Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle diagnosis or maintenance indication
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-29
2001-10-23
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle diagnosis or maintenance indication
C701S200000, C701S029000, C701S301000, C701S036000, C340S008100, C340S008100, C340S531000, C340S539230, C340S439000, C340S438000, C340S901000, C340S993000, C340S907000, C340S995190, C340S990000, C340S995190, 36, 36, C345S156000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C455S066100, C455S099000, C455S466000, C455S553100, C455S556200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308120
ABSTRACT:
A portion of this disclosure contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle service status tracking system and method.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a system and methods to allow multiple stations in geographically dispersed locations to monitor and track vehicle repair record and service status information. In a service area comprised of a number of geographically-bounded service regions, at least one regional communications terminal is provided in communication with a plurality of local communications terminals. Each local communications terminal is typically located at a separate repair or service location having responsibility for servicing the vehicles temporally located within the region.
The present invention provides a system and methods for maintaining and disseminating vehicle service information within and among regions. Vehicle service events are entered into a vehicle tracking system and maintained using a vehicle status database. Database files are exchanged among regional communications terminals and with a central equipment manager in order to provide timely and accurate dissemination of service status.
A further aspect of the present invention is the sharing of vehicle service status with marketing offices and retail locations. This enables personnel at such locations to make informed decisions concerning the likelihood of a particular vehicle performing satisfactorily in meeting the customer's needs. For example, a vehicle with a recurring repair history can be withheld from rental by a customer planning a cross-country trip, and instead rented to a local customer planning a shorter duration cross-town use of the equipment.
A still further aspect of the present invention is the ability to predict vehicle availability or time of return from service. The system and methods according to the present invention provide an availability prediction for operations personnel to allocate fleet vehicles while taking account of anticipated vehicle demand.
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Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP
Mancho Ronnie
U-Haul International Inc.
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