Systems and methods for monitoring building health

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10042341-B1
Application number	US-201615017374-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Feb 5, 2016
Priority date	Feb 19, 2015
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

A building monitoring computer system for monitoring building integrity may be provided. Various types of sensors may be embedded throughout or within certain portions of different types of building or construction material making up the building, such as within roofing, foundation, or structural materials. The sensors may be in wireless communication with a home controller. The sensors may be water, moisture, temperature, vibration, or other types of sensors, and may detect unexpected or abnormal conditions within the home. The sensors and/or home controller may transmit alerts to a mobile device of the home owner associated with the unexpected condition, and/or that remedial actions may be required to repair the home or mitigate further damage to the home. The sensor data may also be communicated to an insurance provider remote server to facilitate the insurance provider communicating insurance-related recommendations, updating insurance policies, or preparing insurance claims for review for home owners.

First claim

I claim:

1. A building monitoring computer system for monitoring construction materials of a building, the building monitoring computer system including:
at least one moisture sensor positioned at a first position within the construction materials of the building and configured to provide a moisture level proximate to the at least one moisture sensor, the at least one moisture sensor being embedded within the construction materials of the building;
a memory including a moisture profile of the building, the moisture profile including a profile moisture level associated with the first position; and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the at least one moisture sensor, wherein the one or more processors are programmed to:
receive a sample moisture level from the at least one moisture sensor via wireless communication;
compare the sample moisture level to the profile moisture level to generate a moisture level difference, the profile moisture level being an average of one or more previously-collected sample moisture levels from the at least one moisture sensor;
generate a moisture alert based upon determining that the moisture level difference exceeds a pre-determined threshold;
determine a mobile device associated with a user of the building monitoring computer system; and
transmit a moisture alert message to mobile device of the user of the building monitoring computer system via wireless communication to alert the user of a presence of moisture at the first position.

2. The building monitoring computer system of claim 1 , wherein the construction materials include a foundation system of the building.

3. The building monitoring computer system of claim 1 , wherein the moisture alert message includes one or more recommendations to the user, including contact information for at least one third-party contractors located in a region of the building for addressing the detected presence of moisture in the building.

4. The building monitoring computer system of claim 1 , the one or more processors further programmed to:
transmit the sample moisture level to an insurance provider remote server via wireless communication;
receive, from the insurance provider remote server, at least one of: (a) an insurance-related recommendation, (b) an insurance policy update, and (c) a pre-populated insurance claim associated with any damage to the building caused by moisture at the first position; and
cause the received at least one of (a) insurance-related recommendation, (b) insurance update, and (c) pre-populated insurance claim to be displayed on the mobile device of the user for review.

5. The building monitoring computer system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one moisture sensor wirelessly communicates with at least one of (i) a smart home controller; (ii) the mobile device of the user; and (iii) a remote server, and
wherein at least one of (i) the smart home controller; (ii) the mobile device of the user; (iii) the remote server; and (iv) the at least one moisture sensor performs at least one of: (1) analysis of the sample moisture level, and (2) determination to generate the moisture alert.

6. The building monitoring computer system of claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors are further programmed to determine, based on the analyzed sample moisture level, a severity of an abnormal condition, wherein the determination includes at least one of: (i) determining a length of time that the abnormal condition has existed; and (ii) determining a size of an area of the building associated with the first position that is damaged by the abnormal condition.

7. The building monitoring computer system of claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors are further programmed to determine: (i) a type of damaged material at the first position, and (ii) a type of replacement material to replace the damaged material.

8. The building monitoring computer system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further programmed to detect an abnormal condition of the building by:
analyzing the sample moisture level; and
comparing the sample moisture level with a baseline historical condition stored in a memory of the building monitoring system, the baseline historical condition including a plurality of moisture sensor samples collected by the one or more processors during a baseline time.

9. The building monitoring computer system of claim 1 , the one or more processors further programmed to:
transmit a message to an insurance provider remote server, the message causing the insurance provider remote server to adjust at least one insurance policy associated with the building based upon the at least one moisture sensor being included within the building.

10. The building monitoring computer system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:
one or more vibration sensors configured to detect vibration in the building;
one or more thermal sensors configured to generate a thermal sample of the building; and
one or more insect sensors configured to detect insect related damage in the building.

11. A computer-implemented method for monitoring construction materials of a building, said method implemented by a building monitoring computer system including one or more processors, a memory, and at least one moisture sensor positioned at a first position within the construction materials of the building and configured to provide a moisture level proximate to the at least one moisture sensor, the method comprising:
identifying a moisture profile associated with the building in the memory, the moisture profile including a profile moisture level associated with the first position;
receiving a sample moisture level from the moisture sensor via wireless communication, the moisture sensor being embedded within the construction materials of the building;
comparing the sample moisture level to the profile moisture level to generate a moisture level difference, the profile moisture level being an average of one or more previously-collected sample moisture levels from the at least one moisture sensor;
generating a moisture alert based upon determining that the moisture level difference exceeds a pre-determined threshold;
determining a mobile device associated with a user of the building monitoring computer system; and
transmitting a moisture alert message to the mobile device of the user of the building monitoring computer system via wireless communication to alert the user of a presence of moisture at the first position.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the moisture alert message includes one or more recommendations to the user, including contact information for at least one third-party contractor located in a region of the building for addressing the detected presence of moisture in the building.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 further comprising:
transmitting, by the one or more processors, the sample moisture level to an insurance provider remote server via wireless communication;
receiving, by the one or more processors, at least one of: (a) an insurance-related recommendation, (b) an insurance update, and (c) a pre-populated insurance claim associated with any damage to the building caused by the moisture at the first position; and
causing, by the one or more processors, the received at least one of (a) insurance-related recommendation, (b) insurance update, and (c) pre-populated insurance claim to be displayed on the mobile device of the user for review.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one moisture sensor wirelessly communicates with at least one of: (i)

Assignees

• State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co

Inventors

• Jacob Michael S

Classifications

• G08B21/20

  responsive to moisture · CPC title

• G01M3/24

  using infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic vibrations · CPC title

• E04D13/006

  Provisions for detecting water leakage · CPC title

• E04B2002/565

  with a brick veneer facing · CPC title

• E04B1/92

  Protection against other undesired influences or dangers (buildings providing protection against external dangers E04H9/00; shielding against dangerous radiation G21F) · CPC title