Patent Issued for Image-based processing for products (USPTO 11341580): Allstate Insurance Company

2022 JUN 10 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Corder, Bryan Keith (Gurnee, IL, US), Riggio, John A. (Mundelein, IL, US), Sanchez, Carlos D. (Bartlett, IL, US), filed on September 5, 2019, was published online on May 24, 2022.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 11341580 is Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Structural information for buildings can be difficult to obtain. Some types of information may be readily accessible such as a number of rooms in a building, property value, square footage, lot size and the like. However, other types of information may be more challenging to obtain. For example, information about parts of a building that are not easily observable may be difficult to collect. Similarly, information that requires close inspection or analysis might be similarly elusive. While aerial imagery and space-based imagery has become more generally available and the use thereof more widespread, the manner in which this type of imagery is analyzed and processed has not achieved a level of sophistication requisite for more accurate assessments of structural risks and the like.”

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 in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor 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 description below.

“Aspects of the disclosure relate to the analysis and processing of detailed aerial or spaced-based imagery to evaluate a range of characteristics of a building. In one example, the imagery may be analyzed to determine roof information, including a type of roof, an age of the roof and the pitch of the roof. Using that information, an entity such as an insurance provider may improve the processing speed and effectiveness of generating quotes, developing business strategies and claims processing.

“Other features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the additional description provided herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. An image processing system comprising: an imaging device, the imaging device including at least one of a space-based image sensor and an aerial image sensor; and a ground-based digital image processing device comprising: a processor; and memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the ground-based digital image processing device to: receive notification of a property that has had damage repaired; determine a location of the property; identify an imaging device with which to capture a digital image of the property based on an expected location of the imaging device given a current trajectory and speed; determine one or more digital image capture parameters based on at least one of: a weather condition, type of object to be imaged, and property density, the parameters including a type of sensor to use; instruct the imaging device to capture an image of the property using the determined location and identified imaging device, the imaging device including at least one of a space-based image sensor and an aerial image sensor; and perform image analysis on the captured image of the property to identify a characteristic of damage repaired and a characteristic of the property, including: determine repairs done on the property based on the identified characteristic of the damage repaired and the characteristic of the property; and record whether repairs have been done on the property.

“2. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the device to determine at least one of (a) whether a premium adjustment is required for an insurance policy on the property; and (b) whether an insurance policy on the property should be renewed.

“3. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the device to generate an insurance premium adjustment based on whether a repair was completed on the property.

“4. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the notification of the damage includes an insurance claim.

“5. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the device to determine if repairs have been done on one or more of a roof, windows, siding, and doors of the property.

“6. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the device to determine whether a roof of the property has been repaired to address one or more of rotting, water damage, moss, vegetation, patching, sagging, and bowing.

“7. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the imaging device captures a digital image with thermal or infrared imaging.

“8. A digital image processing apparatus configured to direct and analyze digital images, the apparatus comprising: a processor; and memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to: receive notification of a property that has had damage repaired; determine a location of the property; identify an imaging device with which to capture a digital image of the property based on an expected location of the imaging device given a current trajectory and speed; determine one or more digital image capture parameters based on at least one of: a weather condition, type of object to be imaged, and property density, the parameters including a type of sensor to use; instruct, through a data communication network, the imaging device to capture an image of the property using the determined location and identified imaging device, the imaging device including at least one of a space-based image sensor and an aerial image sensor; and perform image analysis on the captured image of the property to identify a characteristic of damage repaired and a characteristic of the property, including: determine repairs done on the property based on the identified characteristic of the damage repaired and the characteristic of the property; and record whether repairs have been done on the property.

“9. The image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to determine at least one of (a) whether a premium adjustment is required for an insurance policy on the property, and (b) whether an insurance policy on the property should be renewed.

“10. The image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to generate an insurance premium adjustment based on based on whether a repair was completed on the property.

“11. The image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the notification of the damage includes an insurance claim.

“12. The image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to determine if repairs have been done on one or more of a roof, windows, siding, and doors of the property.

“13. The image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to determine whether a roof of the property has been repaired to address one or more of rotting, water damage, moss, vegetation, patching, sagging, and bowing.

“14. The image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the imaging device captures a digital image with thermal or infrared imaging.

“15. A digital image processing apparatus configured to direct and analyze digital images for identification of object characteristics, the apparatus comprising: a processor; and memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the digital image processing apparatus to: receive a notification of damage to a property; determine a location of the property; identify an imaging device with which to capture a digital image of the property based on an expected location of the imaging device given a current trajectory and speed; determine one or more digital image capture parameters based on at least one of: a weather condition, type of object to be imaged, and property density, the parameters including a type of sensor to use; instruct, through a data communication network, the imaging device to capture an image of the property using the determined location and identified imaging device, the imaging device including at least one of a space-based image sensor and an aerial image sensor; and perform image analysis on the captured image of the property to identify a characteristic of damage repaired and a characteristic of the property, including: determine repairs done on the property based on the identified characteristic of the damage repaired and the characteristic of the property; and record whether repairs have been done on the property.

“16. The image processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to determine at least one of (a) whether a premium adjustment is required for an insurance policy on the property, and (b) whether an insurance policy on the property should be renewed.

“17. The image processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to generate an insurance premium adjustment based on based on whether a repair was completed on the property.

“18. The image processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to determine if repairs have been done on one or more of a roof, windows, siding, and doors of the property.

“19. The image processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to determine whether a roof of the property has been repaired to address one or more of rotting, water damage, moss, vegetation, patching, sagging, and bowing.

“20. The image processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the imaging device captures a digital image with thermal or infrared imaging.”

For additional information on this patent, see: Corder, Bryan Keith. Image-based processing for products. U.S. Patent Number 11341580, filed September 5, 2019, and published online on May 24, 2022. 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=11341580.PN.&OS=PN/11341580RS=PN/11341580

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