Patent Issued for Systems and methods for collecting, tracking, and storing system performance and event data for computing devices (USPTO 11704221): Assurant Inc.

2023 AUG 04 (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 inventors Brewer, Dustin (Lakewood, OH, US), Hurst, Cameron (Asheville, NC, US), Saunders, Stuart (Lakewood, OH, US), filed on July 27, 2022, was published online on July 18, 2023.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11704221, is Assurant Inc. (New York, New York, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “When diagnosing computing issues, technicians or others may only be able to ascertain information about the computing device in its current state. This can make it difficult to determine whether the device is truly performing in a sub-standard way and, if so, what is causing the substandard performance. Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods for assisting a user in assessing and/or improving the performance of computing devices.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for: (A) storing, in memory, time stamped performance data associated with each of a plurality of computing devices taken over time; (B) storing, in memory, time stamped event data associated with each of said plurality of computing devices taken over time; and (C) using at least said time stamped performance data and/or said event data to provide an individual associated with a first of said plurality of computing devices with a comparison of a performance of said first computing device with a typical performance of other computing devices, from said plurality of computing devices, that are similar to said first computing device. This comparison may, for example, be in the form of a longitudinal display of information that displays performance and/or event data for one or more of the computing devices (or aggregated information for a plurality of the computing devices) taken over time.

“A non-transitory computer-readable medium, according to various embodiments, stores computer-executable instructions for: (A) receiving first system event data for a first computing device having a device profile, the device profile comprising one or more characteristics; (B) receiving first performance data for the first computing device; (C) receiving second system event data for at least one second computing device having the device profile; (D) receiving second performance data for the least one second computing device; and (E) enabling a user to compare the first system event data, the first performance data, the second system event data, and the second performance data.

“A computer system, according to particular embodiments, comprises at least one processor. In various embodiments, the computer system is configured for: (A) receiving first data associated with a first mobile computing device, the first data comprising first performance data and at least one first system event and the first mobile computing device comprising at least one mobile device characteristic; (B) receiving second data associated with one or more second mobile computing devices, wherein the second data comprises second performance data and at least one second system event for each of the one or more second mobile computing devices; (C) establishing at least one profile, the at least one profile being associated with the at least one mobile device characteristic; (D) determining which of the one or more second computing devices has the at least one mobile device characteristic; (E) at least partially in response to determining that the one or more second computing devices have the at least one mobile device characteristic, assigning the one or more second computing devices to the profile; (F) determining whether the first computing device has the at least one mobile device characteristic; and (G) displaying the first data and the second data of the one or more second computing devices assigned to the profile to a user of the first mobile device.

“A computer-implemented method, according to various embodiments, comprises receiving, by a processor, system event data and system performance data for a plurality of computing devices. In particular embodiments, the plurality of computing devices comprise a first computing device associated with first system event data and first system performance data and share at least one profile based at least on one or more characteristics of the plurality of computing devices. In various embodiments, the computer-implemented method further comprises: determining, by a processor, an average performance metric for the plurality of computing devices based at least in part on the system event data and the system performance data; determining, by a processor, a first performance metric for the first computing device based at least in part on the first system event data and the first system performance data; and displaying, by a processor, the average performance metric and the first performance metric to a user of the first computing device.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory having computer-coded instructions stored thereon that, in execution with the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to: receive a request from a user computing device comprising at least one device characteristic; dynamically generate at least one device profile based at least in part on the at least one device characteristic; aggregate data generated from a plurality of performance data associated with a plurality of computing devices based at least in part on the at least one device profile; cause display of at least one representation associated with the aggregated data on the user computing device; and cause initiation of a responsive corrective action on the user computing device in response to a performance issue for the user computing device that is determined based at least in part on the aggregated data.

“2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the initiation of the responsive corrective action occurs automatically.

“3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the initiation of the responsive corrective action occurs in response to a selection of the responsive corrective action by a user of the user computing device.

“4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user computing device comprises the at least one device characteristic, and the at least one device characteristic is automatically identified based at least in part on hardware or software of the user computing device.

“5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one device characteristic is selected by a user of the user computing device.

“6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one device characteristic comprises data identifying a peripheral connected to the user computing device.

“7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aggregated data is determined based at least in part on a plurality of performance data corresponding to a system event.

“8. The apparatus according to claim 1, the apparatus further caused to: receive a portion of performance data associated with another computing device; and store the portion of performance data associated with the another computing device, wherein the aggregated data is based at least in part on the portion of performance data.

“9. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a request from a user computing device comprising at least one device characteristic; dynamically generating at least one device profile based at least in part on the at least one device characteristic; aggregating data generated from a plurality of performance data associated with a plurality of computing devices based at least in part on the at least one device profile; causing display of at least one representation associated with the aggregated data on the user computing device; and causing initiation of a responsive corrective action on the user computing device in response to a performance issue for the user computing device that is determined based at least in part on the aggregated data.

“10. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein the initiation of the responsive corrective action occurs automatically.

“11. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein the initiation of the responsive corrective action occurs in response to a selection of the responsive corrective action by a user of the user computing device.

“12. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein the user computing device comprises the at least one device characteristic, and the at least one device characteristic is automatically identified based at least in part on hardware or software of the user computing device.

“13. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein the at least one device characteristic is selected by a user of the user computing device.

“14. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein the at least one device characteristic comprises data identifying a peripheral connected to the user computing device.

“15. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein the aggregated data is determined based at least in part on a plurality of performance data corresponding to a system event.

“16. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9, the computer-implemented method further comprising: receiving a portion of performance data associated with another computing device; and storing the portion of performance data associated with the another computing device, wherein the aggregated data is based at least in part on the portion of performance data.

“17. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer program code stored thereon that, in execution with at least one processor, configures the computer program product for: receiving a request from a user computing device comprising at least one device characteristic; dynamically generating at least one device profile based at least in part on the at least one device characteristic; aggregating data generated from a plurality of performance data associated with a plurality of computing devices based at least in part on the at least one device profile; causing display of at least one representation associated with the aggregated data on the user computing device; and causing initiation of a responsive corrective action on the user computing device in response to a performance issue for the user computing device that is determined based at least in part on the aggregated data.”

For more information, see this patent: Brewer, Dustin. Systems and methods for collecting, tracking, and storing system performance and event data for computing devices. U.S. Patent Number 11704221, filed July 27, 2022, and published online on July 18, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11704221)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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