Patent Issued for Computer monitoring system, apparatus and method for monitoring appliance operation (USPTO 11716218): United Services Automobile Association

2023 AUG 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Buehrle, Amber K. (Phoenix, AZ, US), Devereaux, Ramsey (San Antonio, TX, US), Gray, Cristin (San Antonio, TX, US), Tracey, Shane (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on May 12, 2022, was published online on August 1, 2023, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11716218 is assigned to United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “With regards to electrical, water and gas appliances, a primary problem exists with regards to damage caused by faulty appliances and/or inefficient operation. A tertiary problem is that a device does not currently exist which monitors various appliances and appliance types in a household over time to determine if their fitness is deteriorating, determine their level of operating efficiency and ways to improve it and/or provide intelligence on the failing appliance sub-component and how to repair it.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The purpose and advantages of the below described illustrated embodiments will be set forth in and apparent from the description that follows. Additional advantages of the illustrated embodiments will be realized and attained by the devices, systems and methods particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well as from the appended drawings.

“To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the illustrated embodiments, in one aspect, a system and method to monitor individual appliance performance is described in which a monitor module is provided for aggregating data from a plurality of appliances wherein the module includes. Included in the monitor device is a gateway device configured to capture operational data relating to each of the plurality of appliances and an analyzing device configured to determine individual operational characteristics for each of the appliances from analysis of the captured operational data. A notification device is further provided which is configured to provide information to a user regarding the determined operational characteristics for each of the appliances.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A system to monitor individual appliance performance for providing notification relating to appliance performance in a dwelling, comprising: a gateway device positioned in the dwelling configured to capture operational data relating to each of a plurality of appliances in the dwelling; an analyzing device, coupled to the gateway device, configured to determine individual operational characteristics for each of the appliances from analysis of the captured operational data so as to determine variation of individualized operational data from expected operating thresholds regarding appliance operation; and a notification device, coupled to the analyzing device, configured to provide information to a user regarding the determined operational characteristics for each of the appliances responsive to determining occurrence of individualized operational data variation of one or more of the plurality of appliances.

“2. The system as recited in claim 1, further including a gaming module configured to provide electronic gameplay whereby the determined appliance individual operational characteristics associated with a user is compared against determined appliance individual operational characteristics associated with at least one other user.

“3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein each appliance is chosen from a group of appliances capable of consuming one or more of electricity, water and gas resources.

“4. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the gateway device is communicatively coupled to a circuit breaker device in the dwelling which is communicatively coupled to each of the plurality of appliances.

“5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the gateway device is communicatively coupled to a computer server which is communicatively coupled to each of the plurality of appliances in the dwelling.

“6. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the appliances are chosen from the group consisting of at least a lighting system/component, clothes dryer, washing machine, dishwasher, video/audio device and HVAC device.

“7. The system as recited in claim 1, further including a database having prescribed operating appliance thresholds regarding resource consumption and operating time data associated with the plurality of appliances in the dwelling.

“8. The system as recited in claim 1, further including a control module operatively coupled to the monitor module for controlling an operational aspect for each of the coupled appliances.

“9. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein the monitoring device further comprises a graphical user interface and data processing apparatus, wherein the graphical user interface is configured to: gather contextual information related to user activity for each coupled appliance; gather information regarding user appliance service preferences; display appliance resource consumption; and display alternative modes of operation for the coupled appliances to mitigate resource consumption.

“10. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the monitoring device is further configured to detect and determine a life event change regarding a user for one of the coupled appliances by detecting certain usage variations regarding at least one coupled appliance.

“11. A computer method for monitoring individual appliance performance and for providing notification relating to appliance performance in a dwelling, comprising: capturing operational data relating to each of a plurality of appliances via a gateway device positioned in the dwelling; determining, in an analyzing device coupled to the gateway device, individual operational characteristics for each of the appliances from analysis of the captured operational data so as to determine variation of individualized operational data from expected operating thresholds regarding appliance operation; and providing information to a user, via a notification device coupled to the analyzing device, regarding the determined operational characteristics for each of the appliances responsive to determining occurrence of individualized operational data variation of one or more of the plurality of appliances.

“12. The computer method as recited in claim 11, further including providing electronic gameplay, via a gaming module, associated with determined appliance individual operational characteristics whereby a user is compared against determined appliance individual operational characteristics associated with at least one other user.

“13. The computer method as recited in claim 12, wherein each appliance is chosen from a group of appliances capable of consuming one or more of electricity, water and gas resources.

“14. The computer method as recited in claim 12, wherein the gateway device is communicatively coupled to a circuit breaker device in the dwelling which is communicatively coupled to each of the plurality of appliances.

“15. The computer method as recited in claim 12, wherein the gateway device is communicatively coupled to a computer server which is communicatively coupled to each of the plurality of appliances in the dwelling.

“16. The computer method as recited in claim 12, wherein the appliances are chosen from the group consisting of at least a lighting system/component, clothes dryer, washing machine, dishwasher, video/audio device and HVAC device.

“17. The computer method as recited in claim 12, further including receiving information from a database having prescribed operating appliance thresholds regarding resource consumption and operating time data associated with the plurality of appliances in the dwelling.

“18. The computer method as recited in claim 12, further including controlling an operational aspect for each of the coupled appliances by a control module operatively coupled to the monitor module.

“19. The computer method as recited in claim 18, further including providing a graphical user interface from the monitoring module, wherein the graphical user interface is configured to: gather contextual information related to user activity for each coupled appliance; gather information regarding user appliance service preferences; display appliance resource consumption; and display alternative modes of operation for the coupled appliances to mitigate resource consumption.

“20. The computer method as recited in claim 19, wherein the monitoring device is further configured to detect and determine a life event change regarding a user for one of the coupled appliances by detecting certain usage variations regarding at least one coupled appliance.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Buehrle, Amber K. Computer monitoring system, apparatus and method for monitoring appliance operation. U.S. Patent Number 11716218, filed May 12, 2022, and published online on August 1, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11716218)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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