Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a method and system for providing a service to one or more individuals associated with an entity. The service may be any type of service. The entity may be a building corporation or body corporate. In an example, the service is a car washing and/or related car cleaning service. The individuals are tenants of an apartment block. The entity is therefore the owner of the apartment block or a body corporate representing the apartment block. The invention is not to be limited to use in this specific environment.

Background Art

Automatic car wash machines and/or dedicated car wash premises have been provided for public use. These are usually located as some convenient public venue. This requires that the owner of a car travel to that venue to have the necessary car wash and/or related car cleaning service performed. Typically, there may be a queue ahead of the individual and it may be necessary to wait one's turn. Further, whilst the car is being cleaned, the individual must "fill in" time. When the service has been performed the individual can then resume driving of the car. All of the above takes considerable time. Other known car wash services have been provided where the individual drives their car to a car wash terminal and actually washes the car themselves. Again, this consumes time.

The present invention has been devised to provide a system of providing service to individuals that are associated with an entity. Examples overcome many of the disadvantages associated with providing services as outlined above and, moreover, certain examples provide benefits to the entity.

Statement of Invention

According to a first broad aspect there is provided a method for providing a service to one or more individuals associated with an entity, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving service booking and payment information from an individual accessing one or more terminals; (b) transmitting the booking and payment information to a server for storage on a database;

(c) transmitting the booking information from the database on the server to one or more service terminals such that the service can be ascertained;

(d) attending a location associated with the entity and performing the booked service by service personnel who have been given service booking information from the one or more service terminals from the server;

(e) transmitting a confirmation from one or more service terminals to the server to indicate that the service has been completed;

(f) storing the confirmation to the database on the server; and

(g) informing the individual that the service has been completed.

In an example there are the additional steps of:

(h) the server calculating a payment, over a predetermined time period, to be paid to the entity based on one or more predetermined criteria; and

(i) transmitting the payment to the entity.

In an example, the service performed is a car wash and/or related car cleaning service. In an example, the entity is an owners corporation or body corporate of an apartment building complex.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for providing a service to one or more individuals associated with an entity, the system including:

one or more terminals for receiving service booking and payment information from a user;

a service database for receiving service booking and payment information; one or more service terminals for receiving service booking information from the server such that the service can be completed and a confirmation to be sent back to the server and to the individual concerning completion of the service.

In an example the server is arranged to periodically calculate a payment, over a predetermined time period, to be paid to the entity based on one or more

predetermined criteria and transmitting the payment to the entity. Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described in further detail with reference to an example of an embodiment for providing car wash and/or related car cleaning service, as depicted in the accompanying drawings wherein:

• Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system for providing a car wash and/or related car cleaning service;

• Figure 2 is a functional flow diagram showing process steps in the system shown in Figure 1 ;

• Figure 3 shows an individual's user login screen;

• Figure 4 shows a user's Register screen;

• Figure 5 shows a user's Dashboard screen;

• Figure 6 shows a user's Profile screen;

· Figure 7 shows a user's Schedule screen;

• Figure 8 shows a user's Schedule Service Type screen;

• Figure 9 shows a user's Booking Schedule screen;

• Figure 10 shows a user's Booking Schedule screen;

• Figure 1 1 shows a user's Schedule Summary page for charging;

· Figure 12 shows a user's Payment Option screen;

• Figure 13 shows a user's Booking Schedule screen following payment, and

• Figure 14 shows a Summary of User Booked Schedules in a different format to that in Figure 13, and

• Figure 15 shows a My Payment History screen.

Detailed Description

The following description outlines an example of the system and method for use in providing a car wash or related car cleaning service to individuals which are residents of an entity such as a building complex which is controlled by a body corporate or similar. The system and the method utilise a number of user terminals connected to a network (which may be a LAN, WAN or the Internet) which all operate via a website, and one or more service personnel terminals. The system can be configured to operate on a 3G or similar mobile telephone network.

