.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the data server is further configured to perform a filtering operation on the received vehicle repair data to limit the received vehicle repair data that gets sent to the reservation management computer system.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to perform a matching operation on the vehicle repair data it receives from the data server to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

12. The system of claim 2 wherein the vehicle repair data corresponds to at least one vehicle undergoing repairs that is associated with a replacement rental vehicle reservation;

wherein the second computer system comprises a reservation management computer system, wherein the reservation management computer system is configured for access over a network by a remote computer to thereby provide a user of the remote computer with an ability to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations, wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to store at least a portion of the received vehicle repair data for use with respect to management of replacement rental vehicle reservations.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein the software application is further configured to perform a filtering operation on the retrieved vehicle repair data to limit the retrieved vehicle repair data that gets sent to the data server.

14. A computer-implemented method for communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties, the method comprising:

executing a software application on a repair facility computer system, the repair facility computer system having vehicle repair data stored thereon, the vehicle repair data comprising labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility; and

wherein the software application executing step comprises (1) automatically retrieving vehicle repair data that is stored by the repair facility computer system without human intervention, the retrieved vehicle repair data including labor hours estimation data, and (2) automatically sending the retrieved vehicle repair data including the retrieved labor hours estimation data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the software application executing step further comprises executing the software application automatically, upon installation on the repair facility computer system, without human intervention.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises at least one repair estimate file, and wherein the method further comprises, responsive to the software application executing step, automatically performing without human intervention a search in a file system of the repair facility computer system to identify whether any new repair estimate files and any updated repair estimate files exist, and wherein the retrieving step comprises automatically retrieving without human intervention each new repair estimate file and each updated repair estimate file found during the search.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the search performing step comprises performing the search on a scheduled basis.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the search performing step comprises performing the search on an event basis.

19. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

defining a configurable parameter in a configuration file for the software application to thereby identify an estimating platform used by the repair facility computer system, the configurable parameter identifying where in the repair facility computer system'"'"'s file system that the search is to be performed.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the vehicle repair data further comprises repair order data.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the repair facility computer system comprises a database in which the repair order data is stored, wherein the method further comprises, responsive to the software executing step, automatically querying the database for new repair order data and updated repair order data without human intervention, and wherein the retrieving step comprises automatically retrieving the repair order data that is responsive to the query from the database without human intervention.

22. The method of claim 15 wherein the vehicle repair data corresponds to at least one vehicle undergoing repairs that is associated with a replacement rental vehicle reservation, wherein the second computer system comprises a data server, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the sent vehicle repair data at the data server;

forwarding at least a portion of the received vehicle repair data from the data server to a reservation management computer system; and

providing a computer that is in communication with the reservation management computer system with access to at least a portion of the forwarded vehicle repair data through the reservation management computer system, wherein the reservation management computer system is configured for access over a network by the computer to thereby provide a user of the computer with an ability to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising performing a filtering operation on the vehicle repair data such that only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the vehicle repair data are received by the reservation management computer system.

24. The method of claim 22 further comprising performing a matching operation with the reservation management computer system on the vehicle repair data it receives from the data server to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

25. The method of claim 15 wherein the vehicle repair data corresponds to at least one vehicle undergoing repairs that is associated with a replacement rental vehicle reservation, wherein the second computer system comprises a reservation management computer system, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the sent vehicle repair data at the a reservation management computer system; and

providing a computer that is in communication with the reservation management computer system with access to at least a portion of the received vehicle repair data through the reservation management computer system, wherein the reservation management computer system is configured for access over a network by the computer to thereby provide a user of the computer with an ability to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations.

26. A computer-readable medium for execution by a processor, the computer-readable medium comprising:

a plurality of instructions that are executable by a processor to (1) automatically retrieve vehicle repair data that is stored by a first computer system without human intervention, the retrieved vehicle repair data comprising labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair, and (2) automatically send the retrieved vehicle repair data including the labor hours estimation data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention, wherein the plurality of instructions are stored on the computer-readable medium.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 26 wherein the plurality of instructions are configured to execute automatically without human intervention upon installation on the first computer system.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 27 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises at least one repair estimate file, and wherein the plurality of instructions are further executable by a processor to (1) automatically perform without human intervention a search in a file system of the first computer system to identify whether any new repair estimate files and any updated repair estimate files exist, and (2) automatically retrieve without human intervention each new repair estimate file and each updated repair estimate file found during the search.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the plurality of instructions are further executable by a processor to perform the search on a scheduled basis.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the plurality of instructions are further executable by a processor to perform the search on an event basis.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the plurality of instructions are further executable by a processor to (1) store a list of previously retrieved repair estimate files, (2) compare newly retrieved repair estimate files with the previously retrieved repair estimate files on the list, and (3) generate a list of new repair estimate files based on the comparison.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 further comprising a configuration file stored on the computer readable medium, wherein the configuration file defines a configurable parameter for identifying an estimating platform used by the first computer system, the configurable parameter identifying where in the first computer system'"'"'s file system that the search is to be performed.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 27 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises repair order data.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the first comprises a database in which the repair order data is stored, and wherein the plurality of instructions are further executable by a processor to (1) automatically query the database for new repair order data and updated repair order data without human intervention, and (2) automatically retrieve the repair order data that is responsive to the query from the database without human intervention.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 27 wherein the plurality of instructions are further executable by a processor to perform a filtering operation on the retrieved vehicle repair data to send only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the retrieved vehicle repair data to the second computer system.

