US 11,380,143 B2Granted

System and method for servicing a damaged vehicle

AssigneeThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

InventorCary D. Marr

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A method and system to determine a selected service response for servicing a damaged portion of a vehicle using a vehicle technician system. The selected service response is based upon a digital media file acquired with the vehicle technician system and representative of the damaged portion of the vehicle. The digital media file is communicated from the vehicle technician system to an authority such as a vehicle owner. The communication may be indirectly through an intermediary such as a vehicle service management system. Inasmuch as the digital media file is inherently unbiased, the authority evaluates the digital media file when considering the appropriate service, such as repairing or replacing a damaged part. The authority then selects a selected service response based at least in part on the digital media file and the selected service response is thereafter applied to the vehicle.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A communication system for providing roadside service calls to a vehicle owned by a vehicle owner and driven by a vehicle driver who is different from the vehicle owner, comprising:

a vehicle technician system associated with a vehicle technician and including a media capture device;
a vehicle driver system associated with the vehicle driver;
a vehicle owner system associated with the vehicle owner;
and
a service management system that brokers communication between the vehicle technician system, the vehicle driver system, and the vehicle owner system by providing a standard contact interface in which the vehicle technician system, the vehicle driver system, and the vehicle owner system do not have direct access to one another, wherein
the service management system is configured to:
receive a report of a service event from the vehicle driver system;
in response to receiving the report, transmit a service request for an open service call associated with the vehicle owner system to the vehicle technician system,
in response to receiving a service response from the vehicle technician system indicating the open service call has been selected, associate the vehicle technician system with the open service call,
receive a media file from the vehicle technician system, and
transmit the media file to the vehicle owner system;
and
the vehicle technician system is configured to:
receive the service request from the service management system,
display a list of open service calls including the open service call,
in response to receiving input from the vehicle technician indicating the open service call has been selected from the list of open service calls, transmit the service response to the service management system,
generate the media file with the media capture device, and
transmit the media file to the service management system.

15 more elements

A method of providing roadside service calls to a vehicle owned by a vehicle owner and driven by a vehicle driver different from the vehicle owner using a communication system including a vehicle technician system associated with a vehicle technician and having a media capture device, a vehicle driver system associated with the vehicle driver, a vehicle owner system associated with the vehicle owner, and a service management system that brokers communication between the vehicle technician system, the vehicle driver system, and the vehicle owner system by providing a standard contact interface in which the vehicle technician system, the vehicle driver system, and the vehicle owner system do not have direct access to one another, the method comprising:

receiving a report of a service event from the vehicle driver system at the service management system;
in response to receiving the report, transmitting a service request for an open service call associated with the vehicle owner system from the service management system to the vehicle technician system;
in response to the service management system receiving a service response from the vehicle technician system indicating the open service call has been selected, associating the vehicle technician system with the open service call;
receiving the service request from the service management system at the vehicle technician system;
displaying a list of open service calls including the open service call on the vehicle technician system;
in response to receiving input at the vehicle technician system from the vehicle technician associated with the vehicle technician system indicating the open service call has been selected from the list of open service calls, transmitting the service response from the vehicle technician system to the service management system;
generating a media file with the media capture device;
transmitting the media file from the vehicle technician system to the service management system;
receiving the media file from the vehicle technician system at the service management system;
and
transmitting the media file from the service management system to the vehicle owner system.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/887,457Filed 29 May 2020 · continuation
Priority: 17 Nov 2015
Published: US 2020/0294326 A117 Sep 2020
Granted: 5 Jul 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G07C 5/008
Registering or indicating the working of vehicles: communicating information to a remotely located station
G06Q 10/06
Administration; Management: resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation…
G06Q 10/06311
Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations: scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person…
G06Q 10/20
Administration; Management: administration of product repair or maintenance