Patent Issued for Smart Sensors For Roof Ice Formation And Property Condition Monitoring (USPTO 10,803,531)

2020 OCT 27 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent by the inventor Gillespie, Richard P. (East Hampton, CT), filed on May 29, 2019, was published online on October 26, 2020.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 10,803,531, is Hartford Fire Insurance Company (Hartford, Connecticut, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Physical damage to insured properties is common. In many cases, the conditions giving rise to such damage may be difficult to notice using conventional mechanisms, e.g., visual inspections. For example, ice and snow damage typically associated with roof and related structures are on the raise.

“Stakeholders dealing with the damage conditions, e.g., insurance companies and property owners would benefit from systems allowing these stakeholders to get out in front of the problem, reducing exposure to an increased threat. For example, with proper forecasting of potentially damaging conditions, certain damage may be avoided. Moreover, with improved forecasting capabilities, a high claims area may be predicted and appropriate resources allocated thereto in an efficient manner.

“Certain property monitoring systems have been devised in the past, e.g., for monitoring snow build up on roofs, etc. Other remote management systems, for their part, offer remote control of properties, e.g., heating and cooling systems, security systems, etc. These systems aim to make property management easier for the property owners by supplying additional data to the property owners and allocating certain tools, e.g., remote control mechanisms, such that property owners may proactively manage their properties, even when remotely located.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent: “In summary, an embodiment includes a system providing sensor feedback for property condition monitoring. The system may include a plurality of sensors disposed in a roof structure of a property, with the plurality of sensors providing output indicative of ice formation associated with the roof structure. The system may further include a hub device that receives output from the plurality of sensors, the hub device detecting at least one sensor output indicative of ice formation and providing a notification regarding the ice formation. In the system, a computing device of an insurance carrier receives the notification, with the computing device updating a status of the property in an insurance carrier database in response to the notification. The system is integrated, e.g., including a communication link between the plurality of sensors, the hub device and the computing device of an insurance carrier.

“In a further embodiment, property condition(s) more generally may be monitored. For example, according to an embodiment a method of using sensor feedback for property condition monitoring is provided in which data derived from a plurality of sensors disposed in a property is received, with the plurality of sensors providing output indicative of a property condition. In an embodiment, at least one sensor output indicative of a changed sensor output is detected, and then a notification to an insurance carrier may be provided, with the notification indicating the changed sensor condition. Given changed condition information regarding the property, an embodiment may update a status of the property in an insurance carrier database in response to the notification.

“Additional embodiments are described, including other methods, as well as devices/apparatuses, systems including multiple devices, and products.

“The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting.

“For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed is:

“1. A system providing sensor feedback for property condition monitoring, comprising: a plurality of sensors disposed in a roof structure of a property and providing output indicative of ice formation on the roof structure, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise sensors that deform upon a physical separation of layers of the roof structure caused by the ice formation on the roof structure, the deformation of the sensors breaking a circuit of the sensors; a hub device that receives output from the plurality of sensors, the hub device detecting at least one sensor output indicative of ice formation, the at least one sensor output generated in response to the broken circuit and the hub device generating a notification regarding the ice formation; the hub device sending the notification to a computing device of an insurance carrier, the notification of the hub device being formatted to allow the computing device of the insurance carrier to update a status of the property in an insurance carrier database based upon the notification; and a communication link between the plurality of sensors, the hub device and the computing device of an insurance carrier.

“2. The system of claim 1, wherein the hub device includes a communication interface for third party data input.

“3. The system of claim 2, wherein the communication interface receives data from third party sensors monitoring other property characteristics.

“4. The system of claim 3, wherein the hub device reports the other property characteristics to the computing device of an insurance carrier.

“5. The system of claim 1, wherein the hub device uses the communication link to monitor the plurality of sensors.

“6. The system of claim 5, wherein the hub device: determines an operability characteristic via monitoring of the plurality of sensors; and provides an operability notification in response to determining the operability characteristic indicates that at least one sensor is not operating.

“7. The system of claim 6, wherein the operability notification is communicated by the hub device to the computing device of an insurance carrier.

“8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensors measures contact between an upper and lower section of the roof structure.

“9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of sensors measures an amount of separation between an upper and lower section of the roof structure.

“10. The system of claim 1, wherein locations of the plurality of sensors within the roof structure are mapped.

“11. The system of claim 10, wherein the locations of the plurality of sensors within the roof structure are communicated to the computing device of the insurance carrier.

“12. A computer implemented method of using sensor feedback for property condition monitoring, comprising: receiving, over a network communication link, data derived from a plurality of sensors disposed in a roof structure of a property and providing output indicative of ice formation on the roof structure, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise sensors that deform upon a physical separation of layers of the roof structure caused by the ice formation on the roof structure, the deformation of the sensors breaking a circuit of the sensors; detecting, using a processor, at least one sensor output indicative of ice formation, the at least one sensor output generated in response to the broken circuit, and generating a notification regarding the ice formation; providing, using an output device operatively coupled to the processor, a notification to an insurance carrier, the notification indicating the ice formation; and updating a status of the property in an insurance carrier database in response to the notification.

“13. The computer implemented method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving, over the network communication link, third party data input regarding the property; monitoring, using a processor analyzing the third party data, other property characteristics of the property; and reporting, using an output device operatively coupled to a processor, the other property characteristics to the insurance carrier.

“14. The computer implemented method of claim 12, further comprising: monitoring, using a processor, the plurality of sensors; determining, using a processor, an operability characteristic via monitoring of the plurality of sensors; and providing, using an output device operatively coupled to a processor, an operability notification in response to determining the operability characteristic indicates that at least one sensor is not operating; wherein the operability notification is communicated to an insurance carrier.

“15. The computer implemented method of claim 12, wherein the sensors are smart nails.

“16. The computer implemented method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of sensors disposed are installed by an installation tool that correlates each sensor with a location on the roof structure.

“17. The computer implemented method of claim 12, wherein the ice formation relates to at least one of ice dams, wind, and snow.”

For more information, see this patent: Gillespie, Richard P. Smart Sensors For Roof Ice Formation And Property Condition Monitoring. U.S. Patent Number 10,803,531, filed May 29, 2019, and published online on October 26, 2020. 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=10,803,531.PN.&OS=PN/10,803,531RS=PN/10,803,531

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