36. A computer-implemented method for automating the communication of vehicle repair data, the method comprising:

accessing a server on which a software application is stored;

downloading the software application to the first computer system;

installing the downloaded software application on the first computer system; and

automatically executing the installed software application on the first computer system without human intervention, wherein the

executing step comprises;

(1) automatically retrieving vehicle repair data that is stored by the first computer system without human intervention, and (2) automatically sending the retrieved vehicle repair data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the retrieved vehicle repair data comprises labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises at least one repair estimate file, and wherein the method further comprises:

automatically performing without human intervention, via the software application, a search in a file system of the first computer system to identify whether any new repair estimate files and any updated repair estimate files exist; and

automatically retrieving without human intervention, via the software application, each new repair estimate file and each updated repair estimate file found during the search.

39. The method of claim 38 further comprising:

performing the search on a scheduled basis.

40. The method of claim 38 further comprising:

performing the search on an event basis.

41. The method of claim 38 further comprising:

storing a list of previously retrieved repair estimate files;

comparing newly retrieved repair estimate files with the previously retrieved repair estimate files on the list; and

generating a list of new repair estimate files based on the comparison.

42. The method of claim 38 further comprising:

defining a configurable parameter in a configuration file for the software application to thereby identify an estimating platform used by the first computer system, the configurable parameter identifying where in the first computer system'"'"'s file system that the search is to be performed.

43. The method of claim 37 wherein the vehicle repair data further comprises repair order data.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the first computer system comprises a database in which the repair order data is stored, the method further comprising:

automatically querying the database for new repair order data and updated repair order data without human intervention, and

automatically retrieving the repair order data that is responsive to the query from the database without human intervention.

45. The method of claim 36 further comprising:

performing a filtering operation on the retrieved vehicle repair data to send only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the retrieved vehicle repair data to the second computer system.

46. The method of claim 36 further comprising:

accessing, with the first computer system, a page of a website maintained by a rental car company, the website being configured to pass the first computer system to the server.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein the server is operated by a third party.

48. A computer-implemented method comprising:

providing a software application for download over a network to a first computer system on which vehicle repair data is stored, the software application being configured to (1) automatically retrieve vehicle repair data that is stored by the first computer system without human intervention, and (2) automatically send the retrieved vehicle repair data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention;

receiving a download request from a requesting computer system; and

responsive to the receiving step, downloading the software application to the requesting computer system over the network.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises at least one repair estimate file, and wherein the software application is further configured to (1) automatically perform without human intervention a search in a file system of the first computer system to identify whether any new repair estimate files and any updated repair estimate files exist, and (2) automatically retrieve without human intervention each new repair estimate file and each updated repair estimate file found during the search.

50. A computer-implemented method of providing personnel of a business partner of a rental vehicle service provider with access to vehicle repair data, the method comprising:

automatically retrieving labor hours estimation data from a repair facility computer system without human intervention, the labor hours estimation data corresponding to at least one replacement rental vehicle reservation and comprising an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at a repair facility;

automatically uploading the retrieved labor hours estimation data to a data server without human intervention;

communicating the labor hours estimation data to a reservation management computer system, wherein the reservation management computer system is configured for access over a network by a business partner computer to thereby provide a personnel of the business partner with an ability to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations; and

providing the business partner computer with access to the communicated labor hours estimation data through the reservation management computer system.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein repair facility computer system stores the labor hours estimation data as vehicle repair data, wherein the automatically retrieving step comprises automatically retrieving vehicle repair data from the repair facility computer system, wherein the retrieved vehicle repair data comprises the labor hours estimation data and other vehicle repair data, wherein the uploading step comprises uploading at least a portion of the retrieved vehicle repair data including the labor hours estimation data to the data server, wherein the communicating step comprises communicating at least a portion of the uploaded vehicle repair data including the labor hours estimation data to the reservation management computer system, and wherein the providing step comprises providing the business partner computer with access to at least a portion of the communicated vehicle repair data through the reservation management computer system, the vehicle repair data portion including at least the communicated labor hours estimation data.

52. The method of claim 51 further comprising:

performing a matching operation with the reservation management computer system that pairs the communicated vehicle repair data with at least one replacement rental vehicle reservation.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises an estimated completion date for repairs to a vehicle, and wherein the providing step comprises:

displaying the estimated completion date on a graphical user interface (GUI) screen provided by the reservation management computer system for display on the business partner computer, wherein GUI screen relates to a replacement rental vehicle reservation that has been paired with the vehicle repair data.

