Patent Publication Number: US-6217076-B1

Title: Maintenance scheduling and tracking system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to property maintenance and, more specifically, to a maintenance scheduling system which would be used to help schedule and remind individuals when maintenance of items in and around a home or business need to be inspected and/or serviced. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     People who own or maintain property must perform many different tasks in order to keep the property habitable. For example, many people routinely spray the property for insects; inspect and service the heating, ventilation and air conditioner (HVAC) unit; change the air conditioner air filter; drain water from the water heater unit; check the smoke alarm detector; etc. The problem is that many people forget to perform these functions. Even if one remembers to perform routine maintenance, they usually forget when the last time a system was inspected and/or serviced. Thus, many systems in a home or property may not perform properly or may even break down due to poor maintenance. 
     Therefore, a need existed to provide a maintenance scheduling system. The maintenance scheduling system would allow a user to track and/or schedule inspection and maintenance of items in and around a home or business. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a maintenance scheduling system. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a maintenance scheduling system which would allow a user to track and/or schedule inspection and maintenance of items in and around a home or business. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a property maintenance scheduling system is disclosed. The property maintenance scheduling system has a calendar for displaying a current month. The calendar has an area for listing property maintenance to be performed during the month. In one embodiment of the present invention, the area for listing property maintenance to be performed during the month has pre-printed indicia listing each property maintenance task to be performed during the month. 
     The property maintenance scheduling system may further have two pluralities of labels. The first labels are to be placed on a calendar and are used to show what maintenance work is due to be performed on a particular date. The second labels are to be placed on each item that has been serviced and are used to show the future date of the next service. 
     A notebook may also be provided in the property maintenance scheduling system. The notebook is used for detailing the procedure for each property maintenance task to be performed during the month. The notebook may further be used for recording details of the work performed for each property maintenance task. 
     The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an elevated perspective view of one embodiment of a calendar used in the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of a label used in the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention attached to a water heater. 
     FIG. 3 is an elevated perspective view of the task labels used in the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an elevated perspective view of the periodicity labels used in the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is an elevated perspective view of the handbook used in the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is an elevated perspective view of the handheld personal organizer used in an alternate embodiment of the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a front view of the personal computer used in an alternate embodiment of the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is an exemplary Suggested Intervals of Maintenance Table included with an alternate embodiment of the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-5, a preferred embodiment of the property maintenance scheduling system (hereinafter the scheduling system) is shown. The scheduling system uses a calendar  10 . The calendar  10  is used to display the current month of the year. The calendar  10  may be a pre-printed calendar or an electronic calendar which is stored in a computer (see FIG.  7 ), an electronic personal organizer (see FIG. 6) or the like. 
     The scheduling system will further include a plurality of periodicity labels  14 . Each periodicity label  14  would be placed upon an item that had been serviced during the month and shows the next scheduled service date. As an example, FIG. 3 illustrates the periodicity label  14  placed on a water heater  16 . Further, the periodicity label  14  upon the water heater  16  is to serve as a reminder as to when the next maintenance event is scheduled for the water heater  16  on which the periodicity label  14  is placed. Each periodicity label  14  thus has a date area  20  where a date could be recorded indicating when the next scheduled maintenance/service should be performed on the item. 
     Referring again to FIGS. 1,  6 , and  7 , in a preferred embodiment, the calendar  10  will have a section  12  that is used to display property maintenance tasks that need to be performed during the month currently displayed. The section  12  may be located on any visible area on the calendar  10 . Some examples of property maintenance tasks for performance during any given month may include, but is not limited to: spraying the property for insects; inspecting and servicing the heating, ventilation and air conditioner (HVAC) unit; changing the air conditioner air filter; draining water from the water heater unit; checking the smoke alarm detector; etc. 
     In accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the calendar  10 , as shown in FIG. 1, may be any conventional calendar purchased separately from the present invention. In this embodiment a plurality of task labels  15  are supplied, each having a task preprinted thereon. The task labels  15  are placed upon the section  12  of the calendar  10 , wherein the section  12  is blank of other than the conventional calendar indicia. By having the section  12  blank, the user is allowed to list the tasks that need to be performed during any given month upon a particular day or days. Referring to FIG. 8, an exemplary Suggested Intervals of Maintenance table is shown. The Suggested Intervals of Maintenance table lists suggested maintenance tasks to be performed and a suggested periodicity for the tasks. The task labels  15  may be placed upon the section  12  of the calendar  10  according to the Suggested Intervals of Maintenance table. Those skilled in the art will recognize that an individual user of the present invention is free to depart from the suggested task frequency of FIG. 8 as they desire or as needs dictate, without departing from the spirit and cope of the present invention. 
     As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the calendar  10  may also comprise a combination of: pre-printed tasks, task labels  15 , and blank spaces to allow the writing in, or hand addition, of tasks. 
     The scheduling system may further include a handbook  18 . The handbook  18  would be used for two main purposes. First, the handbook  18  would delineate the maintenance requirements in expanded detail for each maintenance event. Thus, for example, the handbook  18  would provide detailed instructions on how to properly spray the property for insects, safely drain water from the water heater  16 , etc. The handbook  18  could further be used as a maintenance diary. Thus, the handbook  18  could be used to record information about each maintenance event. Information, such as, what work/maintenance was performed, when the work/maintenance work was performed, who performed the work/maintenance, etc. 
     Referring to FIG. 6, an elevated perspective view of a handheld personal organizer  30  used in an alternate embodiment of the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention is shown. Referring to FIG. 7, a front view of a personal computer  40  used in a further alternate embodiment of the property maintenance scheduling system of the present invention is shown. In either of the above alternate embodiments, the scheduling system is programmed in one or more embodiments in any of a variety of fashions, well known to those skilled in the art. The software program may cause to be presented upon the display screen  32  of the handheld personal organizer  30 , and/or the display screen  42  of the personal computer  40 , the calendar  10  as depicted in FIG. 1, and its section  12  for display and user entry of property maintenance tasks. Additionally, the software program may also incorporate the features of the handbook  18  as previously described. Additionally, the property maintenance tasks may also be placed into the software program so as to cause the software program to alert the user with an audible or visual alarm in a manner well known to those skilled in the art in addition to other features possible in a software environment. 
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.