Patent Application Titled “System, Device, and Method for Estimating a Current Condition of Remote Appliances and for Generating a Post-Purchase Warranty for Remote Appliances” Published Online (USPTO 20220309513): Patent Application
2022 OCT 14 (NewsRx) -- By a
No assignee for this patent application has been made.
Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Millions of people use appliances on a daily basis, at home, at work, and in various venues. For example, a fridge is used to store food at a low temperature; a washing machine is used to wash clothes; a dishwasher is used to wash dishes; a coffee machine is used to prepare coffee; a ceiling fan is used to circulate air; a freezer is used to store food at or below freezing temperature; an oven is used for baking; and so forth.
“Sometimes an appliance breaks, or fails to operate at all or as usual. For example, ice buildup may occur in a fridge or a freezer; an ignition unit of a gas range may break; a valve or a pump of a dishwasher may become clogged or break; a drum of a washing machine may stop spinning; a control panel or a door of a microwave oven may break; and so forth.”
In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “Some embodiments include systems, devices, and methods for estimating current condition of remote appliances and for generating a post-purchase warranty for remote appliances. For example, a system is configured to obtain and analyze data pertaining to an appliance, at a post-purchase evaluation time-point that is subsequent to the time-of-purchase of the appliance. Based on the data obtained and analyzed, the system determines an Appliance Usage Score Value, indicating characteristics of a manner in which this particular appliance has been utilized, since the time-of-purchase until that post-purchase evaluation time-point. Based on the Appliance Usage Score Value that was determined, the system automatically generates a post-purchase Warranty Proposal or Insurance Proposal for a new warranty or a new insurance for this particular appliance, and automatically determines and generates a premium amount or a price that is included in that post-purchase Warranty Proposal or Insurance Proposal.
“Some embodiments may provide additional and/or other benefits and/or advantages.”
The claims supplied by the inventors are:
“1. A system comprising: one or more processors, operably associated with one or more memory units; wherein the one or more processors are configured: (a) to obtain and analyze data pertaining to an appliance, at a post-purchase evaluation time-point that is subsequent to the time-of-purchase of said appliance; (b) based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), to determine an Appliance Usage Score Value, indicating characteristics of a manner in which said appliance was utilized, since said time-of-purchase until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; © based on the Appliance Usage Score Value determined in (b), to automatically generate a post-purchase Warranty Proposal for a new warranty for said appliance, and to automatically generate a premium amount that is included in said post-purchase Warranty Proposal.
“2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), that said appliance was abused by a user of said appliance during at least one time-point that is between said time-of-purchase and said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (B) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (A) of a post-purchase abuse that was determined for said appliance.
“3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), that said appliance was properly utilized continuously by a user of said appliance during a time-period that begins at said time-of-purchase and that ends at said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (B) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (A) of post-purchase continuous proper utilization of said appliance by said user from said time-of-purchase until said post-purchase evaluation time-point.
“4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), that said appliance was not in use at all since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until the date of said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (B) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (A) that said appliance was not in used at all since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until the date of said post-purchase evaluation time-point.
“5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), that said appliance was in use for not more than M minutes cumulatively since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; wherein M is a threshold value that is pre-defined per type or per model of appliance; (B) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (A) that said appliance was in use for not more than M minutes cumulatively since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point.
“6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), that said appliance was connected to the Internet for not more than M minutes cumulatively since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; wherein M is a threshold value that is pre-defined per type or per model of appliance; (B) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (A) that said appliance was connected to the Internet for not more than M minutes since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point.
“7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, remotely and externally to said appliance, a cumulative number of minutes (M1) that said appliance was connected to the Internet since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (B) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (A) of the cumulative number of minutes (M1) that said appliance was connected to the Internet since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point.
“8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, remotely and externally to said appliance, a first cumulative number of minutes (M1) that said appliance was connected to the Internet since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (B) to receive from said appliance, a message indicating a second, greater, cumulative number of minutes (M2) that said appliance was operable and in use, regardless of being offline or online, since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (C) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account both: (i) a determination in (A) of the first cumulative number of minutes (M1) that said appliance was connected to the Internet since the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point, and (ii) the second cumulative number of minutes (M2) in which said appliance was operable and in use regardless of being offline or online.
“9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, remotely and externally from the appliance, that said appliance was first-ever connected to the Internet on day D1; (B) to detect that during a usage session of said appliance, which is the first-ever Internet-connected usage session of said appliance, the appliance was operated by a user to perform at least K different tasks within not more than M minutes; wherein
“10. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), that said appliance was located at a particular geographic region since delivery of said appliance to a consumer until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (B) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (A) of said particular geographic region in which said appliance was located since delivery.
“11. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), that said appliance was located at a particular geographic region since initial delivery of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (B) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (A) of said particular geographic region and by further taking into account data about weather conditions in said particular geographic region since delivery date until said post-purchase evaluation time-point.
“12. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), that said appliance was located at a particular geographic region since delivery of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (B) to perform a Machine Learning (ML) process that generates, for each type and model of appliance in combination with a geographic region, a probability that the appliance has already malfunctioned within D days, wherein D is the number of days since time-of-purchase of said appliance; (C) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (B) of said probability that the appliance has already malfunctioned.
“13. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured: (A) to determine, based on the data obtained and analyzed in (a), that said appliance was located at a particular venue since delivery of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (B) to obtain, from an Internet-connected device that is located in said particular venue, one or more measurements of temperature in said particular venue, during at least a portion of time-period that is between the time-of-purchase of said appliance until said post-purchase evaluation time-point; (C) to analyze said one or more measurements of temperature that were measured in said particular venue, and to determine that there is a probability value P1 that said appliance has already malfunctioned due to temperatures in said particular venue, based on pre-defined rules that associate between (I) a type-and-model of different appliances, and (ii) ranges of temperatures that are suitable for error-free operation of different appliances; (D) to generate said premium amount for said post-purchase Warranty Proposal, by taking into account a determination in (C) of the probability value P1 that said appliance has already malfunctioned due to temperatures in said particular venue.”
There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.
For more information, see this patent application:
(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)
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