Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Systems And Methods For Generating, Maintaining, And Using An Asset Record On A Blockchain”, for Approval (USPTO 20240119532): Patent Application

2024 APR 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Washington, D.C., NewsRx journalists report that a patent application by the inventors Amancha, Steve (Tempe, AZ, US); Doak-Wigginton, Kimberly (Congerville, IL, US); Dunstan, Stephen (Tempe, AZ, US); Kloeppel, Kimberly Christine (Mesa, AZ, US); LeFebre, EllaKate (Mesa, AZ, US); Wheeler, Ross (Scottsdale, AZ, US), filed on November 16, 2022, was made available online on April 11, 2024.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in the background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

“Properly generating and maintaining vehicle build sheets is difficult. Often, companies rely on the data stored on vehicle build sheets to conduct business, but it is not uncommon for information on vehicle build sheets to be missing (either due to recordation error, a lack of standard in the industry to record the same levels of information, or lost documents). As such, companies often must fill the missing data by contacting the vehicle manufacturer, the initial purchaser of the vehicle, or by inspecting the vehicle itself. Further, even if there is a properly generated vehicle build sheet, maintaining the vehicle build sheet to keep it up-to-date may be equally difficult.

“Additionally, it may be difficult to calculate and/or adjust insurance premiums tailored to individual drivers or home owners/residents. When calculating insurance premiums for prospective customers, insurance providers may not know the safety habits of the prospective customer unless they are monitored during a test period. Similarly, when adjusting insurance premiums of existing insurance customers, insurance providers may not have the data collected outside of claims filed by the customer and available public records. Conventional techniques may have additional inefficiencies, inaccuracies, hindrances, or drawbacks as well.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “In general, the present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, accurate and persistent recordation of vehicle build sheets, calculating and/or adjusting insurance premiums based upon the detected driving performance of existing and prospective insurance customers, and/or calculating and/or adjusting insurance premiums based upon telematics data of vehicles and/or homes. For instance, the disclosed embodiments generally relate to generating and/or maintaining a record on a blockchain based upon sensor data received from the sensors installed on, or within, the vehicle to initiate a calculation and/or adjustment of an insurance premium. For example, vehicle sensor data may be interpreted to be the “ground truth” of whether a safety feature is installed in a vehicle, and thus need not be necessarily verified with manual inspections of the vehicle.

“Advantageously, for example, an insurer of the vehicle may instantaneously determine that a safety feature is installed in the vehicle based upon the received vehicle sensor data in addition to determining when and/or where it was activated (e.g., a smart high beam system active on a highway at night). In this way, the insurer of the vehicle may calculate and/or adjust an insurance premium tailored to a particular operator and/or vehicle. For example, a discount may be provided for the installation of certain safety features and further discounts may be made based upon their enablement and use in certain situations. Thus, having an accurate and up-to-date vehicle record may allow an insurer to properly calculate an insurance premium of new customers.

“Similarly, for example, an insurer of a home may instantaneously determine that a parametric event occurred based upon the received home sensor data (e.g., an anti-theft sensor was triggered, or drainage sensors indicate flooding, etc.). In this way, the insurer of a home may be able to contact the property owner and/or resident, as well as contact other entities (e.g., police, home repair contractors, etc.) to address the parametric event.

“The asset records (such as vehicle records, home records, etc.) on the blockchain may also be employed to maintain data upon which insurance premiums for prospective and/or current customers of insurance providers are calculated. For example, vehicle sensor data associated with a vehicle record and/or indications derived therefrom may provide historical vehicle usage data upon which an insurance premium may be derived and/or adjusted. In addition to the sensor data, the asset record may include public records associated with the vehicle and/or home, insurance records, as well as any other records associated with the vehicle and/or home. As such, the asset record may act as a repository for the underlying data that insurance providers need to tailor insurance premium estimates to individual drivers and/or home owners/residents.

