METHOD, APPARATUS, AND PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR GENERATING PRODUCT REPAIR COST ESTIMATES

• US 20140081876A1
• Filed: 09/19/2012
• Published: 03/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2012
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Etsia Digital Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Etsia Digital Incorporated
• Inventors: Schulz, Craig
• Granted Patent: US 10,846,627 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/305
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

A method encompasses a damage evaluation session which may be initiated by an evaluation system user using a user device such as a smartphone. The evaluation session allows the user to identify a damaged section of a damaged product, and then displays a properly sized representation of the damaged section at the user device. This displayed representation of the damaged section is associated with a grid which defines a number of grid segments with each grid segment located over a respective portion of the representation. The method includes receiving a damage severity level input for one or more of the grid segments. Based upon the damage severity level input for the one or more grid segments, damage estimate data is retrieved from a repair data store and applied to produce an overall repair cost estimate for the damaged section.

Claims

1. A method including:

(a) receiving product identifying information at a system of one or more data processing devices included in an evaluation system, the product identifying information identifying a damaged product;

(b) receiving a section input from a user device, the section input being received at the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system and identifying a damaged section of the damaged product;

(c) under control of the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system, transmitting section display instructions from the evaluation system to the user device causing a representation of the identified damaged section to be displayed at the user device, the representation of the identified damaged section being associated with a grid defining a number of grid segments with each grid segment located over a respective portion of the representation of the identified damaged section;

(d) receiving a respective damage severity level input from the user device for each of one or more of the grid segments, each respective damage severity level input being received at the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system and including a user-selected damage severity indicator selected from a number of predefined damage severity indicators, each of the number of predefined damage severity indicators indicating a different level of damage; and

(e) at the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system, for each respective damage severity level input, retrieving damage estimate data associated with that respective grid segment from repair data stored in one or more data storage devices and applying the retrieved damage estimate data for the one or more grid segments to produce an overall repair cost estimate for the damaged section.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the section display instructions cause the grid to be displayed together with the representation of the identified damaged section.

3. The method of claim 1 further including, under control of the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system, communicating an instruction to the user device to display a product identifying information graphical interface which displays a first input option and a second input option, the first input option displaying two or more elements for manual entry or entry from a respective pull-down menu, and the second input option displaying an element for entry of a product identifier associated with the product, and wherein the product identifying information is received through either the first input option or the second input option.

4. The method of claim 1 further including causing a product sectional representation to be displayed at the user device based on the received product identifying information, the product sectional representation comprising a sectional representation specific to the particular model of product indicated by the received product identifying information and including a number of different sections of the product where each of the sections is separately selectable through the user device, and wherein the section input indicates a respective section selected from the sectional representation.

5. The method of claim 1 further including:

(a) causing a photograph of the identified section of the damaged product to be displayed at the user device as the representation of the identified damaged section;

(b) causing the user device to display an outline for the grid;

(c) causing a sizing and alignment interface to be displayed at the user device, and prompting the user to use the sizing and alignment interface to size and align the photograph to the outline for the grid.

6. The method of claim 1 further including:

(a) under control of the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system, retrieving a photograph of the identified damaged section from a product section database based on the received product identifying information; and

(b) under control of the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system, causing the retrieved photograph of the damaged section to be transmitted to the user device for display at the user device as the representation of the identified damaged section.

7. The method of claim 1 further including:

(a) causing the number of predefined damage level indicators to be displayed at the user device together with the grid and representation of the identified damaged section; and

(b) causing the user device to provide a damage level associating utility to allow the user to identify one of the number of predefined damage level indicators with a respective one of the one or more grid segments, each identification of one of the number of predefined damage level indicators with a respective one of the one or more grid segments representing the respective damage severity level input for the respective grid segment.