In Figure 1 , the system 100 includes a number of individual users which correspond to owners of cars who live within one or more apartments or buildings in which the service is provided. The building is therefore associated with an entity which may be a body corporate for example. The system shown includes one or more concierge terminals 1 10. The users may interact with the system 100 directly or the users may interact with the system indirectly via one or more concierge terminals 1 10. In this case, the user individual being the tenant or owner of a particular apartment within the building would make a request for a car wash service through the concierge 1 10. If there is no concierge, or the concierge is not available, the individual can make a request themselves through the network. This can be accessing a web site from an individual's computer device. The network 1 15, such as the Internet, may be accessible via a terminal such as a PC Laptop or the like, or a mobile communication device. Also connected to the network 1 15 is a booking and payment service 120 which includes a database 125 for storing information received from user individuals. The information stored may include personal data information and other particulars. It can also include booking data information for services that have been performed and for services that are to be performed. A number of car wash terminals 130, being terminals of personnel that will provide the service, have access into the network 1 15 to obtain information about future bookings and to provide information when a service has been performed. Each terminal 130 may include one or more of a mobile telephone, a computer terminal, a laptop or a portable digital assistant or the like. The database 125 is connected with the booking and payment servicer 120 and is configured to store information received from the car wash terminals 130 concerning the service performed, such as when the service has been completed.

The booking and payment server 120 is also connecting to a banking server 135 which may be associated with a banking institution for transferring payment funds as will be described hereinafter. Connected to the banking server 135 are one or more accounts 140 which correspond to bank accounts associated with the entities such as the owners corporation, body corporate, and also individual's accounts. Figure 2 shows a basic functional flow diagram of process steps in the system. The system has a customer front end block 201 , a customer area block 202, a server personnel area block 203, and an administration area block 204, and a banking interface block 205. A customer of the system being an individual will access a booking process by a user or a concierge 1 10 accessing the system via a telephone, mobile communication device, computer terminal or the like. Alternatively, the individual may have a card which can be swiped which contains all the information to identify the individual. The card may be a loyalty card which provides discounts based on one or more conditions. Accordingly, when a user individual accesses the customer front end 201 , the process is commenced at step 206. The individual, if registered in the system, then logs in and proceeds to the customer area 202. Alternatively, if the individual is not a registered user then the user is diverted to a registration process which comprises a register activation section 207 where data concerning the individual is entered at step 208. When the registration has been completed, an individual is issued with an identification number at step 209. The processes in the customer front end 201 may include other detailed steps in order to check validity of the individual, lost passwords and the like. These check features have not been shown as they are considered standard processes for online databases and would be regarded as common knowledge in their own right.

Once the individual has completed processing through the customer front end 201 , they are transferred to a customer area 202 and presented with a dashboard 210. The individual then proceeds to step 21 1 to set up a car wash schedule. The car wash schedule step 21 1 requires identifying the vehicle location at step 212, the type of service required at step 213, and the time and date of service at step 214. Once the initial setup at steps 21 1 , 212, 213 and 214 have completed, then the individual is taken to a payment step 215. Here, there is a bank interface 205 where there can be debiting of the individual's bank account credit card, or similar. The detail of the debiting processes have not been shown as these are considered to be known in the banking arts. The banking interface 205 has other process steps that will be referred to in due course. Once the payment has been transacted, then the banking interface provides a confirmation to the administration area 204 in the database 125. When the individual has completed the car wash schedule through steps 21 1 , 212, 213 and 214 data is sent to the administration area 204 so that when the payment is approved by the banking interface 205 there can be matching of a payment for the booking made. Once the payment has been made, the system proceeds to step 216 where the user is provided with a receipt number for the booking. The system then passes data to the service personnel area 203. Thus, when service personnel login to the system there will be a display of individual's bookings at step 217. The service personnel can then check for customer/individual appointments at step 218 and the actual service can then be assigned to the service personnel employees at step 219.

Once the service task is completed then the service personnel enter completion at step 220 and a message is then dispatched to the individual at step 221 confirming that the service has been completed. At the completion step 220, an indication may be dispatched to the administration area 204 so that completion of the service is recorded in the database 125. Returning now to process steps within the customer area 202, it should be noted that when the customer/individual is provided with a confirmation receipt number at step 216, they are requested to place their car keys in a secure repository at step 222. This repository may be at a concierge desk or at an area designated for the services to be performed such as in a garage area of the building complex. Typically, the secure repository may comprise a locked box with a hole through which keys can be dropped. Other forms of security repositories may be provided if desired and the locked box is just one example. The service personnel have access to the secure repository such as by using a key of being identified by the concierge in order to retrieve the relevant keys. When the individual registers in the system and provided with an identification number at step 209, the individual may be issued with a key ring and tag with that identification number imprinted therein. The individual may use that key ring for their car keys so that when the car keys are dropped in the secure repository, the service personnel can determine which car keys are matched to which car. In that way, the service personnel can identify particular keys from a large number of such keys that may be in the secure repository. The identification number may also be used by individuals as a login user name or password so their personal details can be extracted from the database 125.

