Patent Issued for Crowdsourced roadside assistance service provider assignment system (USPTO 11132629): Allstate Insurance Company

2021 OCT 14 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Balabas, Jason (Arlington Heights, IL, US), Brandmaier, Jennifer A. (Chicago, IL, US), Chen, Tao (Northbrook, IL, US), Gara, Jonathan (Northbrook, IL, US), Johnson, Robert H. (Hoffman Estates, IL, US), Lieggi, Christopher J. (Schaumburg, IL, US), Spinneweber, Robert A. (Tempe, AZ, US), filed on September 18, 2018, was published online on September 28, 2021.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 11132629 is Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Services provided to users, such as roadside assistance services, automobile services, home services, and other personal services, are traditionally serviced through professional service providers that can be expensive and difficult to schedule. Specifically, roadside assistance service providers provide towing services, flat tire assistance, fuel services, automobile repairs, oil changes, and scheduled maintenance appointments, etc. Most prior art systems might auto assign roadside assistance service providers or tow truck drivers solely based on the proximity to a distressed vehicle. Telematics devices are known and used in the art to provide various telematics information to users and/or service providers regarding their location, direction of travel, velocity, route, and/or destination. Additionally, there is a vast wealth of insurance information that includes locations and instances for previous accidents, previous insurance claims, and driving history.

“Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide roadside assistance service provider systems and methods for safe and effective service requests and assigning using a system that takes a sophisticated approach to collecting various types of data through sensors and systems, analyzes that data, and assigns roadside assistance service providers based on a complex plurality of factors/characteristics for a more optimized assignment. It would be desirable to include telematics information and service provider information to locate the service providers based on the location of the services requested and to prioritize the service providers based on the user preferences, telematics information, additional factors, and insurance information of the service providers”

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

“A first aspect of the disclosure provides a roadside assistance system that includes: a roadside assistance service provider server having at least one processor; a roadside assistance service provider application for use on a mobile device and executing on the roadside assistance service provider server; a plurality of sensors positioned on a vehicle of a roadside assistance service provider, and a telematics device in communication with a distressed vehicle and in communication with the roadside assistance service provider application. The plurality of sensors may collect roadside assistance service provider information for a roadside assistance service provider. The roadside assistance service provider may be a selected service provider from a crowdsourced group of individuals who are service providers, have registered with the roadside assistance system, and have been validated and/or verified to provide roadside assistance services including one or more of the following services: jump start, flat tire change, fuel the distressed vehicle, tow the distressed vehicle, or unlock a locked-out vehicle. The telematics device may provide telematics information to the roadside assistance service provider application and the roadside assistance service provider server. The roadside assistance service provider application upon execution of computer-executable instructions from the roadside assistance service provider server is configured to perform the following steps: receive, by the roadside assistance service provider server, a roadside assistance service request from a driver of the distressed vehicle, wherein the roadside assistance service request includes one or more of the following: jump start the distressed vehicle, flat tire change, fuel the distressed vehicle, tow the distressed vehicle, or unlock a locked out distressed vehicle; determine, by the roadside assistance service provider server, the selected service provider based on a proximity in location between the distressed vehicle and the selected service provider; send, by the roadside assistance service provider server to the roadside assistance service provider application, the roadside assistance service request to the selected service provider; receive, through the roadside assistance service provider application, acceptance of the roadside assistance service request from the selected service provider; provide, by the roadside assistance service provider server and the telematics device and plurality of sensors, event notifications to the roadside assistance service provider application of a status of the selected service provider with respect to the roadside assistance service request, wherein the event notifications are near real-time cues to the roadside assistance service provider via the mobile device; and receive, through the roadside assistance service provider application, confirmation of completion of the roadside assistance service request from the selected service provider.

