Patent Issued for Roof Inspection Systems And Methods (USPTO 10,489,863)

2019 DEC 11 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventor Matheson, Cory A. (Celina, TX), filed on May 26, 2016, was published online on December 9, 2019, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 10,489,863 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: “The failure to detect, identify and correct minor roof deterioration and leakage in the earliest stages is considered the greatest cause of premature roof failure. Even when properly designed and applied, all roofing materials deteriorate from exposure to the weather at rates determined largely by the kind of material used and the conditions of exposure.

“Additionally, the tasks of climbing onto and inspecting a roof are inherently dangerous. Every year, thousands of people are injured or killed in falls from a ladder or off a roof.

“Moreover, roofs often include a variety of shapes, features and obstacles. For example, a roof may have multiple peaks and valleys, a high slope or pitch, and may include numerous obstacles such as chimneys, vents, skylights, rain gutters, power lines, roof-mounted equipment, natural debris, and other objects. In addition to the dangers presented by these features, a roof inspector might not inspect areas of the roof that are difficult or dangerous to access. Still further, weather conditions can make the task more dangerous and/or delay the inspection.

“Additionally, proper roof inspection techniques--especially safety precautions--require extensive training, physical endurance, and years of practice developing the necessary skills. Climbing and working safely on a roof requires large ladders, ropes, safety harnesses, and often a large truck to haul the equipment to the site. Providing a second person on site for assistance and safety adds cost to the process, without adding to the reliability of the final report.

“For at least the reasons described above, personal roof inspection is dangerous, time consuming and expensive. Furthermore, aerial or satellite imaging of roof structures often produces low quality images, the equipment is subject to interference from cloud cover and trees, the cost is high, and it could take days or weeks to receive a report.

“There is a need therefore for a cost effective, in situ, roof inspection system which effectively eliminates the need for insurance inspectors to climb onto the roof and which can detect, identify and report minor roof deterioration and leakage in the earliest stages.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventor’s 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 computer implemented method for in situ inspection of a roof of a policy holder’s dwelling (or any homeowner) is disclosed which includes the steps of: establishing a baseline condition at a first point in time for the roof by scanning using one or more sensors to collect baseline condition data; transmitting to a computing device the baseline condition data; scanning the roof at a point in time subsequent to the first point in time to establish a present condition using the one or more sensors to collect present condition data; transmitting to the computing device the present condition data; and comparing with the computing device the baseline condition data with the present condition data to determine anomalies indicative of roof damage or deterioration.

“It is envisioned that the computing device can be for example, a local computing device, a cloud server or a remote server maintained by an insurer.

“In embodiments of the presently disclosed method a repair report is transmitted to the policy holder/homeowner and/or an insurer when an anomaly is detected.

“It is envisioned that the scanning for present condition data can occur intermittently. Alternatively, the scanning for present condition data can be conducted after a severe weather event has occurred in a geographic region for the roof. Still further, the scanning for present condition data can occurs after a roof maintenance or repair event. Furthermore, the baseline condition can be reestablished after a roof maintenance or repair event occurs and the new baseline can be transmitted to the computing device. The present condition data collected by the scanning can used to create a roof wear profile.

“It is further envisioned that a transport system or mount can be provided in order to facilitate moving, repositioning or articulating at least one of the one or more sensors, so as to allow for a complete profile of the roof to be generated.

“Preferably, the comparison of the baseline condition data with the present condition data can be used to determine repair needs for the roof. The step of determining the repair needs can include analyzing the policy holder’s insurance policy to determine whether the insurance policy covers said repair needs. Additionally, determining the age and condition of the roof of the policy holder’s dwelling can be part of the method for determining the repair needs for the roof.

“The presently disclosed method can also include the steps of calculating a value of an insurance claim corresponding to the determined repair needs and providing a notification to the policy holder indicating the determined repair needs. In embodiments of the present disclosure the notification can include a recommendation of one or more vendors to perform insurance related repairs based on the determined repair needs.

“The present disclosure is further directed to a computer system for in situ inspection of a roof of a policy holder’s dwelling or structure, which includes, inter alia, at least one sensor positioned on an interior of the roof for determining at a first point in time, baseline condition data for the roof and at one or more subsequent points in time, present condition data. The system further includes a computing device in communication with the at least one sensor, the computing device having a memory and a processing unit.