When the service personnel have collected the keys at step 223, they can locate the car and drive it to the designated area where the booked service is to be performed. When the service has been completed the service personnel can then return the car to its original location and then return the keys to the letter box of the individual in the apartment complex. In that way, the individual can retrieve their keys from a further secure repository (their letterbox) dedicated for their use only. This is identified at step 224 where the service personnel deposit the keys into the letter box of the individual. In the bank interface block 205 there are a number of possible process steps. The ones shown are given as an example, and any one or more of those shown may be used and, in addition, others may be substituted. When a payment is to be made, the banking interface block 205 will attribute a portion of the fee to be charged to, for example, a building fund 225 and or a percentage to a corporate head or body corporate 226 and/or to a charity fund. In addition, a component of the fee for the service may include a component to cover costs associated with rental of the necessary service area in the apartment block required to perform the services. It may also include components to cover the cost of consumables such as water, car polish and garbage disposal. Accordingly, process steps for this nature may be incorporated within the banking interface block 205. The banking interface 205 also includes details of a system coordinators bank account so the system coordinator (the owner of the system and controlling the whole system) may receive payments. At step 228 the payment is transacted and confirmation provided into the administration area 204.

It should be appreciated that the attribution of a portion of the fee to the building fund or body corporate is a feature of one embodiment and not a feature of the broader invention per se. Figure 3 shows a page viewable to an individual when they log into the system at step 206. The screen display is essentially self explanatory. There is a section 301 for the service organisation logo or trade mark. There is a further section 302 for the phone number of the service entity. A general Menu section 303 is also provided. A user login area 304 is also provided with a requirement for user name and password. The user name may comprise an email address or other data and may, in fact, include the customer individual identification number referred to in step 209 previously. A log in button 305 is provided as well as a forgotten password area 306. A registration button 307 is provided to permit an individual to register in the system. Areas 308 and 309 are provided for content that may require to be added by the system owner such as photographs, or marketing material.

Figure 4 shows a screen display when an individual requires to register in the system. Here the screen display is basically self explanatory. There is a logo area 401 where the system owner's logo or trade mark can be provided. The system owner's phone number is shown in area 402. A general menu heading area is shown as 403. A user's login area 404 is provided in case there is accidental invoking of the application for registration and a need to quickly return to the booking process. This obviates the need to return to the screen shown in Figure 3. Area 405 is provided to allow the individual to insert data into the system. The examples shown of the data are exemplary and not meant to be exhaustive. Part of the data includes billing accounts information where a system can take money for payments of the services provided. This information may be direct debit, credit card or other facility for payment. It may include account numbers and passwords, and in the case of credit cards the CCV number. A Register button 406 is provided to enable the data to be posted into the system database. A footer area 407 is provided to permit any required data such as advertising material to be displayed by the system owner.

Figure 5 shows the Dashboard presented to the user individual to enable the individual to negotiate into customer area 202. Here, there is an area 501 to display the system owners logo or trade mark and an area 502 for the system owners phone number. There is a further area 503 for a menu heading as in the previous screen displays. An area 504 is provided for displaying the individual's account information. This contains clickable buttons for each of the identified items where clicking will provide information about each of the entries. A logout button is also included within area 504. A notification area 505 is provided so there can be information presented to the individual about their car location in the building and their car information i.e. car make and registration no. or other information. A further area 506 is provided showing any

Scheduled car washing. A footer area 507 is also provided to allow the owner of the system to display desired content.

Figure 6 shows an individual's Profile information page where data can be entered. The screen display includes a logo trade mark area 601 , the service owners phone number 602 and a menu area 603 as in the previous screen displays. It also includes an individual's account area 604 corresponding with the individual's account area 504 in the previous example. The screen display includes a My Contact Information area 605, a My Location area 606, a My Car Information area 607 and a My Billing

Information 608. Each of these areas 605-608 have various fields for entry of individual data information. The examples shown are not exhaustive and not all are essential as in some embodiments there may be a change to these particular fields. A "save" button 609 is provided so that the entered data can be saved in the database 225. A footer area 610 is provided as in previous screen displays.