54. The method of claim 52 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises a repair estimate file, the method further comprising:

upon finding a replacement rental vehicle reservation that is paired with vehicle repair data, communicating an identifier for the paired replacement rental vehicle reservation from the reservation management computer system to the data server; and

for subsequent communications of vehicle repair data from the data server to the reservation management computer system relating to the same repair estimate file, also communicating the replacement rental vehicle reservation identifier back to the reservation management computer system to thereby alleviate a need to re-perform the matching operation.

55. The method of claim 51 wherein the communicating step comprises communicating at least a portion of the uploaded vehicle repair data to a reservation management computer system via a web service.

56. The method of claim 51 wherein the providing step comprises providing the business partner computer with access to at least a portion of the communicated vehicle repair data through the reservation management computer system via a web service.

57. The method of claim 51 wherein the business partner comprises an insurance company.

58. The method of claim 57 further comprising:

performing a filtering operation on the uploaded vehicle repair data to filter vehicle repair data according to an insurance company identifier field in the vehicle repair data to thereby filter out vehicle repair data whose insurance company identifier field does not match the insurance company; and

wherein the communicating step comprises communicating the filtered vehicle repair data to the reservation management computer system.

59. The method of claim 50 further comprising:

performing a filtering operation on the uploaded vehicle repair data to filter out vehicle repair data that does not pertain to the business partner; and

wherein the communicating step comprises communicating the filtered vehicle repair data to the reservation management computer system.

60. The method of claim 50 further comprising:

performing a filtering operation on the uploaded vehicle repair data to remove personally-identifiable data that is present within the uploaded vehicle repair data; and

wherein the communicating step comprises communicating the filtered vehicle repair data to the reservation management computer system.

61. The method of claim 50 further comprising:

performing a filtering operation on the uploaded vehicle repair data to retain only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the vehicle repair data; and

wherein the communicating step comprises communicating the filtered vehicle repair data to the reservation management computer system.

62. The method of claim 50 wherein the providing step comprises:

displaying the labor hours estimation on a graphical user interface (GUI) screen provided by the reservation management computer system for display on the business partner computer, wherein GUI screen relates to a replacement rental vehicle reservation that has been paired with the vehicle repair data.

63. A computer-implemented method of providing personnel of a business partner of a rental vehicle service provider with access to vehicle repair data, the method comprising:

automatically retrieving labor hours estimation data from a repair facility computer system without human intervention, the labor hours estimation data corresponding to at least one replacement rental vehicle reservation and comprising an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at a repair facility;

automatically uploading the retrieved labor hours estimation data to a reservation management computer system, wherein the reservation management computer system is configured for access over a network by a business partner computer to thereby provide a personnel of the business partner with an ability to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations; and

providing the business partner computer with access to the uploaded labor hours estimation data through the reservation management computer system.

64. The method of claim 63 wherein repair facility computer system stores the labor hours estimation data as vehicle repair data, wherein the automatically retrieving step comprises automatically retrieving vehicle repair data from the repair facility computer system, wherein the retrieved vehicle repair data comprises the labor hours estimation data and other vehicle repair data, wherein the uploading step comprises uploading at least a portion of the retrieved vehicle repair data including the labor hours estimation data to the reservation management computer system, and wherein the providing step comprises providing the business partner computer with access to at least a portion of the uploaded vehicle repair data through the reservation management computer system, the vehicle repair data portion including at least the uploaded labor hours estimation data.

65. The method of claim 63 further comprising:

performing a matching operation with the reservation management computer system that pairs the uploaded vehicle repair data with at least one replacement rental vehicle reservation.

66. The method of claim 65 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises an estimated completion date for repairs to a vehicle, and wherein the providing step comprises:

displaying the estimated completion date on a graphical user interface (GUI) screen provided by the reservation management computer system for display on the business partner computer, wherein GUI screen relates to a replacement rental vehicle reservation that has been paired with the vehicle repair data.

67. The method of claim 63 wherein the uploading step comprises uploading at least a portion of the retrieved vehicle repair data to a reservation management computer system via a web service.

68. The method of claim 63 wherein the providing step comprises providing the business partner computer with access to at least a portion of the uploaded vehicle repair data through the reservation management computer system via a web service.

69. The method of claim 63 wherein the business partner comprises an insurance company.

70. The method of claim 69 further comprising:

performing a filtering operation on the vehicle repair data to filter vehicle repair data according to an insurance company identifier field in the vehicle repair data to thereby filter out vehicle repair data whose insurance company identifier field does not match the insurance company.

71. The method of claim 63 further comprising:

performing a filtering operation on the vehicle repair data to filter out vehicle repair data that does not pertain to the business partner.

72. The method of claim 63 further comprising:

performing a filtering operation on the vehicle repair data to remove personally-identifiable data that is present within the vehicle repair data.

73. The method of claim 63 further comprising:

performing a filtering operation on the vehicle repair data to retain only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the vehicle repair data.

74. The method of claim 63 wherein the vehicle repair data comprises a labor hours estimation for repairs to a vehicle, and wherein the providing step comprises:

displaying the labor hours estimation on a graphical user interface (GUI) screen provided by the reservation management computer system for display on the business partner computer, wherein GUI screen relates to a replacement rental vehicle reservation that has been paired with the vehicle repair data.