Prognostics-Based Estimator

• US 20160071334A1
• Filed: 09/04/2014
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap-On Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Snap-On Incorporated
• Inventors: Johnson, Lester B., Costantino, David R., Lewis, Bradley R., Brozovich, Roy S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,477,950 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

Described herein are methods and devices for determining potential-repair information related to a vehicle based on content of a vehicle repair database. According to an example method, a computing device can receive vehicle information that includes a vehicle identifier for a vehicle type. The computing device can then determine, based on the vehicle information, at least two top repair order items in a first category of repair order items. For example, the at least two top repair order items may be related to the first vehicle type and determined from among a plurality of repair order items in the first category of repair order items that are related to the first vehicle type. The example method can further involve providing, by the computing device, a display of a graphical representation of the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a computing device, vehicle information that comprises a first vehicle identifier for a first vehicle type;

determining, by the computing device and based on the vehicle information, at least two top repair order items in a first category of repair order items, wherein the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items are related to the first vehicle type and determined from among a plurality of repair order items in the first category of repair orders items that are related to the first vehicle type; and

providing, by the computing device and for display, a graphical representation of the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a selection of a particular repair order item of the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items; and

providing, by the computing device and for display, one or more potential vehicle fixes associated with the particular repair order item.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a selection of at least one potential vehicle fix of the one or more potential vehicle fixes associated with the particular repair order item; and

associating, by the computing device, the at least one potential vehicle fix with a vehicle-diagnostic record that is stored by a server.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a selection of a particular repair order item of the at least two top repair order items; and

providing, by the computing device and for display, a vehicle-usage profile for the particular repair order item, wherein the vehicle-usage profile is indicative of a distribution of a plurality of repair orders over a plurality of vehicle-usage intervals, and wherein the plurality of repair orders are related to the vehicle and the particular repair order item.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the vehicle-usage profile comprises a histogram.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items comprises querying a vehicle repair database, wherein the vehicle repair database comprises a plurality of repair orders, and wherein individual repair orders of the plurality of repair orders include repair order items.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first category of repair order items comprises a category selected from the group consisting of:

repaired components, reported diagnostic trouble codes, and reported symptoms.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based on the vehicle information, at least two top repair order items in a second category of repair order items, wherein the at least two top repair order items in the second category of repair order items are related to the first vehicle type and determined from among a plurality of repair order items in the second category of repair order items that are related to the first vehicle type; and

providing for display the at least two top repair order items in the second category of repair order items.

9. The method of claim 8:

wherein the first category of repair order items comprises a given category selected from the group consisting of;

repaired components, reported diagnostic trouble codes, and reported symptoms; and

wherein the second category of repair order items comprises another category selected from the group that is different from the given category.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle identifier includes an identifier selected from the group consisting of:

year, make, model (YMM);

year, make, model, engine (YMME);

year, make, model, engine, system (YMMES); and

vehicle identification number (VIN).

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle information further comprises vehicle-usage data for a first vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items comprises:

determining, for multiple given types of repair order items in the first category of repair order items, a respective number of repair orders corresponding to the given type of repair order item; and

determining, based on the respective number of repair orders for the multiple given types of repair order items, the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items.

13. A computing device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a computer-readable medium, configured to store instructions, that when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising;

determining vehicle information that comprises a first vehicle identifier for a first vehicle type,

determining, based on the vehicle information, at least two top repair order items in a first category of repair order items, wherein the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items are related to the first vehicle type and determined from among a plurality of repair order items in the first category of repair order items that are related to the first vehicle type, and

providing for display a graphical representation of the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items.

14. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving a selection of a particular repair order item of the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items; and

providing for display one or more potential vehicle fixes associated with the particular repair order item.

15. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving a selection of a particular repair order item of the at least two top repair order items; and

providing for display a vehicle-usage profile for the particular repair order item, wherein the vehicle-usage profile is indicative of a distribution of a plurality of repair orders over a plurality of vehicle-usage intervals, and wherein the plurality of repair orders are related to the vehicle and the particular repair order item.

16. A system, comprising:

a first client device configured to;

receive, via a first interface provided on the first client device, vehicle information that comprises a first vehicle identifier for a first vehicle type, and

associate the vehicle information with a first vehicle-diagnostic record corresponding to a first vehicle; and

a second client device configured to;

determine, based on the vehicle information associated with the vehicle-diagnostic record, at least two top repair order items in a first category of repair order items, wherein the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items are related to the first vehicle type and determined from among a plurality of repair order items in the first category of repair order items that are related to the first vehicle type, and

provide for display a graphical representation of the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the second client device is further configured to:

receive, via a second interface provided on the second client device, a selection of a particular repair order item of the at least two top repair order items in the first category of repair order items; and

provide for display one or more potential vehicle fixes associated with the particular repair order item.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the second client device is further configured to:

receive, via the second interface, a selection of at least one potential vehicle fix of the one or more potential vehicle fixes associated with the particular repair order item; and

associate the at least one potential vehicle fix with the vehicle-diagnostic record.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein associating the vehicle information with the vehicle-diagnostic record comprises providing the vehicle information to a server for association with the vehicle-diagnostic record.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein associating the vehicle information with the vehicle-diagnostic record comprises generating a vehicle-diagnostic record having the vehicle information, and wherein the first client device is further configured to provide the generated vehicle-diagnostic record to the second client device.