Figure 7 shows a screen display for setting up a Schedule. There are screen areas 701 , 702 and 703 corresponding to the same areas in the previous screen displays. A My Account area 704 is also provided as in previous screen displays, as well as a footer area 705 for the same purposes as in previous screen displays. An area 706 is provided showing a monthly calendar 706. A monthly calendar has been shown but this does not exclude providing a display for other periods such as daily, fortnightly, three monthly, six monthly and annually. The screen display shows an example for October 201 1 but also shows clickable areas 707 and 708 to advance or retreat the period. An appointment button 709 is provided so that once a particular day is selected for the service the appointment will be posted into the database 225. Figure 8 shows the next screen display. Here, an area 805 is shown overlayed on the screen display shown in Figure 7 however, this overlay arrangement may be dispensed with and instead the display shown in area 805 provided for the whole of the screen. Area 805 allows for the location of the service to be displayed or an alternative location such as at a place of employment of the individual. A Service Type is shown where service categories bronze, silver, gold and platinum have been shown. These are mere examples and other service types might be provided. Each of these types represents a different level of car wash service that is offered. A Service Description is also provided where a detailed listing of the services provided under each of the services selected under Service Type are shown. The entries shown under the service description are exemplary only and are not exhaustive. The services may include for the Bronze service a hand wash, chamois dry, and tyre gloss. The Silver service can add extra services. The Gold service can add even further services. The Platinum service can add even further services. There may also be provision for extra services such as leather cleaning and conditioning, carpet steam cleaning, seat steam cleaning, paint protection, interior protection, cut and polish, interior steam cleaning. These are examples and are not exhaustive. A button 806 is provided to cancel any incorrect entries. A Next button 807 is provided to advance the individual to the next stage which shows a Summary of the services requested. This is shown in Figure 9. A footer area 808 is provided as in previous examples. The screen display shown in Figure 9 is very similar to the screen display shown in figure 7 and areas common have not been referred to again. In the display in Figure 9 there is an area 901 that shows the location for the service to be performed and the type of service selected, as well as a calendar area 902showing the date for the required service. The screen display of figure 10 shows an overlay area 1001 overlayed over the screen display of Figure 9. Here, the location and service type have been repeated. A date and time adjustment area 1003 is provided so the individual can book the date and time for the service. An area 1004 is shown to indicate that the individual will put the key in the secure repository which in this case is a box as some convenient secure location such as at the concierge desk or at an area within the building where the services are to be performed. An "other" selection is provided to enter data concerning an alternative location where the keys will be left. The individual can enter text in area 1005 to explain the location. A cancel button 1006 is provided to permit the schedule appointment to be cancelled. A next button 1007 is provided to advance the user to the next screen. Here, there is an overlay area 1 101 which overlays the screen display of Figure 9. Here, further information is provided confirming the particular

appointment; and that the user individual has agreed to put the key in required repository. A total price for performing the service is also shown. A "back" button 1 102 is provided to allow the user to back track to make adjustments to the booking such as to the date and or time for the service. A confirmation button 1 103 is provided to enable the user individual to confirm the actual service booking appointment.

Figure 12 shows a further screen display which is an overlay over the screen display of Figure 7 with an area 1201 displaying payment type being either a bank account or credit card. These are not exhaustive and other means of payment may be shown. A Back button 1202 is provided to return the user to the screen displays shown in Figure 1 1. A Confirm button 1203 is provided to allow the user individual to actually confirm the booking and the payment and to record the data with the banking server 135 and with the database 125.

The screen display in Figure 13 shows areas 1301 , 1302, 1303 and 1304 as per previous screen displays. In addition, a footer area 1305 is provided as in previous screen displays. An area 1306 is provided which shows a calendar with an actual booking made for 1 1 October 201 1 at 8am at the individual's home. An add

Appointment button 1307 is also provided to allow the addition of further

appointments/bookings.

