Patent Issued for Configuration and transfer of image data using a mobile device (USPTO 11532049): Allstate Insurance Company

2023 JAN 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Brandmaier, Jennifer A. (Chicago, IL, US), Faga, Mark E. (Evanston, IL, US), Johnson, Robert H. (Hoffman Estates, IL, US), Koza, Daniel (Hinsdale, IL, US), Loo, William (Arlington Heights, IL, US), Marlow, Clint J. (Barrington, IL, US), Stricker, Kurt M. (Northfield, IL, US), filed on December 9, 2016, was published online on December 20, 2022, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11532049 is assigned to Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Conventional insurance claims processing is a complex process that starts with a first notification of loss related to an insured item. Upon notification of loss, the claim may be routed to multiple claims adjusters that analyze different aspects of the damage associated with the insured item in order to determine whether compensation for the loss is appropriate.

“In general, conventional claims adjustment can involve paperwork processing, telephone calls, and potentially face-to-face meetings between claimant and adjuster. In addition, a significant amount of time can elapse between a first notice of loss from the claimant and the final settlement of the claim.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure or to delineate the scope of the disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

“Aspects of the disclosure involve a streamlined and efficient process for claims management and disclose methods, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for automating the processing and settling of claims related to an insured item. A mobile device may transmit data (e.g., images, video, etc.) related to damage associated with an insured item to an enhanced claims processing server. The enhanced claims processing server may manage analysis of damage associated with the insured item and settlement of a claim related to the damage.

“In another aspect of the disclosure, an enhanced claims processing server may analyze damage data received from a mobile device to generate a repair cost estimate for repairing the insured item.

“Further aspects of the disclosure may be provided in a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer, user terminal, or other apparatus to at least perform one or more of the processes described herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A mobile device, comprising: a display device; an image capture device; a network interface; a processor; and a memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the mobile device to: execute an application on the mobile device, wherein the application performs operations on the mobile device, the operations comprising: analyze a plurality of image instructions to determine a plurality of display screens associated with an entire vehicle category, a VIN door tag category, and a vehicle damage category, each display screen being associated with one of the plurality of image instructions for an insurance claim relating to a damaged vehicle, and each image instruction of the plurality of image instructions indicating a type of image to capture; in response to determining the plurality of display screens, capture a plurality of images of the damaged vehicle based on the plurality of image instructions by, for each of the plurality of display screens: displaying a display screen using one of the plurality of display screens of the display device, the display screen comprising an image instruction and a plurality of buttons; capturing, for the entire vehicle category, using the image capture device, an entire vehicle image; capturing, using the image capture device, for the VIN door tag category, a VIN door tag image; and capturing, using the image capture device, for the vehicle damage category, a vehicle damage image; automatically analyzing a blurriness level of each of the plurality of images, comprising comparing the blurriness level to a criterion; based on a result of comparing the blurriness level to the criterion, output, to the display screen, a prompt comprising user instructions to recapture one or more of the entire vehicle image, the VIN door tag image, and the vehicle damage image if the blurriness level exceeds the criterion; recapture, using the image capture device, the one or more of the entire vehicle image, the VIN door tag image, and the vehicle damage image; upload the entire vehicle image, the VIN door tag image, and the vehicle damage image, via the network interface, to a processing server; and output, to the display device and during the uploading, a graphical indication of a progress of the uploading of the entire vehicle image, the VIN door tag image, and the vehicle damage image.

“2. The mobile device of claim 1, further comprising an input device, wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the mobile device to: display at least one of the plurality of images via the display device; and receive an input, via the input device, indicating an acceptability of at least one of the plurality of images.

“3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the mobile device to: in response to transmitting at least one of the plurality of images, receive an indication from the processing server that at least one of the plurality of images is acceptable.

“4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the mobile device to: in response to transmitting at least one of the plurality of images, receive an indication from the processing server that at least one of the plurality of images is not acceptable.

“5. The mobile device of claim 4, wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the mobile device to: receive an additional image instruction from the processing server, the additional image instruction indicating a type of image to recapture; in response to receiving the additional image instruction, analyze the additional image instruction to determine an additional display screen associated with the additional image instruction; in response to determining the additional display screen: display the additional display screen using the display device; and capture, using the image capture device, an additional image corresponding to the additional image instruction associated with the additional display screen; process the additional image; and in response to processing the additional image, transmit the additional image, via the network interface, to the processing server.

“6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the mobile device to: display the plurality of images via the display device; and receive an input, via an input device, indicating an acceptability of the plurality of images.

“7. A method, comprising: executing, by a mobile computing device, an application, wherein the application performs operations on the mobile device, the operations comprising: analyzing, by a processor of the mobile computing device, a plurality of image instructions to determine a plurality of display screens associated with an entire vehicle category, a VIN door tag category, and a vehicle damage category, each display screen being associated with one of the plurality of image instructions for an insurance claim relating to a damaged vehicle, and each image instruction of the plurality of image instructions indicating a type of image to capture; in response to determining the plurality of display screens, capturing a plurality of images of the damaged vehicle based on the plurality of image instructions by, for each of the plurality of display screens: displaying a display screen, using one of the plurality of display screens, on a display of the mobile computing device, the display screen comprising an image instruction and a plurality of buttons; capturing, for the entire vehicle category, using the image capture device, an entire vehicle image; capturing, using the image capture device, for the VIN door tag category, a VIN door tag image; and capturing, using the image capture device, for the vehicle damage category, a vehicle damage image; automatically analyzing a blurriness level of each of the plurality of images, comprising comparing the blurriness level to a criterion; based on a result of comparing the blurriness level to the criterion, outputting, to the display screen, a prompt comprising user instructions to recapture one or more of the entire vehicle image, the VIN door tag image, and the vehicle damage image if the blurriness level exceeds the criterion; recapturing, using the image capture device, the one or more of the entire vehicle image, the VIN door tag image, and the vehicle damage image; uploading the entire vehicle image, the VIN door tag image, and the vehicle damage image, via a network interface, to the processing server; and outputting, to the display and during the uploading, a graphical indication of a progress of the uploading of the entire vehicle image, the VIN door tag image, and the vehicle damage image.

“8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: displaying at least one of the plurality of images via a display device; and receiving an input, via an input device, indicating an acceptability of at least one of the plurality of images.

“9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: in response to transmitting at least one of the plurality of images, receiving an indication from the processing server that at least one of the plurality of images is acceptable.

“10. The method of claim 7, further comprising: in response to transmitting at least one of the plurality of images, receiving an indication from the processing server that at least one of the plurality of images is not acceptable.

“11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: receiving an additional image instruction from the processing server, the additional image instruction indicating a type of image to recapture; in response to receiving the additional image instruction, analyzing the additional image instruction to determine an additional display screen associated with the additional image instruction; in response to determining the additional display screen: displaying the additional display screen using the display device; and capturing, using the image capture device, an additional image corresponding to the additional image instruction associated with the additional display screen; processing the additional image; and in response to processing the additional image, transmitting the additional image, via the network interface, to the processing server.

“12. The method of claim 7, further comprising: displaying the plurality of images via the display device; and receiving an input, via an input device, indicating an acceptability of the plurality of images.”

There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.

URL and more information on this patent, see: Brandmaier, Jennifer A. Configuration and transfer of image data using a mobile device. U.S. Patent Number 11532049, filed December 9, 2016, and published online on December 20, 2022. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11532049)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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