“It is envisioned that the memory is configured to store instructions for the at least one sensor and to store the baseline condition data and present condition data received from the at least one sensor. It is further contemplated that the processor is disposed in communication with said memory, and the processor upon execution of the instructions is configured to cause the at least one sensor to obtain baseline condition data or present condition data.

“In certain embodiments, the processor instructs the at least one sensor to collect present condition data intermittently. In this or alternative embodiments, the processor instructs the at least one sensor to collect present condition data after a severe weather event has occurred in a geographic region for the roof. Moreover, the processor can be configured to instruct the at least one sensor to collect present condition data after a roof maintenance or repair event.

“Embodiments of the presently disclosed system can include a transmitter for communicating baseline or present condition data obtained by the at least one sensor to a cloud storage server.

“In certain embodiments, the system includes a data analysis module which compares the baseline condition data with the present condition data to determine anomalies indicative of roof damage.

“A transport system can be provided for moving, articulating and/or adjusting at least one or more of the sensors so as to allow for a complete profile of the roof to be generated.

“It is envisioned that the one or more sensors used in the disclosed systems and methods can include one or more of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a water detection sensor, a wind speed sensor, a motion sensor, an infrared sensor, a structural sensor, a multispectral sensor, an environmental sensor or an optical sensor.

“In certain embodiments of the present invention, a power source can be provided for one or more of the sensors. The power source can be a solar power source, a battery or power obtained directly from the dwelling’s power source or grid.

“The present disclosure is further directed to a computer implemented method for processing insurance data, including, among other steps, receiving, by a processor, data from one or more sensor devices relating to a roof of a dwelling; performing, by a processor, analytical analysis on the received data to determine one or more insurance claim events identifying one or more potential insurance claims regarding the dwelling; receiving, by a processor, an insurance policy associated with the dwelling; analyzing, by a processor, the insurance policy to determine insurance coverage for the dwelling as prescribed by the insurance policy; applying, by the processor, predefined business rules using the determined one or more insurance claim events and the determined insurance coverage to determine if the insurance policy supports an insurance claim regarding the one or more insurance claim events; and determining, by a processor, a claim amount value for the insurance claim if it is determined supported by the insurance policy.

“It is envisioned that the disclosed method can include determining, by a processor, one or more third party vendors regarding repairs to be made regarding the one or more insurance claim events.

“The one or more insurance claim events can relate to a structural condition of the roof of the dwelling.

“Moreover, the data received from the one or more sensor devices can be received from sensor devices that include one or more of the following detection sensor devices: infrared; temperature; humidity, water, wind speed; motion; structural; environmental; optical and camera.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed is:

“1. A computer implemented method for in situ inspection of a roof of a building, the method performed by at least one computing device and comprising: receiving, by the at least one computing device, baseline condition data that is generated by sensors scanning at least a portion of the roof during a first period of time, wherein the baseline condition data is communicated, over at least one network to the at least one computing device, as a first aggregate data packet, wherein at least one of the sensors is movable by a rail system in the building to scan multiple portions of the roof, and wherein the baseline condition data includes baseline structural data that is generated by at least one structural sensor that is arranged in the building to physically measure structural elements of the building, including one or more of a slope of a structural element, a load on a structural element, and a strain on a structural element; determining, by an analyzer module executing on the at least one computing device, a baseline condition of the roof, the baseline condition determined by the analyzer module based on analyzing the baseline condition data; receiving, by the at least one computing device, present condition data that is generated by the sensors scanning at least the portion of the roof during a second period of time subsequent to the first period of time, wherein the present condition data is communicated, over the at least one network to the at least one computing device, as a second aggregate data packet and wherein the present condition data includes present structural data that is generated by the at least one structural sensor; determining, by the analyzer module executing on the at least one computing device, a present condition of the roof, the present condition determined by the analyzer module based on analyzing the present condition data; comparing, by the analyzer module executing on the at least one computing device, the baseline condition data with the present condition data to determine, based on one or more differences between the baseline condition data and the present condition data including a difference in the measured structural element one or more anomalies that are indicative of a deviation of the present condition from the baseline condition that indicates at least one of roof damage or roof deterioration; and transmitting, by the at least one computing device, a report that describes the deviation of the present condition from the baseline condition.