“Another aspect of the disclosure provides one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, may cause an apparatus to: (a) receive, through a roadside assistance service provider application for use on a mobile device executing on a roadside assistance service provider server having at least one processor, a roadside assistance service request from a driver of a distressed vehicle; (b) collect roadside assistance service provider information by a plurality of sensors in communication with a vehicle of a roadside assistance service provider, wherein the roadside assistance service provider is a selected service provider from a crowdsourced group of individuals who are service providers, have registered with the roadside assistance service provider server, and have been trained to provide roadside assistance service including one or more of the following services: jump start, flat tire change, fuel the distressed vehicle, tow the distressed vehicle, or unlock a locked-out vehicle; © receive, by the roadside assistance service provider server, telematics information from a telematics device wirelessly connected to the distressed vehicle; (d) receive, by the roadside assistance service provider server, a roadside assistance service request from the driver of the distressed vehicle, wherein the roadside assistance service request includes one or more of the following: jump start the distressed vehicle, flat tire change, fuel a lack of fuel vehicle, tow the distressed vehicle, or unlock a locked out vehicle; (e) determine, by the roadside assistance service provider server, the selected service provider based on a set of factors that include: proximity in location between the distressed vehicle and the selected service provider, prior driver’s ratings for the selected service provider, a skill set of the selected service provider, and a cost of the selected service provider; (f) send, by the roadside assistance service provider server to the roadside assistance service provider application, the roadside assistance service request to the selected service provider; (g) receive, through the roadside assistance service provider application, acceptance of the roadside assistance service request from the selected service provider; (h) provide, by the roadside assistance service provider server and the telematics device and plurality of sensors, event notifications to the roadside assistance service provider application of a status of the selected service provider with respect to the roadside assistance service request; and (i) receive, through the roadside assistance service provider application, confirmation of completion of the roadside assistance service request from the selected service provider.

“In another aspect of the disclosure, a roadside assistance system may comprise: a roadside assistance service provider server having at least one processor; a roadside assistance service provider application for use on a mobile device and executing on the roadside assistance service provider server; a plurality of sensors positioned on a vehicle of a roadside assistance service provider, and a telematics device in communication with a distressed vehicle and in communication with the roadside assistance service provider application. The plurality of sensors may collect roadside assistance service provider information. The roadside assistance service provider may be selected service provider from a crowdsourced group of individuals who are service providers, have registered with the roadside assistance system, and have been trained to provide roadside assistance services including the following services: jump start, flat tire change, fuel the distressed vehicle, tow the distressed vehicle, and unlock a locked-out vehicle. The telematics device provides telematics information to the roadside assistance service provider application and the roadside assistance service provider server. The roadside assistance service provider application, upon execution of computer-executable instructions from the roadside assistance service provider server, may be configured to: receive, by the roadside assistance service provider server, a registration from the crowdsourced group of individuals who are service providers, wherein the registration includes background checks and a driver’s record check, wherein the registration further includes validation of completed training for the crowdsourced group of individuals who are service providers; receive, by the roadside assistance service provider server, a roadside assistance service request from the driver of the distressed vehicle, wherein the roadside assistance service request includes one or more of the following: jump start the distressed vehicle, flat tire change, fuel a lack of fuel vehicle, tow the distressed vehicle, or unlock a locked out vehicle; determine, by the roadside assistance service provider server, the selected service provider based on one or more factors, wherein the one or more factors include one or more of the following: proximity in location between the distressed vehicle and the selected service provider, prior driver’s ratings for the selected service provider, a skill set of the selected service provider, or a cost of the selected service provider; send, by the roadside assistance service provider server to the roadside assistance service provider application, the roadside assistance service request to the selected service provider; receive, through the roadside assistance service provider application, acceptance of the roadside assistance service request from the selected service provider; and receive, through the roadside assistance service provider application, confirmation of completion of the roadside assistance service request from the selected service provider.