8. The method of claim 1 further including:

(a) receiving at least one additional section input from the user device, each additional section input being received at the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system and identifying a respective additional damaged section of the damaged product;

(b) for each respective additional damaged section of the damaged product, transmitting additional section display instructions from the evaluation system to the user device, the additional section display instructions being transmitted under control of the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system and causing a representation of the respective additional damaged section to be displayed at the user device, the respective additional damaged section being associated with a grid defining a number of grid segments with each grid segment located over a respective portion of the representation of the respective additional damaged section;

(c) for each respective additional damaged section of the damaged product, receiving a respective damage severity level input from the user device for each of one or more of the grid segments for that respective additional damaged section, each respective damage severity level input being received at the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system and including a user-selected damage severity indicator selected from the number of predefined severity indicators; and

(d) at the system of one or more data processing devices included in the evaluation system for respective damage severity level input for each additional damaged section of the damaged product, retrieving damage estimate data associated with that respective grid segment from the repair data stored in one or more data storage devices and applying the retrieved damage estimate data for the one or more grid segments for each additional damaged section together with the retrieved damage estimate data for the damaged section to produce an overall repair cost estimate encompassing the damaged section and each additional damaged section.

9. An apparatus including:

(a) a first data storage device; and

(b) a system of one or more data processing devices operably connected for communication with the first data storage device, the system of one or more data processing devices configured to,

(i) receive product identifying information identifying a damaged product;

(ii) receive a section input from a user device, the section input identifying a damaged section of the damaged product;

(iii) cause a representation of the identified damaged section to be displayed at a display of the user device, the representation of the identified damaged section being associated with a grid defining a number of grid segments with each grid segment located over a respective portion of the representation of the identified damaged section;

(iv) receive a respective damage severity level input for each of one or more of the grid segments, each respective damage severity level input including a user-selected damage severity indicator selected from a respective number of predefined damage severity indicators where each of the respective number of predefined damage severity indicators indicates a different level of damage; and

(v) for each respective damage severity level input, retrieve damage estimate data associated with that respective grid segment from repair data stored in the first data storage device or in an additional data storage device and apply the retrieved damage estimate data for the one or more grid segments to produce an overall repair cost estimate for the damaged section.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the system of one or more data processing devices is further configured to cause the grid to be displayed together with the representation of the identified damaged section.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the system of one or more data processing devices is further configured to cause a product sectional representation to be displayed at the display of the user device based on the received product identifying information, the product sectional representation comprising a sectional representation specific to the particular model of product indicated by the received product identifying information and including a number of different sections of the product where each of the sections is separately selectable through the user device, and wherein the section input indicates a respective section selected from the sectional representation.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the system of one or more data processing devices is further configured to:

(a) cause a photograph of the identified section of the damaged product to be displayed at the display of the user device as the representation of the identified damaged section;

(b) cause the display of the user device to display an outline of the grid; and

(c) cause a sizing and alignment interface to be displayed on the display of the user device, and prompt the user to use the sizing and alignment interface to size and align the photograph with the outline of the grid.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the system of one or more data processing devices is further configured to:

(a) based on the received product identifying information, retrieve a photograph of the identified damaged section from a product section database stored at the first data storage device or an additional data storage device; and

(b) cause the retrieved photograph of the damaged section to be transmitted to the user device for display at the display of the user device as the representation of the identified damaged section.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the system of one or more data processing devices is further configured to:

(a) cause the number of predefined damage level indicators to be displayed at the display of the user device together with the grid and representation of the identified section; and

(b) cause the display of the user device to provide a damage level associating utility to allow the user to identify one of the number of predefined damage level indicators with a respective one of the one or more grid segments, each identification of one of the number of predefined damage level indicators with a respective one of the one or more grid segments representing the respective damage severity level input for the respective grid segment.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the system of one or more data processing devices is further configured to:

(a) receive at least one additional section input from the user device, each additional section input identifying a respective additional damaged section of the damaged product;

(b) for each respective additional damaged section of the damaged product, cause a grid to be displayed at the display of the user device over a representation of the respective additional damaged section, the grid defining a number of grid segments with each grid segment located over a respective portion of the representation of the respective additional damaged section;

