Patent Publication Number: US-2020294120-A1

Title: Work request data system and method of use

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to commerce systems, and more specifically, to a work request data system that allows for the efficient population of the data needed to accurately estimate the cost of a job. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Commerce systems are well known in the art and are effective means to enabled multiple parties to transfer goods, services, commodities or the like between them. For example,  FIG. 1  depicts a conventional job bidding system  101  having a homeowner  103  that needs work performed to their home  105  and a contractor  109 . In use, the owner  103  initiates a repair request  107  with the contractor  109  who visits the home  105  to acquire information  111  needed to provide a bid  113  or cost estimate to the homeowner  103 . 
     One of the problems commonly associated with system  101  is its limited efficiency. For example, the time and effort of the contractor  109  is only profitable if the homeowner  103  selects the bid  113  of the contractor  109 . It will be understood that the homeowner  103  could request the services of multiple contractors  109 . 
     Additionally, the accuracy of the information  111  acquired by the contractor  109  is dependent on their skill potentially causing over cost or under cost bids. It will be understood that if the bid is too low and selected by the homeowner  103  that contractor  109  will spend more to perform the work than they collect from the homeowner  103   
     Accordingly, although great strides have been made in the area of job bidding systems, many shortcomings remain. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The novel features believed characteristic of the embodiments of the present application are set forth in the appended claims. However, the embodiments themselves, as well as a preferred mode of use, and further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of a common job bidding system; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of a work request data system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG. 3  is flowchart of a contemplated use of the system of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a simplified schematic of the measurement types of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of the preferred method of use of the system of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     While the system and method of use of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Illustrative embodiments of the system and method of use of the present application are provided below. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions will be made to achieve the developer&#39;s specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     The system and method of use in accordance with the present application overcomes one or more of the above-discussed problems commonly associated with conventional job bidding system. Specifically, the invention of the present application enables the collection of information pertinent to the bid request without sending a person to visit the location of the requested bid. In addition, the invention of the present application enables the collection of exact information pertinent to the bid request. These and other unique features of the system and method of use are discussed below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     The system and method of use will be understood, both as to its structure and operation, from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description. Several embodiments of the system are presented herein. It should be understood that various components, parts, and features of the different embodiments may be combined together and/or interchanged with one another, all of which are within the scope of the present application, even though not all variations and particular embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should also be understood that the mixing and matching of features, elements, and/or functions between various embodiments is expressly contemplated herein so that one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate from this disclosure that the features, elements, and/or functions of one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment as appropriate, unless described otherwise. 
     The preferred embodiment herein described is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is chosen and described to explain the principles of the invention and its application and practical use to enable others skilled in the art to follow its teachings. 
     Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several views,  FIG. 2  depicts a diagram of a work request data system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present application. It will be appreciated that system  201  overcomes one or more of the above-listed problems commonly associated with conventional job bidding systems. 
     In the contemplated embodiment, system  201  includes a building  203 , imagery  211  taken by a photography source  205  and an interface  207 . The interface  207  includes an extraction module  213  that interrogates a three-dimensional model  209  derived from the imagery  211 . 
     In use, the interface  207  is activated by a user  215 , the user  215  inputs a location that is taken by the interface  207  matched with a corresponding three-dimensional model  209  that is then interrogated by the extraction module  213  to derive measurements  219  of the building  203  at the location  217 . These measurements  219  are then attached to a work request  221  for the location  217  submitted by the user  215 . 
     It is contemplated that the three-dimensional model  209  is any data set that defines a building, structure or other object in a multi-dimensional way. It is contemplated that the three-dimensional model  209  is displayed in any format such as two-dimensional drawings. 
     It is further contemplated that this work request  221  as compiled by the interface  207  is passed to a bidding process  301  as described in  FIG. 3 . Process  301  includes creating a work request  303 , populating the work request with the information needed to quote the work  305 , posting the work request to a bidding platform  307 , estimating a bid price based on the information provided in the work request  309  and returning all bids to the work request creator  311 . It is contemplated that any number of bids could be submitted to the creator of the work request. 
     It is contemplated that any amount of data, such as the three-dimensional model  209 , the measurements  219  or the like could be attached to the work request to facilitated the bidding process. 
     It should be appreciated that one of the unique features believed characteristic of the present application is that extraction module  213  automatically interrogates and derives the measurements  219  need to properly bid on a work request. It will be appreciated that thereby the need for a person to travel to and measure a building is eliminated. The improvements in this invention serve both to reduce the cost of the work and decrease the time needed to obtain a bid on completing the work request  221 . 
     It should also be appreciated that the extraction module  213  is capable of producing the measurements in a repeatable and error-free manner. This prevents underbidding or over bidding a job to increase the profitability of those completing the work request  221   
     It is contemplated and will be appreciated that any form of data available from a three-dimensional model could be derived by the extraction module  213 . Referring to  FIG. 4 ., examples of the possible measurements  219  are depicted. Measurements  219  include angles  401  or slopes, surface areas  403 , distances  405  or volumes  407 . While these examples are provided, they are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5  the preferred method of use of the system  201  is depicted. Method  501  includes accessing an interface  503 , providing a location  505 , the interface associating a building with the provided location  507 , identifying a three-dimensional model of the building  509 , allowing the three-dimensional model to be interrogated by an extraction module  511  and transferring measurements extracted from the three-dimensional model to a work request  513 . 
     The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the embodiments may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified, and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the application. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the description. Although the present embodiments are shown above, they are not limited to just these embodiments, but are amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.