“The details of these and other embodiments of the present disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent form the description and drawings.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A roadside assistance system, the system comprising: a roadside assistance service provider server having at least one processor; a roadside assistance service provider application for use by a roadside assistance service provider on a mobile device and executing on the roadside assistance service provider server, wherein the roadside assistance service provider is from a crowdsourced group of individuals who are vehicle roadside assistance service providers, have registered with the roadside assistance system, and have been validated to provide roadside assistance services including one or more of the following services: vehicle jump start, vehicle flat tire change, vehicle fuel up, vehicle tow, or vehicle unlock; a plurality of sensors in communication with the roadside assistance service provider application, wherein the plurality of sensors collects roadside assistance service provider information for the roadside assistance service provider; an insurance server in communication with the roadside assistance service provider server and the roadside assistance service provider application, wherein the insurance server stores insurance information that includes information about the roadside assistance service provider, location and instances of previous accidents, and locations and instances of previous claims; and a GPS on the mobile device of the roadside assistance service provider that acquires GPS information, the GPS in communication with the roadside assistance service provider application, wherein the GPS provides the GPS information to the roadside assistance service provider application and the roadside assistance service provider server; wherein the roadside assistance service provider application upon execution of computer-executable instructions from the roadside assistance service provider server is configured to: receive, by the roadside assistance service provider server, a roadside assistance service request from a driver of a distressed vehicle, wherein the roadside assistance service request includes one or more of the following: jump start the distressed vehicle, flat tire change for the distressed vehicle, fuel the distressed vehicle, tow the distressed vehicle, or unlock the distressed vehicle; connect, by the roadside assistance service provider server, the roadside assistance service provider to the driver of the distressed vehicle using an Internet task market for crowdsourcing; determine and factor, by the roadside assistance service provider server, an acceptance rate of the roadside assistance service provider as compared to a market average acceptance rate for roadside assistance service providers; select, by the roadside assistance service provider server, the roadside assistance service provider based on the acceptance rate, the insurance information, and a proximity in location between the distressed vehicle and the roadside assistance service provider from the GPS information; send, by the roadside assistance service provider server to the roadside assistance service provider application, the roadside assistance service request to the roadside assistance service provider; receive, through the roadside assistance service provider application, acceptance of the roadside assistance service request from the roadside assistance service provider; provide, by the roadside assistance service provider server and the GPS and plurality of sensors, real-time event notifications to the roadside assistance service provider application of a status of the roadside assistance service provider with respect to the roadside assistance service request, wherein the real-time event notifications are near real-time cues to the roadside assistance service provider via the mobile device based on the GPS information from the GPS in communication with the roadside assistance service provider application and the roadside assistance service provider information from the plurality of sensors in communication with the roadside assistance service provider application; and receive, through the roadside assistance service provider application, confirmation of completion of the roadside assistance service request from the roadside assistance service provider.

“2. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the real-time event notifications include one or more of the following: time until arrival, alerting when an amount of time spent on a task exceeds a predefined threshold, flagging high priority tasks, flagging high priority assignments.

“3. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the GPS information includes location, velocity, route, and destination.

“4. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the roadside assistance service provider information includes a location of the roadside assistance service provider, a type of the roadside assistance service provider, a set of ratings of the roadside assistance service provider, service provider skills, special equipment, and service provider certifications.

“5. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the roadside assistance service provider information includes real-time information that includes one or more of the following: an availability of the roadside assistance service provider, a start time for the roadside assistance service provider, or a completion time for the roadside assistance service provider.

“6. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the real-time event notification is provided on a display through the roadside assistance service provider application to the roadside assistance service provider.

“7. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors are positioned on a vehicle of the roadside assistance service provider.

“8. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the roadside assistance service provider application upon execution of the computer-executable instructions from the roadside assistance service provider server is further configured to: provide, by the roadside assistance service provider server and through the roadside assistance service provider application, electronic payment for completing the roadside assistance service request to the roadside assistance service provider.

“9. The roadside assistance system of claim 8, wherein the electronic payment is automatic with a pre-entered payment method when the roadside assistance service request is complete.

“10. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the roadside assistance service provider application upon execution of the computer-executable instructions from the roadside assistance service provider server is further configured to: receive, by the roadside assistance service provider server, an evaluation from the driver of the distressed vehicle of the roadside assistance service provider after the roadside assistance service request is complete.

“11. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the roadside assistance service provider application upon execution of the computer-executable instructions from the roadside assistance service provider server is further configured to: receive, by the roadside assistance service provider server, an evaluation from the roadside assistance service provider of the driver of the distressed vehicle after the roadside assistance service request is complete.

“12. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the roadside assistance service provider application upon execution of the computer-executable instructions from the roadside assistance service provider server is further configured to: receive, by the roadside assistance service provider server, a registration from the roadside assistance service provider from the crowdsourced group of individuals who are vehicle roadside assistance service providers, wherein the registration includes background checks and a driver’s record check.

“13. The roadside assistance system of claim 12, wherein the registration further includes validation for the roadside assistance service provider from the crowdsourced group of individuals who are vehicle roadside assistance service providers.

“14. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the roadside assistance service provider is an independent contractor.

“15. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the roadside assistance service provider includes a roadside assistance certification confirming that the roadside assistance service provider can complete the roadside assistance service request.

“16. The roadside assistance system of claim 1, wherein the roadside assistance service provider application upon execution of the computer-executable instructions from the roadside assistance service provider server is further configured to: complete, by the roadside assistance service provider server and through the roadside assistance service provider application, a background check for the roadside assistance service provider.”

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

For additional information on this patent, see: Balabas, Jason. Crowdsourced roadside assistance service provider assignment system. U.S. Patent Number 11132629, filed September 18, 2018, and published online on September 28, 2021. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=11132629.PN.&OS=PN/11132629RS=PN/11132629

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