(c) for each respective additional damaged section of the damaged product, receive a respective damage severity level input for each of one or more of the grid segments for that respective additional damaged section, each respective damage severity level input including a user-selected damage severity indicator selected from a respective number of predefined damage severity indicators where each of the respective number of predefined damage severity indicators indicates a different level of damage; and

(d) for each respective damage severity level input for each additional damaged section of the damaged product, retrieve damage estimate data associated with that respective grid segment from the repair data stored in the first data storage device or in an additional data storage device and apply the retrieved damage estimate data for each additional damaged section together with the retrieved damage estimate data for the damaged section to produce an overall repair cost estimate encompassing the damaged section and each additional damaged section.

16. A program product stored on one or more tangible, non-transitory data storage devices, the program product including:

(a) grid correlation program code executable to cause a representation of a damaged section of a product to be displayed at a display of a user device, the representation of the damaged section being associated with a grid defining a number of grid segments with each grid segment located over a respective portion of the representation of the damaged section;

(b) input program code executable to,

(i) receive product identifying information identifying the damaged product, and

(ii) receive a section input from the user device, the section input identifying the damaged section of the damaged product, and

(iii) receive a respective damage severity level input for each of one or more of the grid segments, each respective damage severity level input including a user-selected damage severity indicator selected from a number of predefined damage severity indicators, each of the number of predefined damage severity indicators indicating a different level of damage; and

(c) evaluation program code executable to, for each respective damage severity level input, retrieve damage estimate data associated with that respective grid segment from repair data stored in one or more data storage devices and apply the retrieved damage estimate data for the one or more grid segments to produce an overall repair cost estimate for the damaged section.

17. The program product of claim 16 further including sectional display program code executable to cause a product sectional representation to be displayed at the user device based on the received product identifying information, the product sectional representation comprising a sectional representation specific to the particular model of product indicated by the received product identifying information and including a number of different sections of the product where each of the sections is separately selectable through the user device, and wherein the section input indicates a respective section selected from the sectional representation.

18. The program product of claim 16 wherein the input program code is also executable to:

(a) cause a photograph of the identified section of the damaged product to be displayed at the display of the user device as the representation of the identified damaged section;

(b) cause the display of the user device to display an outline of the grid; and

(c) cause a sizing and alignment interface to be displayed on the display of the user device, and prompt the user to use the sizing and alignment interface to size and align the photograph with the outline of the grid.

19. The program product of claim 16 wherein the input program code is also executable to:

(a) cause the number of predefined damage level indicators to be displayed at the display of the user device together with the grid and representation of the identified damaged section; and

(b) cause the display of the user device to provide a damage level associating utility to allow the user to identify one of the number of predefined damage level indicators with a respective one of the one or more grid segments, each identification of one of the number of predefined damage level indicators with a respective one of the one or more grid segments representing the respective damage severity level input for the respective grid segment.

20. The program product of claim 16 wherein:

(a) the grid correlation program code is also executable to, for each of one or more additional damaged sections of the damaged product, cause a representation of the respective additional damaged section to be displayed at the display of the user device, the representation of the respective additional damaged section being associated with a grid defining a number of grid segments with each grid segment located over a respective portion of the representation of the respective additional damaged section;

(b) the input program code is also executable to,

(i) receive at least one additional section input from the user device, each additional section input identifying a respective additional damaged section of the damaged product, and

(ii) for each respective additional damaged section of the damaged product, receive a respective damage severity level input for each of one or more of the grid segments for that respective additional damaged section, each respective damage severity level input including a respective user-selected damage severity indicator selected from the number of predefined damage severity indicators; and

(c) the evaluation program code is also executable to, for each respective damage severity level input for a respective additional damaged section of the damaged product, retrieve damage estimate data associated with that respective grid segment from a repair data store stored in the one or more data storage devices or in an additional data storage device and apply the retrieved damage estimate data for each additional damaged section together with the retrieved damage estimate data for the damaged section to produce an overall repair cost estimate encompassing the damaged section and each additional damaged section.