“To employ a proactive approach, a blockchain-based solution is described herein. A large dataset of telematics data from numerous vehicles and/or homes may be analyzed to determine one or more triggering events. As an example, analysis of the large dataset of vehicle sensor data from a vehicle may indicate that a safety feature is installed in the vehicle. As another example, analysis of vehicle sensor data may indicate that a safety feature was active during a specific location (e.g., adaptive cruise control was active while the vehicle was on a highway). As another example, analysis of the large dataset of vehicle sensor data from numerous vehicles may indicate that a broken window of vehicles correlates to a parametric event of theft of item(s) in vehicles. As another example, analysis of vehicle sensor data may indicate that isolated damage of vehicles (e.g., the front but not the back) correlates to a parametric event of a relatively small collision (e.g., the vehicles drove into trees, mailboxes, etc.), whereas extensive damage of vehicles (e.g., body of vehicles severely damaged) correlates to a parametric event of a relatively large collision (e.g., the vehicles suffered total loss beyond repair). As another example, analysis of the large dataset of home sensor data may indicate that a basement is flooding and/or detect the presence of an electrical fault that may increase the likelihood of a fire occurring.

“For each triggering event determined from the large dataset of telematics data, a corresponding smart contract may be generated for deployment onto a shared leger (i.e., the blockchain), to define action(s) when the triggering event actually occurs. For example, the actions may include generating and/or maintaining a vehicle build sheet, initiating processes for calculating and/or adjusting one or more insurance premiums, initiating processes for claiming a notice of loss, initiating processes for servicing the vehicle, and/or causing one or more entities to exchange information about the vehicle and/or home.

“The blockchain may manage an asset record according to the generated smart contracts. Data related to the asset record (i.e., vehicle sensor data and/or home sensor data) and in some cases, any supplemental information (e.g., weather data, image data, etc.) may be included in transactions and/or events included in the blockchain. For example, the data may be written to the blockchain by sensors installed on or within the vehicle and/or home, personal electronic devices associated with the vehicle and/or home, smart controllers associated with the vehicle and/or home, and/or supplemental sources. The deployed smart contracts may detect the transactions and/or events recorded to the blockchain and self-execute to generate an asset record update an asset record, calculate and/or adjust an insurance premium, initiate a claim for a loss associated with the vehicle and/or home, and/or provide assistance to an individual associated with the asset.

“Advantages will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiments, which have been shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, the present embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments, and their details may be capable of modification in various respects. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

“The figures depict the present embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternate embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method for generating one or more smart contracts for deployment onto a blockchain, the method comprising: receiving, by one or more processors, vehicle information related to a vehicle; analyzing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle information to identify one or more safety features installed in the vehicle; generating, by the one or more processors and based upon the one or more safety features identified, a smart contract that is configured to (i) maintain a set of indications related to whether safety features in the one or more safety features installed in the vehicle have been activated, and (ii) automatically execute on the blockchain based upon the maintained set of indications; and deploying, by the one or more processors, the smart contract at a particular address on the blockchain.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: reading, by the one or more processors, a vehicle record associated with the vehicle that includes a first list of safety features associated with the vehicle; analyzing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle information to identify a second list of safety features associated with the vehicle; and comparing, by the one or more processors, the first list of safety features to the second lists of safety features.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein comparing the first and second lists of safety features comprises: identifying, by the one or more processors, that a particular safety feature included in the second list of safety features is not included in the first list of safety features; and writing, to the vehicle record, an indication that the particular safety feature is installed in the vehicle.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: monitoring, by the one or more processors, the one or more safety features to determine that a particular safety feature of the one or more safety features was activated; and recording, to the smart contract, an indication that the particular safety feature was activated.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein monitoring the one or more safety features comprises: receiving, by the one or more processors and from the vehicle, a notification that the one or more safety features activated.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein comparing the first and second lists of safety features comprises: identifying, by the one or more processors, that a particular safety feature included in the first list of safety features is not included in the second list of safety features; and recording, to the smart contract, an indication that the particular safety feature was not activated.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein: the vehicle information includes vehicle sensor data, geolocation data, and time data, and recording the indication that the particular safety feature was not activated comprises: analyzing, via the one or more processors, the vehicle information to detect that the particular safety feature was not activated during a scenario in which activation of the particular safety feature is expected; and in response to detecting that the particular safety feature was not activated during a scenario in which activation of the particular safety feature is expected, recording, to the smart contract, the indication that the particular safety feature was not activated.