“2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting a repair report to one or more of a policy holder and an insurer responsive to an anomaly being detected.

“3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the scanning for present condition data occurs intermittently.

“4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the scanning for present condition data occurs after a severe weather event has occurred in a geographic region for the roof.

“5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the scanning for present condition data occurs after a roof maintenance or repair event.

“6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the baseline condition is reestablished after a roof maintenance or repair event occurs and retransmitted to the at least one computing device.

“7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein present condition data collected by the scanning over an evaluation period is used by the at least one computing device to create a roof wear profile.

“8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor that is movable by the rail system allows for a complete profile of the roof to be generated.

“9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the comparison of the baseline condition data with the present condition data is used to determine repair needs for the roof.

“10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein determining repair needs comprises analyzing an insurance policy to determine whether said insurance policy covers said repair needs.

“11. The method recited in claim 9, wherein determining repair needs comprises determining the age and condition of the roof.

“12. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising the step of calculating a value of an insurance claim corresponding to the determined repair needs.

“13. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising providing a notification to a policy holder indicating the determined repair needs.

“14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device is one or more of a local computing device, a cloud server, and a remote server maintained by an insurer.

“15. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the notification includes a recommendation of one or more vendors to perform insurance related repairs based on the determined repair needs.

“16. A computer system for in situ inspection of a roof of a building, the system comprising: a plurality of sensors positioned on an interior of the roof, the sensors including: i) at least one movable sensor that is movable by a rail system in the building to scan multiple portions of the roof, and ii) at least one structural sensor that is arranged in the building to physically measure structural elements of the building, including one or more of a slope of a structural element, a load on a structural element, and a strain on a structural element; and a computing device in communication with the sensors, the computing device including memory and a processing unit, wherein the memory is configured to store instructions for the sensors and to store baseline condition data and present condition data received from the sensors, and wherein the processor is disposed in communication with said memory, and the processor upon execution of the instructions is configured to perform operations including: receiving the baseline condition data that is generated by the sensors scanning at least a portion of the roof during a first period of time, wherein the baseline condition data is communicated, over at least one network to the computing device, as a first aggregate data packet, wherein the baseline condition data includes baseline structural data that is generated by at least one structural sensor; determining a baseline condition of the roof, the baseline condition determined by an analyzer module based on analyzing the baseline condition data; receiving present condition data that is generated by the sensors scanning at least the portion of the roof during a second period of time subsequent to the first period of time, wherein the present condition data is communicated, over the at least one network to the at least one computing device, as a second aggregate data packet wherein the present condition data includes present structural data that is generated by the at least one structural sensor; determining a present condition of the roof, the present condition determined by the analyzer module based on analyzing the present condition data; comparing the baseline condition data with the present condition data to determine, based on one or more differences between the baseline condition data and the present condition data including a difference in the measured structural element, one or more anomalies that are indicative of a deviation of the present condition from the baseline condition that indicates at least one of roof damage or roof deterioration; and transmitting a report that describes the deviation of the present condition from the baseline condition.

“17. The system as recited in claim 16, further comprising a transmitter for communicating condition data obtained by at least one of the sensors to a cloud storage server.

“18. The system as recited in claim 16, further comprising the analyzer module which compares the baseline condition data with the present condition data to determine anomalies indicative of roof damage.

“19. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the processor instructs at least one of the sensors to collect present condition data intermittently.

“20. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the processor instructs at least one of the sensors to collect present condition data after a severe weather event has occurred in a geographic region for the roof.

“21. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the processor instructs at least one of the sensors to collect present condition data after a roof maintenance or repair event.

“22. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the at least one sensor that is movable by the rail system allows for a complete profile of the roof to be generated.

“23. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the sensors further include one or more of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a water detection sensor, a wind speed sensor, a motion sensor, an infrared sensor, an environmental sensor, and an optical sensor.

“24. The system as recited in claim 16, further comprising a power source for at least one of the sensors.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Matheson, Cory A. Roof Inspection Systems And Methods. U.S. Patent Number 10,489,863, filed May 26, 2016, and published online on December 9, 2019. 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=10,489,863.PN.&OS=PN/10,489,863RS=PN/10,489,863

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