COMPUTER-ASSISTED AND/OR ENABLED SYSTEMS, METHODS, TECHNIQUES, SERVICES AND USER INTERFACES FOR CONDUCTING MOTOR VEHICLE AND OTHER INSPECTIONS

• US 20070293997A1
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Published: 12/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Manheim Investments Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Manheim Investments Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Inventors: Couch, William Henry
• Granted Patent: US 8,230,362 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 15/00 Testing of engines
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/00 Testing of vehicles testing fluid tightness G01M3/00; testing elastic properties of bodies or chassis, e.g. torsion-testing, G01M5/00; testing alignment of vehicle headlight devices G01M11/06; testing of engines G01M15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/007 Wheeled or endless-tracked vehicles G01M17/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance

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.

Claims

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.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said presenting comprises directing a human inspector to apply inspection criteria based at least in part on said activated inspection preference of said particular client.

3. The method of claim 1 further including inputting, into said handheld computer device, information identifying the item being inspected, and said presenting includes customizing said user interface based at least in part on said identifying information.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said inputting includes inputting a vehicle identification number, and said method further includes decoding said vehicle identification number to determine body style, and wherein said presenting includes displaying a graphical diagram of said determined body style.

5. The method of claim 1 further including identifying and displaying a generic schematic plan drawing corresponding to the item being inspected.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said inputting includes prompting a human inspector to input parts that are encompassed but not detailed by said schematic plan drawing.

7. The method of claim 1 further including performing a valuation of the item that is based at least in part on said activated client preference.

8. The method of claim 1 further including grading the item based at least in part on said activated client preference.

9. The method of claim 1 further including repeating at least some of said steps for a different item on behalf of a different client after activating a different client preference.

10. The method of claim 1 further including performing rule based validation of inputted information.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said validation is based at least in part on said activated client preference.

12. A handheld computer system for performing item inspections comprising:

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.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said output device comprises a display, said input device comprises a touch sensitive surface disposed on said display, and said presenting includes displaying information on said display.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein said presenting includes displaying a generic schematic illustration of said item on said output device.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein said memory stores further instruction performing an automatic valuation of said item based on said inputted inspection data and further based at least in part on said activated selected predetermined preference.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein said memory stores further instructions that automatically grade said item based on said inputted inspection data and further based at least in part on said activated selected predetermined preference.

17. The system of claim 12 wherein said memory stores further instructions that validate said inputted inspection data based at least in part on said activated selected predetermined preference.

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:

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.