“8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the scenario in which activation of the particular safety feature is expected is when the vehicle is being operated on a highway.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein: configuring the smart contract comprises: configuring the smart contract to define an action that is to be performed in response to the occurrence of a triggering event wherein the triggering event includes the occurrence of at least one of (i) a lapsing of a predetermined amount of time, and (ii) the inclusion of an indication in the set of indications, the action to be performed includes initiating an insurance premium adjustment for an insurance product associated with the vehicle, wherein the insurance premium adjustment is based upon the set of indications maintained at the smart contract, and the method further comprises: performing, via the one or more processors, the action at the direction of the smart contract.

“10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the indications related to whether safety features in the one or more safety features installed in the vehicle have been activated includes one or more of (i) an identity of a safety feature, (ii) time data, (iii) geolocation data, (iv) duration of time of activation data (v) an indication a safety feature was not activated, or (vi) a combination thereof.

“11. A computer system for generating one or more smart contracts for deployment onto a blockchain, comprising: one or more processors; a non-transitory program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to: receive vehicle information related to a vehicle; analyze the vehicle information to identify one or more safety features installed in the vehicle; generate, based upon the one or more safety features identified, a smart contract that is configured to (i) maintain a set of indications related to whether safety features in the one or more safety features installed in the vehicle have been activated, and (ii) automatically execute on the blockchain based upon the maintained set of indications; and deploy the smart contract at a particular address on the blockchain.

“12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to: read a vehicle record associated with the vehicle that includes a first list of safety features associated with the vehicle; analyze the vehicle information to identify a second list of safety features associated with the vehicle; and compare the first list of safety features to the second lists of safety features.

“13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein to compare the first and second lists of safety features, the executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to: identify that a particular safety feature included in the second list of safety features is not included in the first list of safety features; and write, to the vehicle record, an indication that the particular safety feature is installed in the vehicle.

“14. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to: monitor the one or more safety features to determine that a particular safety feature of the one or more safety features was activated; receive, from the vehicle, a notification that the one or more safety features activated; receive, from the vehicle, a notification that the one or more safety features activated; and record, to the smart contract, an indication that the particular safety feature was activated.

“15. The computer system of claim 12, wherein to compare the first and second lists of safety features, the executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to: identify that a particular safety feature included in the first list of safety features is not included in the second list of safety features; and record, to the smart contract, an indication that the particular safety feature was not activated.

“16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein: the vehicle information includes vehicle sensor data, geolocation data, and time data, and recording the indication that the particular safety feature was not activated comprises: analyze the vehicle information to detect that the particular safety feature was not activated during a scenario in which activation of the particular safety feature is expected; and in response to detecting that the particular safety feature was not activated during a scenario in which activation of the particular safety feature is expected, record, to the smart contract, the indication that the particular safety feature was not activated.

“17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the scenario in which activation of the particular safety feature is expected is when the vehicle is being operated on a highway.

“18. The computer system of claim 11, wherein: configuring the smart contract comprises: configure the smart contract to define an action that is to be performed in response to the occurrence of a triggering event wherein the triggering event includes the occurrence of at least one of (i) a lapsing of a predetermined amount of time, and (ii) the inclusion of an indication in the set of indications, the action to be performed includes initiating an insurance premium adjustment for an insurance product associated with the vehicle, wherein the insurance premium adjustment is based upon the set of indications maintained at the smart contract, and the executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to: perform the action at the direction of the smart contract.

“19. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the indications related to whether safety features in the one or more safety features installed in the vehicle have been activated includes one or more of (i) an identity of a safety feature, (ii) time data, (iii) geolocation data, (iv) duration of time of activation data (v) an indication a safety feature was not activated, or (vi) a combination thereof.”

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

For additional information on this patent application, see: Amancha, Steve; Doak-Wigginton, Kimberly; Dunstan, Stephen; Kloeppel, Kimberly Christine; LeFebre, EllaKate; Wheeler, Ross. Systems And Methods For Generating, Maintaining, And Using An Asset Record On A Blockchain. U.S. Patent Application Number 20240119532, filed November 16, 2022 and posted April 11, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20240119532)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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