Figure 14 shows a screen display with a summary of the latest booking. Here, the display has areas 1401 , 1402, 1403, 1404 and 1405 as per previous screen displays. There are further areas 1406 and 1407 to display bookings made. In the present case, the display in areas 1406 and 1407 are identical because there are no multiple bookings made for that period. If the user individual had made multiple bookings then these would appear in respective areas 1406 and 1407 chronologically. There may be further areas similar to areas 1406 and 1407 to accommodate for multiple car washes particularly if the user has multiple cars.

The Screen display shown in Figure 15 has areas 1501 , 1502, 1503, 1504 and 1505 as per previous screen displays. It has a further area 1506 that shows a Payment History. Only one payment item has been shown however, multiple items may appear. A scrolling button (not shown) may be provided to enable the user individual to negotiate through multiple previous payments. It is noted that the user ID is also shown confirming the booking was for that particular individual.

I should be appreciated therefore that the above described system enables a user individual, being an owner or tenant in a residential apartment building, to book services such as car wash and/or car cleaning services and related services for a time when it is convenient to them. The system enables the user individual to specify the type of cleaning or other service required. It permits the user individual to select a time for the service to be performed. This may be during peak hours or non peak hours which may be suitably designated by the service providing entity and which may comprise, for example, a peak time from between 9am to 5pm and an off peak time from 5pm to 12am. The system enables the service personnel to inform the user via a telephone service such as an SMS service that the requested service has been completed. The car may have been returned to the normal car spot position in the building car park or other location so the user merely has to retrieve the car keys from the user's letter box or other place of security, such as with the concierge. The system also enables payments to be made to the entity such as the body corporate based on predetermined conditions. These may comprise payments for leasing the space where the service is performed, payments for use of the system by the individuals, payments to charities and the like. The payments may be calculated based on the number of service bookings associated with the entity. The system may also provide for a premium payment to be made to the entity for individuals who have used the method for the first time or for two or more times over a predetermined time period. The predetermined conditions may also comprise a reduced payment taking into account consumables used to perform the service. The reduced payment pay also operate in relation to a service performed in an off peak time period and an increased payment for services perform in a peak time period. The payment may be made to the entity at the time of the payment being made by the individual user, or at some later time period such as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly etc. The payment is also made according to predetermined criteria which may comprise a number of services performed for the entity user individuals over a predetermined time period and the total payment to the entity is then calculated as a percentage of the payment received for each service provider. The predetermined criteria for payment may include a fixed payment in addition to a percentage of the payment received for each service provided. The fixed fee may comprise a lease payment for space at the entities premises.

The above system has been implemented for a situation where there is one service organisation providing the service. In this case, the service providing entity will employ the necessary cleaners and train them to the required standard. In variations, the system may be designed so that a number of independent car cleaning organisations may interact with the system. In this case there may be a sharing system to allow each of those cleaning entities to work at different apartment buildings on different days. The system may be set up in a franchise manner with the service providing personnel.

In addition, the system described above does not allow for display of particular booking conflicts that may have arisen due to other individuals in the apartment building requiring a booking at the same time. The software functionality may be altered to permit all bookings on particular day to be displayed so that a user individual attempting to make a booking can see available time slots and choose a particular time on that day or alternatively on a different day.

Additional services may be offered with the car wash service. These could include scratch removable services, paint services, bumper renovation services, alloy wheel renovation services. The examples are not meant to be exhaustive. In addition, other completely different services may be offered. For example, there may be apartment cleaning services provided. Dry cleaning services may be provided where the user individual will leave clothing items to be cleaned in a laundry bag in their apartment. Instead of depositing car keys into the security repository, the user individual may deposit the apartment key. In this way, the service personnel can enter the individuals apartment and collect the laundry and then return the apartment key in a manner similar to that disclosed for the car wash service. Other services that are possible include takeaway food ordering, grocery ordering, limousine hiring/ordering, massage ordering, blow wave ordering, flowers, step by step instructions for certain activities such as tax returns. All such non exhaustive possible services are deemed within the scope of the present invention. Modifications can be made to the invention as would be apparent to the person skilled in the art for providing services. In addition, the functionality of the screen displays may be altered to relevant software and banking detail requirements. The example described is only one of many possible alternatives. These and other modification may be made to the invention the nature of which is to be determined from the forgoing description.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.