Vehicle service status tracking system and method

• US 6,477,452 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2001
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: U-Haul International Incorporated (U-Haul Holding Co.)
• Original Assignee: U-Haul International Incorporated (U-Haul Holding Co.)
• Inventors: Good, Gary D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MANCHO, RONNIE M
• Application Number:
  US09/939,164
• Publication Number:
  US 20020032505A1
• Time in Patent Office: 438 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/200-215, 701/30-33, 701/36, 340/52.D, 340/52.F, 340/531, 340/539, 340/439, 340/901, 340/990, 340/993, 340/998, 340/907, 340/995, 455/66, 455/99, 455/466, 455/553, 455/556
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A system and methods to allow multiple stations in geographically dispersed locations to monitor and track vehicle repair record and service status information in a coordinated fashion. In a service area comprised of a number of geographically-bounded service regions, at least one regional communications terminal is provided in communication with a plurality of local communications terminals. Each local communications terminal and regional communications terminal communicates with a vehicle service status database. Vehicle service events are entered into a vehicle tracking system and maintained using the vehicle status database. Database files are exchanged between local communications terminals and regional communications terminals and with a central equipment manager in order to provide timely and accurate dissemination of service status. Vehicle service status, including an equipment availability prediction, is shared with marketing offices and retail locations to enable personnel at such locations to make informed decisions in allocating particular equipment to a customer based on the customer'"'"'s needs.

Claims

1. A method of managing a plurality of moving equipment items comprising the steps of:

maintaining in a moving equipment database information on availability of one or more moving equipment items from the plurality of moving equipment items;

maintaining in the moving equipment database information on repair status of one or more moving equipment items from the plurality of moving equipment items;

creating a service event notification in said moving equipment database pertaining to one or more moving equipment items of said plurality of moving equipment items;

generating a predicted service completion date for said one or more moving equipment items using said service event notification; and

automatically communicating said predicted service completion date for said one or more moving equipment items to said moving equipment database.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein creating a predicted service completion date further comprises using a local communication terminal, the moving equipment database operably connected to the local communication terminal.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein automatically communicating said predicted service completion date further comprises disseminating to a plurality of geographic locations the predicted service completion date for said one or more moving equipment items.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising collecting a plurality of said service event notifications into a moving equipment item service status file in the moving equipment database.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising generating a predicted availability date for one or more moving equipment items based on the predicted service completion date.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

generating a moving equipment service status report from a plurality of service status files; and

transmitting the moving equipment service status report to a plurality of local communication terminals such that moving equipment status information is available at a local communication terminal regardless of the geographic location in which the moving equipment item is located.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising receiving at a regional communication terminal a repair history message, the message having a list of service event notifications associated with a moving equipment item.

8. A method as recited in claim 7 further comprising:

determining at the regional communication terminal whether the number of service notifications in the repair history message has exceeded a predefined threshold; and

providing a warning notification at said regional communication terminal if the predefined threshold has been exceeded, said warning notification useful for prompting a user to take corrective action.

9. A method of managing a plurality of moving equipment items comprising the steps of:

maintaining in an availability databases information on availability of one or more moving equipment items from the plurality of moving equipment items;

maintaining in a moving equipment status database information on repair status of one or more moving equipment items from the plurality of moving equipment items;

creating a service event notification in said moving equipment status database pertaining to one or more moving equipment items of said plurality of moving equipment items;

generating a predicted service completion date for said one or more moving equipment items using said service event notification; and

automatically communicating said predicted service completion date for said one or more moving equipment items to said availability database.

10. A method as recited in claim 9 further comprising:

comparing a predicted service completion date to a current moving equipment service status for a moving equipment item contained in said vehicle status database using a regional communications terminal;

determining at said regional communications terminal a condition in which an actual repair completion date is not within a predefined period of elapsed time after the predicted service completion date; and

providing a warning notification at said regional communications terminal if the predefined period of elapsed time has been exceeded, said warning notification useful for prompting a user to take corrective action.

11. A system for managing a plurality of moving equipment items, the system comprising:

a moving equipment database for maintaining information on availability and repair status information of one or more moving equipment items from the plurality of moving equipment items;

a service event notifier for creating a service event notification in said moving equipment database, the service event notification pertaining to one or more moving equipment items; and

a date dissemination module for automatically communicating a predicted service completion date for said one or more moving equipment items to said moving equipment database.

12. A system for managing moving equipment items comprising:

an availability database for maintaining information on availability of one or more moving equipment items from a plurality of moving equipment items;

a moving equipment status database for maintaining information on repair status of one or more moving equipment items from the plurality of moving equipment items;

a service event notifier for creating a service event notification in said moving equipment status database pertaining to one or more moving equipment items of said plurality of moving equipment items;

a date generator for generating a predicted service completion date for said one or more moving equipment items using said service event notification.

13. A system for managing a plurality of moving equipment items, the system comprising:

a moving equipment database for maintaining information on repair status information of one or more moving equipment items from the plurality of moving equipment items; and

a service event notifier for creating a service event notification in said moving equipment database.

14. A system for managing a plurality of moving equipment items, the system comprising:

a central equipment manager;

at least one local equipment manager in communication with the central equipment manager;

an event notification generator for creating a service event notification pertaining to one of the moving equipment items using one of the plurality of local equipment managers;

a first data transmitter capable of transmitting the service event notification from the local equipment manager to the central equipment manager; and

a second data transmitter capable of transmitting the service event notification from the central equipment manager to the local equipment manager.

15. A system for managing a plurality of moving equipment items, the system comprising:

means for providing a central equipment manager;

means for providing a plurality of local equipment managers in communication with the central equipment manager;

means for creating a service event notification pertaining to one of the moving equipment items using one of the plurality of local equipment managers;

means for transmitting the service event notification from the one of the plurality of local equipment managers to the central equipment manager; and

means for transmitting the service event notification from the central equipment manager to one or more local equipment managers of the plurality of local equipment managers.