SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE MAINTENANCE INCLUDING REMOTE DIAGNOSIS AND REVERSE AUCTION FOR IDENTIFIED REPAIRS
First Claim
1. A system for automatically receiving information about a fault on a vehicle and providing an operator of the vehicle with pricing data for one or more vendors willing to repair the fault, comprising:
- (a) a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored;
(b) a data link for automatically receiving information about the fault from the vehicle; and
(c) a processor coupled to the memory and to the data link, said processor executing the machine instructions to carry out a plurality of functions, including;
(i) receiving the information about the fault from the vehicle;
(ii) based upon the fault, conveying data defining the fault to a plurality of vendors able to repair the fault, to enable each vendor interested in repairing the vehicle to provide pricing quotes for the vendor to repair the fault; and
(iii) conveying to the operator of the vehicle information about the fault and the pricing data from any vendors interested in repairing the vehicle.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Vehicle performance data is collected from an input by an operator, a portable device used during an inspection, or at least one sensor. The performance data (or a request for quotes or a reverse auction by repair vendors transmitted by the operator) is conveyed in real-time to a remote computing device that monitors the data to determine if a mechanical fault has occurred in the vehicle, and also automatically responds to operator requests for service. In response, the remote computing device automatically requests repair quotes from vendors interested in repairing the vehicle and located within a predefined distance of a desired location. The operator of the vehicle is automatically informed of the mechanical fault and the repair quotes. In at least one embodiment, the repair quotes are generated using a reverse auction hosted by the monitoring service operating the remote computer or a third party.
281 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A system for automatically receiving information about a fault on a vehicle and providing an operator of the vehicle with pricing data for one or more vendors willing to repair the fault, comprising:
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(a) a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored; (b) a data link for automatically receiving information about the fault from the vehicle; and (c) a processor coupled to the memory and to the data link, said processor executing the machine instructions to carry out a plurality of functions, including; (i) receiving the information about the fault from the vehicle; (ii) based upon the fault, conveying data defining the fault to a plurality of vendors able to repair the fault, to enable each vendor interested in repairing the vehicle to provide pricing quotes for the vendor to repair the fault; and (iii) conveying to the operator of the vehicle information about the fault and the pricing data from any vendors interested in repairing the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A non-transitory memory medium having machine instructions stored thereon for automatically receiving information about a fault on a vehicle and providing an operator of the vehicle with pricing data for one or more vendors willing to repair the fault, the machine instructions, when implemented by a processor, carrying out the functions of:
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(a) receiving the information about the fault from the vehicle; (b) conveying data defining the fault to a plurality of vendors able to repair the fault, to enable each vendor interested in repairing the vehicle to provide pricing quotes for the vendor to repair the fault; and (c) conveying to the operator of the vehicle information about the fault and the pricing data for the repair. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for detecting a fault with a vehicle and providing the operator of the vehicle with pricing data from vendors who can repair the fault, comprising:
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(a) a vehicle comprising; (i) at least one sensor for generating vehicle operational data; (ii) a position tracking component for generating vehicle position data; and (iii) a data link for wirelessly conveying operational data and position data from the vehicle to a remote location during operation of the vehicle; and (b) a computing device at the remote location, the computing device being configured to implement the following functions; (i) monitor the vehicle operational data to identify a fault with the vehicle; (ii) after identifying the fault, conveying data defining the fault to a plurality of vendors able to repair the fault, so that such vendors can provide pricing data for repairing the fault, the plurality of vendors having been selected based on their location relative to the vehicle'"'"'s current location as defined by the position data received from the vehicle, the data defining the fault enabling the plurality of vendors to provide pricing data for repairing the fault; and (iii) conveying information to the operator of the vehicle about the fault and the pricing data for the repair obtained from the plurality of vendors. - View Dependent Claims (38)
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18. A system for detecting a fault with a vehicle and providing the operator of the vehicle with pricing data from vendors who are interested in repairing the fault, comprising:
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(a) a vehicle that includes; (i) a plurality of sensors configured to generate different types of vehicle performance data; (ii) a data link for wirelessly conveying vehicle performance data from the vehicle to a remote location for analysis during operation of the vehicle; and (iii) a processor configured to implement the following functions; (1) using the data link to convey a first type of vehicle performance data to the remote location during a first data transmission; and (2) using the data link to convey a second type of vehicle performance data to the remote location during a second data transmission, the first data transmission and the second data transmission being executed at different times, a time period between the first data transmission and the second data transmission being a function of at least one of a predetermined time interval and the detection of a predetermined condition; and (b) a computing device at the remote location, the computing device being configured to implement the following functions; (i) monitor the vehicle performance data received from the vehicle during each data transmission to identify a fault with the vehicle; (ii) after identifying the fault, conveying data defining the fault to a plurality of vendors able to repair the fault, so that any vendor interested in repairing the fault can provide pricing data for doing so; and (iii) conveying information to the operator of the vehicle about the fault and the pricing data for the repair obtained from vendors interested in repairing the fault.
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19. A method for responding to detection of a fault on a vehicle and providing the operator of the vehicle with pricing data from vendors interested in repairing the fault, comprising the steps of:
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(a) automatically collecting vehicle data from the vehicle, the vehicle data including location data corresponding to a location of the vehicle and performance data provided by at least one element selected from a group of elements consisting of a sensor in the vehicle, the operator of the vehicle, and a portable data collection device used during an inspection of the vehicle; (b) wirelessly transmitting the vehicle data to a remote site; (c) based upon the vehicle data received by the remote site, determining if there is a fault with the vehicle; (d) if there is a fault with the vehicle, automatically transmitting information about the fault to a plurality of vendors able to repair the fault, enabling any vendor interested in repairing the fault to provide pricing data for repairing the fault; and (e) conveying information to the operator of the vehicle identifying the fault and providing the pricing data obtained from each vendor interested in repairing the fault. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A geographical position system for use in a vehicle, the geographical position system comprising:
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(a) a housing; (b) a position sensing component for collecting geographical position data from the vehicle during vehicle operation, the geographical position data being time indexed; (c) at least one data port for receiving vehicle performance data for the vehicle; (d) a data link for wirelessly conveying the vehicle performance data and position data from the vehicle to a remote location to indicate any fault on the vehicle requiring repair; and (e) a processor that executes machine instructions to implement the following functions; (i) using the data link to convey a first type of vehicle performance data to the remote location during a first data transmission; and (ii) using the data link to convey a second type of vehicle performance data to the remote location during a second data transmission, the first data transmission and the second data transmission being executed at different times, a time period between the subsequent data transmissions being a function of at least one of a predetermined time interval and the detection of a predetermined condition. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification