Patent Grant
9460469
Exemplary embodiments relate generally to providing financial services, such as through devices such as financial services kiosks and Automated Teller Machines.
In a typical business interaction with a financial institution, a representative of the business brings in a bag containing the cash and checks received at the business. The bag is typically locked. The bag is handed over to a teller who proceeds to process the contents for deposit. In some case, a withdrawal, such as for cash and coins, is desired and the teller provides the representative with the requested currency. This is done daily or near daily for most businesses. In some cases, the bag is physically deposited into a slot or other container at the financial institution and is then processed separately; in many cases, this is the after-hours procedure. A separate trip is required to make a withdrawal, which must be done during business hours of the financial institution. This process is manpower intensive and slow because of the manual involvement of financial institution employees in processing the bag contents.
In other interactions with a financial institution, typically at a drive up teller area, a customer uses a pneumatic tube system or a drawer for conducting a transaction at a drive-up teller location. The pneumatic tube system typically has a cylinder that serves as the container for conveying material related to the transaction between the customer and the teller. The drawer system involves the customer placing material for the transaction into an opening in the drawer, which is then closed to convey the material to the teller. This process is manpower dependent since the teller must open the container and manually process the contents and is also dependent upon the infrastructure to support the pneumatic tube and the drawer system. These features also cannot be retrofitted in an efficient manner to financial institution locations.
These and other deficiencies exist.
An exemplary embodiment includes a computer implemented method with the following steps: receiving, by a financial services device, comprising at least one computer processor, a container from a business entity, wherein the container has an internal volume and is configured to hold contents comprising one or more of cash, coins, and checks and the container is received into a receptacle at the financial services device; extracting, by the financial services device, the contents; processing, by the financial service device, the contents; and ejecting the container by the financial services device following the processing of the contents.
Another exemplary embodiment includes an apparatus, including: a container having an internal volume, the internal volume being configured to hold one or more of cash, coins, and checks; a locking cover for sealing the container, wherein the locking cover is tamperproof; a computer processor comprising computer memory, a display, and an input device integral to the container; a tracking system integral to the container; the container being configured to engage with a financial services device and establish an interface between the container and the financial services device during the mating such that the contents of the container are removed and processed by the financial services device.
Another exemplary embodiment includes a financial services device, including: a processor; and a memory comprising computer-readable instructions which when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform the steps comprising: receiving a container from a business entity, wherein the container has an internal volume and is configured to hold contents comprising one or more of cash, coins, and checks and the container is received into a receptacle at the financial services device; extracting the contents; processing the contents; and ejecting the container following the processing of the contents.
Another exemplary embodiment includes a computer implemented method with the following steps: receiving, by a device, comprising at least one computer processor, a container associated with a business entity, wherein the container has an internal volume and is configured to hold contents comprising a first set of one or more of cash and coins and the container is received into a receptacle at the device and the device is located at a location of the business entity; inserting one or more of cash and coins into the container in response to the receiving of the container, wherein the first set of one or more of cash and coins comprises an inventory for issuance to an employee for use during a course of business for the business entity; ejecting the container by the device following the inserting.
Another exemplary embodiment includes a computer implemented method with the following steps: receiving, by a financial services device, a container from a customer of a financial institution associated with the financial services device, wherein the container has an internal volume and is configured to hold contents comprising one or more of cash, coins, and checks and the container is received into a receptacle at the financial services device and wherein further the container is paired with the customer; extracting, by the financial services device, the contents; and processing, by the financial service device, the contents.
In other exemplary embodiments, the preceding method may be performed using a system with a processor and a memory comprising computer-readable instructions which when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform the method steps.
These and other embodiments and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the various exemplary embodiments.
It will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the embodiments of the inventions described herein are capable of broad utility and application.
Accordingly, while the invention is described herein in detail in relation to the exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of embodiments of the invention are described to provide an enabling disclosure of the invention. Accordingly, the disclosure is not intended to be construed to limit the embodiments of the invention or otherwise to exclude any other such embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements. While the various embodiments of the present invention are described in the context of financial transaction/services devices and providing of financial service through such devices, the methods and systems described herein may be applied to other related services involving interaction with similar devices in other industries and services.
The following descriptions are provided of different configurations and features according to exemplary embodiments. These configurations and features may relate to providing financial services through financial services devices. While certain nomenclature and types of applications/hardware are described, other names and application/hardware usage is possible and the nomenclature provided is done so by way of non-limiting examples only. Further while particular embodiments are described, it should be appreciated that the features and functions of each embodiment may be combined in any combination as is within the capability of one of ordinary skill in the art. The attached Figures provide additional details regarding the present invention. It should also be appreciated that these exemplary embodiments are provided as non-limiting examples only.
While a single illustrative block, module or component is shown, these illustrative blocks, modules or components may be multiplied for various applications or different application environments. In addition, the modules or components may be further combined into a consolidated unit. The modules and/or components may be further duplicated, combined and/or separated across multiple systems at local and/or remote locations. For example, some of the modules or functionality associated with the modules may be supported by a separate application or platform. Other implementations and architectures may be realized. It should be appreciated that embodiments described may be integrated into and run on a computer, which may include a programmed processing machine which has one or more processors. Such a processing machine may execute instructions stored in a memory to process the data and execute the methods described herein.
As noted above, the processing machine executes the instructions that are stored in the memory or memories or persistent or non-transitory data storage devices to process data. This processing of data may be in response to commands by a user or users of the processing machine, in response to previous processing, in response to a request by another processing machine and/or any other input, for example. As described herein, a module performing functionality may have a processor.
The logic herein described may be implemented by hardware, software, and/or a combination of the two. In embodiments where the logic is implemented using software, upgrades and other changes may be performed without hardware changes. The software may be embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium.
Exemplary methods are provided by way of example herein, as there are a variety of ways to carry out the method disclosed herein. The methods depicted in the Figures may be executed or otherwise performed by one or a combination of various systems, such as described herein. Each block shown in the Figures represents one or more processes, methods, and/or subroutines carried out in the exemplary methods. Each block may have an associated processing machine or the blocks depicted may be carried out through one processor machine. Furthermore, while the steps may be shown in a particular order, it should be appreciated that the steps may be conducted in a different order.
Financial services devices, as used herein, may include machines, kiosks, and stations for performing financial services transactions. These devices include, but are not limited to, automated teller machines (“ATMs”), personal teller machines (“PTMs”), financial self-service devices, financial services kiosks, financial transaction devices, portable electronic devices, money machines, cash machines, bank machines, and bancomats. The financial services device may have two way video and audio capabilities to enable a user to interact with a customer representative of the financial institution on a 24 hour a day basis. The remote customer representative may have the capability to remotely operate and control the financial services device to assist the user.
Financial institution, as used herein, may include institutions that provide financial services to their members or customers. Financial institutions may include, but are not limited to banks, credit unions, trust companies, mortgage loan companies, insurance companies, investment banks, underwriters, armored car companies, and brokerage firms.
According to exemplary embodiments, an intelligent process is provided for a business or customer to interface with a financial institution. A container is provided that is capable of interfacing with a financial transaction device. The container may be referred to as a cash drawer or a cartridge or a cassette. The container may have one or more internal compartments. The internal compartments may be sized to accommodate cash, coins, checks, and/or other financial instruments or documents. The container may be available in a variety of sizes. The container may take a number of forms and variations. The container is capable of being sealed and locked in a tamper proof manner. A tracking device may be included with the container. The container may contain a computing device. The container may be programmed to understand its own status and/or state. For example, the container may be able to sense it has contents, is locked, is being moved, etc. The container may be color coded or marked or labeled to enable pairing to a particular business or customer. The pairing may be important in the case of processing of multiple containers simultaneously from different sources. Thus, the container may be designed as a vehicle through which a business or a customer can put its cash, coins, checks, and/or financial instruments for deposit. The container may be communicatively coupled to the device. The container may communicate with the device. The container may send status updates to the device. For example, the computing device of the container may communicatively couple with the device. The container may inform the device of its status. For example, the container may notify the device if it has a fault, is tampered with, is full, etc. The device in turn may notify or otherwise report the financial institution regarding the container status. In some embodiments, the device may notify or otherwise report to the customer or business regarding the container status. The reporting may be performed electronically using a predetermined electronic path. For example, texts or email may be used. In other embodiments, the container may provide the status updates, notifications, and/or reports directly to the financial institution and/or customer or business.
The container may then be taken to a designated location having a financial transaction device with which the container can interface. The financial transaction device may be located at a branch of a financial institution or another location, such as at the business itself or at another location. In some embodiments, the financial transaction device may be a free standing device, divorced from the financial institution location.
The container can be inserted or otherwise interfaced with the financial transaction device. The person inserting the device (such as the customer or business representative) may be required to authenticate themselves to the financial transaction device. The financial transaction device may unlock and unseal the container and remove the contents. The financial transaction device may communicatively couple with the container through its computer device. The financial transaction device may process the contents of the container.
The processing may include reporting the status and results of the processing to the financial institution. The reporting may be performed electronically over a computer network. In some embodiments, the device may be capable of recycling the contents from the container. The device may be capable of destroying the contents of the container. In some embodiments, the device may be capable of producing currency and/or financial instruments. In other embodiments, the device may need to be periodically emptied and loaded with currency and/or financial instruments. The device may report or signal when it requires service or emptying or restocking as appropriate. Accordingly, the device may be aware of its status, as well as that of the container. The device may communicatively couple with the container. The device may track the container's status using the tracking system that may be part of the device.
The financial transaction device may insert contents into the container and reseal and relock the container. In this manner, a withdrawal may be made. The inserted contents may include cash and coil, including strapped cash and rolled coins. The withdrawal may be pre-staged with the financial transaction device through a remote interface. In some embodiments, the withdrawal may be programmed into the container. In other embodiments, the withdrawal may be requested at the financial transaction device.
Upon completion of the processing, a receipt may be provided. In some embodiments, the receipt may be provided electronically. The process may be fully automated such that a human teller or representative is not required for the processing of the container.
According to exemplary embodiments, an automated, secure process may be provided for businesses to manage cash using the container. A business, such as a merchant, may have a series of containers for internal business use. The containers may be configured to mate with the business's point of sale devices. In some embodiments, the containers may double as cash drawers for the point of sale devices. The container may be assigned to a particular employee and may be loaded at the start of the employee's shift with a set amount of cash and coins. The container may be loaded form a device located at the business. The device may serve as a central safe or depository for the business's funds. The device may be configured as described here for interfacing with the container according to exemplary embodiments. The device may be managed by the financial institution. The device may have multiple receptacles to receive multiple containers at once.
The container may be inserted into or otherwise interfaced with the point of sale device. The point of sale device may extract the contents of the container into a cash drawer, or in the case of the container being the cash drawer, use the container. Upon completion of the employee's shift, the container may be reloaded by the point of sale device with cash and coins collected during the course of business. The point of sale device may seal and lock the container. The container may be ejected or otherwise removed from the point of sale device.
In some embodiments, the container may indicate when it is full and needs to be removed from the point of sale device and returned to the device for processing and emptying.
The container may then be returned to the device and the contents processed. The container may be stored by the device or it may be emptied and ejected. The device may then provide automated balancing and accounting of the daily intake and expenditures of the business. The automated process may assist in preventing and/or identifying fraud in the handling of cash and coins.
As part of the processing, the device may band bills and roll coins to keep its contents organized. These banded bills and rolled coins may be dispensed into containers for use by the business.
To reload the container, it may be reinserted by the employee at his/her next shift. The business may have multiple containers. Each may be assigned to one or more employees. In some embodiments, an employee may not have an assigned container, but may take any container and enter a code or other identification into the container to indicate who is using the particular container. The code or other identification may be entered into the device following insertion of a container. In some embodiments, the employee may specify the contents to be inserted into the device. In other embodiments, the contents of the container may be predetermined.
At certain intervals, the device may be serviced by the financial institution or a designed third party to empty the contents and restock as needed. In some embodiments, the contents of the device may be processed by the device by loading a container and then the container being handled according to the methods described herein.
In some embodiments, the containers may be serviced and handled by a third party. For example, a third party may handle, distribute, collect, and process containers for one or more business locations. The third party may have one or more devices capable of processing the containers. In certain embodiments, the containers may be capable of communicating with the third party as to the container's status. For example, if the container is full and needs processed, the container may communicate to the third party this status. The third party may then proceed to the container's location to pick-up and process the container. The communication may be over a computer network and/or over a cellular network and/or over a wireless network. The third party may convey contents processed from containers, such as currency and coins, to the financial institution. The financial institution may provide the third party with currency and coins to load into containers. In some embodiments, the third party may use one or more containers to transfer currency, coins, checks, and other financial instruments to the financial institution. The third party may receive currency and coins in the container.
An override code may be used to allow appropriate business personnel to perform withdrawals from the device of particular amounts to meet business needs, such as, for example, petty cash or paying vendors.
According to exemplary embodiments, the required infrastructure to support the systems described herein may be retrofitted to existing financial services devices or built-in to new financial services devices. The retrofit may require a hardware upgrade and a software upgrade as well as additional hardware added to the existing financial services device. Existing pneumatic tube systems (as described in the background) may be integrated into exemplary embodiments by replacing the teller with a computer machine to perform the container processing.
As noted above, the processing machine executes the instructions that are stored in the memory or memories or persistent or non-transitory data storage devices to process data. This processing of data may be in response to commands by a user or users of the processing machine, in response to previous processing, in response to a request by another processing machine and/or any other input, for example. As described herein, a module performing functionality may have a processor.
According to exemplary embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to carry out the methods as described herein. The system 100 may have device 110 associated therewith. A second device 120 and an Nth device 130 may be further associated with the system 100. The devices 110, 120, and 130 may each be a processing machine. Each device 110, 120, and 130 may include software and/or modules to implement the methods described herein according to exemplary embodiments. Each device 110, 120, and 130 may provide processing, display, storage, communications, and execution of commands in response to inputs from a user thereof and respond to requests from the software and/or modules.
The devices 110, 120, and 130 may each serve as a client side. Each device 110, 120, and 130 may be a “fat” client, such that the majority of the processing may be performed on the client. Alternatively, the device 110, 120, and 130 may each be a “thin” client, such that the majority of the processing may be performed in the other components of the system 100 as shown in
Each device 110, 120, and 130 may have a display and an input device associated therewith. The display may be monochrome or color. For example, the display may be a plasma, liquid crystal, or cathode ray tube type display. The displays may be touch screen type displays. The devices 110, 120, and 130 may have more than one display. The multiple displays may be different types of displays. The display may have sub-displays there on. For example, the device 110, 120 and 130 may have a large display surface. The display for the user interface may occupy a portion or less than the whole of the large display surface.
The input device may be a single device or a combination of input devices. For example, the input devices may include a keyboard, both full-sized QWERTY and condensed, a numeric pad, an alpha-numeric pad, a track ball, a touch pad, a mouse, selection buttons, and/or a touch screen. As described above, the display may serve as an input device through using or incorporating a touch screen interface. The devices 110, 120, and 130 may include other devices such as a printer and a device for accepting deposits and/or dispensing currency and coins.
The device 110, 120, and 130 may have one or more cameras, optical sensors, or other sensing devices. The sensors may be computer controlled and may capture digital images.
According to some embodiments, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may be financial services devices as described herein. The financial services device may be a transaction device for conducting transactions with the financial institution. For example, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may each be an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) or similar self-service device. In other embodiments, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may each be financial services kiosks. The devices 110, 120, and 130 may have different levels of functionality. The device 110, 120, or 130 may be a dedicated transaction device for exemplary embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 110, 120, or 130 may be an existing transaction device that has been upgraded to perform the methods described herein. For example, an ATM may be upgraded with a receptacle to receive the container according to exemplary embodiments. The upgrade may include a receptacle module and other software/hardware upgrades to perform the methods described herein.
In some embodiments, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may be a portable or hand-held computing or electronic devices, or other types of computing devices, which have the described functionality. For example, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may be tablet computing devices. The tablet computing device may be used to perform transactions similar or the same as those at a traditional ATM as described herein or to interface with a financial services device. For example, the tablet computing device may be a part of the financial services device. Additional devices may be coupled to the portable or hand-held computing device to perform various functions such as accepting deposits or dispensing currency.
The devices 110, 120, and 130 may provide various functionality and features for conducting transactions with the financial institution. Accordingly, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may be referred to as financial transaction devices. For example, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may be capable of accepting deposits and mixed deposits, withdrawals and multi-denomination withdrawals, including strap cash out, coin deposits/withdrawal, including both rolled and loose coin withdrawals, check cashing, statement printing, wires, bill pay, and check printing. It should be appreciated that the devices 110, 120, and 130 may be capable of other functions and features. Transactions may be supported relating to other financial institutions. For example, the device may be part of a network associated with more than one financial institution. The network may be managed by a third party.
The devices 110, 120, and 130 may have a log-in device associated therewith. The log-in device may be used to allow access to the device. The log-in device may require a particular input or it may accept a combination of inputs. The input may serve as an authentication of the user to the device 110, 120, or 130 and the system 100 in general. Various authentication or log-on systems and methods may be used. For example, these methods and systems may include entering a password or PIN (Personal Identification Number) or using a card to log-on, either via swiping the card through a reader, such as a magnetic stripe reader or a smart chip reader, or through a radio frequency system (which may require that the card be placed in proximity to an appropriate reader (i.e., a contactless system), such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) or NFC (Near Field Communications). For example, the Blink® system may be used. It should be appreciated that the card may include a combination of a magnetic stripe, a smart chip, and radio frequency. Further, the use of the card is exemplary only and the card may include fobs, stickers, and other devices. Biometrics may be used, such as fingerprints, facial recognition, speech recognition, or retinal scan. A combination of these systems may be used. Biometrics may be used in addition to other log-in methods and systems.
The devices 110, 120, and 130 may be communicatively coupled to a network 135. Accordingly, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may be geographically dispersed. Conversely, two or more of devices 110, 120, and 130 may be located in close proximity to provide a cluster of devices for customer use. For example, the devices may be located within or near a branch office of the financial institution. The devices may be located in other locations such as retailers or merchants or other business entities. The devices may be located at locations proximal to the business locations of retailer or merchants or other entities. In some embodiments, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may communicate with each other over the network.
According to exemplary embodiments, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may have a receptacle for receiving a container as described herein. For example, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may be configured to receive and mate with containers 190, 192, and 194 (described below). The receptacle may be configured to receive the container and to communicatively couple or otherwise interface with the container. The receptacle may receive the container internally to the device 110, 120, and 130. Each device 110, 120, and 130 may have multiple receptacles to handle multiple containers at one time.
Network 135 may be a computer based network, with one or more servers and/or computer processors. For example, network 135 may be the Internet or a network connected to the Internet. The network 135 may be a satellite or cellular based network. Information and data may be exchanged through the network 135 between the various components of the system 100. In alternative embodiments, the network 135 may be a local area network within the financial institution that may be connected to or interface with the Internet. It should be appreciated that the network 135 may be a combination of local area networks, wide area networks, and external networks, which may be connected to the Internet.
The processing module 140 may be communicatively coupled to the network 135. The processing module 140 may perform operations associated with the establishment, configuration, and application of the programs accordingly to exemplary embodiments. The processing module 140 may consist of one or more servers and/or general purpose computers, each having one or more computer processors associated therewith.
The processing module 140 may have a database 150 communicatively coupled thereto. The database 150 may contain data and information used by the system 100. For example, the database 150 may store account data for financial institution account holders. Additional information maybe contained therein related to the operation and administration of the system 100. The database 150 may include any suitable data structure to maintain the information and allow access and retrieval of the information. For example, the database may keep the data in an organized fashion. The database 150 may be a database, such as an Oracle database, a Microsoft SQL Server database, a DB2 database, a MySQL database, a Sybase database, an object oriented database, a hierarchical database, a flat database, and/or another type of database as may be known in the art that may be used to store and organize rule data as described herein.
The database 150 may be stored in any suitable storage device. The storage device may include multiple data storage devices. The multiple data storage devices may be operatively associated with the database 150. The storage may be local, remote, or a combination thereof with respect to the database. The database 150 may utilize a redundant array of disks (RAID), striped disks, hot spare disks, tape, disk, or other computer accessible storage. In one or more embodiments, the storage may be a storage area network (SAN), an internet small computer systems interface (iSCSI) SAN, a Fiber Channel SAN, a common Internet File System (CIFS), network attached storage (NAS), or a network file system (NFS). The database may have back-up capability built-in. Communications with the database 150 may be over a network, such as the network 135, or communications may be over a direct connection between the database 150 and the processing module 140, as depicted in
The system 100 may have other systems 160 associated therewith. These other systems 160 may include various data collection and support systems used by the financial institution to carry out a variety of functions.
The system 100 may include a portable electronic device or mobile device 170. The portable electronic device 170 may be more than one portable electronic device. The portable electronic device 170 may be associated with a customer. The customer may interact with the portable electronic device through various input means (not shown). For example, the portable electronic device 170 may have a display screen to convey information to the customer. The display may be a color display. For example, the display may be a Liquid Crystal Display (“LCD”). The portable electronic device 170 may have one or more input devices associated with it. For example, the portable electronic device 170 may have an alpha-numeric keyboard, either physical or virtual, for receiving input. The portable electronic device 170 may have a QWERTY style keyboard, either physical or virtual. The portable electronic device 170 may have a pointing device associated therewith, such as, for example, a trackball or track wheel. As described above, the portable electronic device 170 may have communication capabilities over both cellular and wireless type networks to transmit/receive data and/or voice communications.
The portable electronic device 170, by way of non-limiting examples, may include such portable computing and communications devices as mobile phones (e.g., cell or cellular phones), smart phones (e.g., iPhones, Android based phones, or Blackberry devices), personal digital assistants (PDAs) (e.g., Palm devices), laptops, netbooks, tablets, or other portable computing devices. These portable electronic devices may communicate and/or transmit/receive data over a wireless signal. The wireless signal may consist of Bluetooth, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), Short Message Service (SMS), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) based systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) based systems, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet (TCP/IP) Protocols, or other protocols and/or systems suitable for transmitting and receiving data from the portable electronic device. The portable electronic device may use standard wireless protocols which may include IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n. Such portable electronic devices may be Global Positioning System (GPS) capable. GPS is a satellite based system which sends a signal allowing a device to define its approximate position in a coordinate system on the earth. That is, the portable electronic device may receive satellite positioning data and display the location on the earth of the portable electronic device using GPS. Other location systems may be used. The portable electronic device 170 may include one or more computer processors and be capable of being programmed to execute certain tasks.
The portable electronic device 170 may establish communications with a server 180. Communications may be established over the network 135. Upon successful initiation of communications between the portable electronic device 170 and the server 180, data may be exchanged between the device 170 and the server 180. Data may be transmitted from the portable electronic device 170 to the server 180. Data may be transmitted from the server 180 to the portable electronic device 170.
According to some embodiments, the portable electronic device 170 may interact with the devices 110, 120, or 130. Through the device 110, 120, or 130, the portable electronic device 170 may interact with the server 180 or other parts of the system 100. That is, the device 110, 120, or 130 may serve as an access point to the system 100 for the portable electronic device 170. For example, a user may conduct one or more transactions with the device 110, 120, or 130 using the portable electronic device 170.
It should be appreciated that the server may interact with other parts of the system 100, such as the devices 110, 120, and 130, as well as the processing module 140 and the other systems 160. The server 180 may be a single server or it may be multiple servers. The server 180 may server a variety of roles in the system 100. The server 180 may be communicatively coupled to the processing module 140. In some embodiments, the processing module 140 may be a part of the server 180.
The server 180 may have one or more storage devices associated therewith. The storage may be local, remote, or a combination thereof with respect to the server 180. The storage may utilize a redundant array of disks (RAID), striped disks, hot spare disks, tape, disk, or other computer accessible storage. In one or more embodiments, the storage may be a storage area network (SAN), an Internet small computer systems interface (iSCSI) SAN, a Fiber Channel SAN, a common Internet File System (CIFS), network attached storage (NAS), or a network file system (NFS). The storage may have back-up capability built-in. The back-up capability of the storage may be used to archive image data for later use. The back-up capability may be used for recovery of data in the event of a failure of the storage.
As described above, the containers 190, 192, and 194 may interface or communicatively couple with devices 110, 120, and 130. Each device 110, 120, and 130 may have a receptacle or other interface into which the container 190, 192, or 194 may be inserted into or coupled with.
The containers 190, 192, and 194, while depicted as interfacing with a particular device 110, 120, and 130, may interface with any of devices 110, 120, and 130. Multiple containers may interface with a particular device. The container may be a container for object according to exemplary embodiments. The container may be in a variety of shapes and sizes. For example, the container may be a cash drawer, an envelope, a cartridge, cassette, cylinder, tube, or a box. The container may be referred to as a smart cassette or smart cartridge. The container may be made of a variety of materials. For example, the container may be plastic or metal or composite. The container may be highly resistant to tampering and may have systems to evidence and/or record tampering attempts.
The receptacle of the device 110, 120, and 130 may be configured to mate with or accept the container. In some embodiments, once inserted into the device 110, 120, and 130, the container 190, 192, or 194 may be moved using mechanical, electrical, electronic, or a combination of systems from the insertion point to a point for further processing. In some embodiments, the container may remain at the insertion location for processing. During processing, the contents of the container may be removed, sorted, and counted. For example, cash and coins in the container may be sorted using a cash and coin counter. Following counted, the bills may be banded into set stacks of a particular amount and the coins may be rolled into stacks of particular amounts. In some embodiments, new contents may be inserted into the container as part of a withdrawal transaction. For example, banded bills and rolled coins may be inserted into the container. In some embodiments, the withdrawal may be done with the contents just extracted from the container.
Once the processing is completed, the device 110, 120, and 130 may eject the container 190, 192, or 194.
Each container may have an internal volume. The internal volume may have one or more compartments. For example, the container may have a compartment for cash, a compartment for change, and a compartment for checks.
Each container may have a computing device associated therewith. For example, each container may have a computer processor and computer memory, including both transient and non-transient storage. The computing device may have an input device and a display screen. For example, the input device may be a keypad or a number pad. A selection device may be provided such as a joystick or arrow keys or a touch pad. The computing device may have wireless capability and/or may have input ports to accept a wired connection to a network or other computing device. The computing device may be powered by an internal battery. The battery may be charged when the container is communicatively coupled to a device, such as device 110, 120, or 130.
The container may have a tracking device. For example, the container may have a GPS capability. The tracking device may be included as part of the computing device.
Each container may have a locking system. The locking system may be electronic or mechanical or a combination thereof. For example, the locking system may require an entry of code to unlock and lock the container. In some embodiments, a key may be required. In some embodiments, biometrics may be used.
At block 202, contents are inserted into a container. The container may be a container 190, 192, and/or 194 as described above. The contents may be a combination of cash, coins, and checks. Each different piece of content may be placed into a compartment in the internal volume of the container. The container may be associated with an entity. For example, the entity may be a merchant or business. The contents may be received in the course of daily activity (e.g., business dealings) by the entity. For example, the contents may be payments received in exchange for goods or services by the entity. It should be appreciated that the terms cash and coins may pertain to both United States and foreign currency. The contents may be a combination of both domestic and foreign currency, in some embodiments.
In some embodiments, the container may be located at a financial institution branch or kiosk at a self-service financial services device as described herein. The container may be configured for use by a customer for a personal (or a business) transaction. The customer may approach the device and select a transaction to be conducted at the device. In some embodiments, as described herein, the transaction may be staged in advance using a portable electronic device or other computer. The customer may be presented with the container by the device. Instructions may be conveyed to the customer on how to use the container. The container may have a code or other identifying labels or marks thereon. The customer may be requested to input the container marking code or label marking into the device to pair the customer with the particular container. In some embodiments, the container may have a QR code thereon which the customer may image and then upload the QR code information to the device. The imaging may be performed using a portable electronic device associated with the customer. In other embodiments, the device may automatically associate the container with the customer conducting the transaction internally as part of the processing of the transaction.
In some embodiments, the customer, like a business, may have their own container.
While exemplary embodiments are described with respect to the container having cash, checks, and coins as contents, these embodiments are meant to be exemplary and non-limiting as the container may be used with other contents with the methods described here. For example, the container, in addition to or in place of, may contain food stamps, pharmaceuticals, coupons, used prepaid cards, documents, financial instruments, memory sticks, gems, and precious metals. In these embodiments, the receiving device may be configured to process these types of contents. It should also be appreciated that the device could be configured to dispense similar contents as described below at block 216. These additional contents may be used in place of cash, coins, and checks in any of the embodiments described herein.
At block 204, the container is sealed. The sealing may include locking of the container. The locking may be electronically performed. A code or other entry may be required to lock the container. A key may be used to lock the container. The container may be tamperproof or designed to withstand some amount of forcible entry attempts. The container may container a dye pack or other device that is triggered during an unauthorized entry. The container may record attempts at unauthorized entry using its computer. The container may use biometrics, multi-factor authentication, or other methods to lock (and also open/unlock the container). The container may use both mechanical and electronic/electrical systems for locking/sealing.
As part of the sealing, the container may be programmed. The programming may include entry of information into a computing device associated with the container. For example, the container may have a processor and computer memory along with an input device and a display associated therewith. In some embodiments, the container may be remotely interfaced with through a wireless or wired connection. A second computing device may be communicatively coupled thereto.
The programming may include, but is not limited to, the contents of the device, the destination account number, a withdrawal amount and type of withdrawal, an election of receipt format (electronic, hard copy, email, text, etc.), and an authentication code of the person entering the data. In some embodiments, the container may require input of the merchant's name and other information to identify the contents. In other words, the container may be agnostic and can be used by anyone with an account at the financial institution. In other embodiments, the container may be programmed with that information such that the container is configured for use by a particular merchant or business. In other words, the container may be specified for a particular use. The authentication code may be required to perform entry into the container's programming. Different persons at the entity may have different codes.
The container may have a tracking device associated therewith. The tracking device may be activated upon locking of the container. In some embodiments, the tracking device may be manually actuated.
At block 206, the container is inserted into a device. The device may be a financial services device, a financial services kiosk, or an ATM for example. The device may be located in or near a branch office of a financial institution. The entity inserting the container may have one or more accounts with the financial institution. It should be appreciated that a representative of the entity may insert the container. In some embodiments, a third party may be contracted to handle the container and perform the transaction for the entity.
The device may be located at a location of the entity. For example, the device may be located at the entity's place of business. For example, the financial institution may have an agreement with the entity to allow a financial services kiosk, according to exemplary embodiments, to be located near or within the entity's location. In some embodiments, the device located at the entity may be a specific device to receive the container and may have less functionality than a typical ATM. The device may be located in close proximity to a group of different entities and thus may serve as a common drop point for those entities.
In some embodiments, a plurality of devices may be located in different locations serving as container receipt points or nodes, such as depicted, for example, in the system 100. The devices may be networked with a central system such that each device may be monitored. The device may transmit a signal upon insertion of a container and processing of the contents thereof. The signal may contain details of the transaction. The financial institution or a designated third party representative thereof may periodically service the device and remove its contents (such as collected currency) and replenish the device's contents as well as perform any required service. For example, an armored car company may service the devices to collect the contents. In some embodiments, where there are multiple devices at a location, a robot or other mobile device may be used to service the device and collect the contents.
The device may have a slot or other input area to accept the container. The container may be inserted in a particular way into the device.
As part of the insertion, an authentication may be required. The person or user inserting the container may be required to authenticate to the device. In some embodiments, no authentication may be required from the user since the container may contain authentication/identity information itself.
At block 207, in an optional step, after insertion of the container, if the device is unable to open the container or the devices senses that the container has been tampered with, the container may be ejected. The device may make an entry regarding the discrepancy. This inspection may occur during the processing of the container. The inspection may occur prior to removing the contents of the container for processing below. An electronic notification may be sent to a designated representative of the account holder following this ejection.
In other embodiments, the device may experience a fault or error in processing the container due to a fault in the device's own system. The device may eject the container if it is unable to be processed because of a fault or error in processing the container. The device may transmit a fault or error code to another location indicating the device's problem. Troubleshooting may be performed remotely on the device.
At block 208, the contents of the container are processed. The processing may involve the device unlocking and opening the container. The contents may be extracted by the device. For example, the cash may be extracted from its compartment and counted (in some embodiments, the serial numbers of the cash may be read) and banded/strapped; the change may be extracted from its compartment and counted and rolled; and the checks may be extracted from their compartment and imaged. Foreign currency may be separated from domestic currency (i.e., United States currency may be separated from foreign currency). Other contents may be processed accordingly based on the item type.
The device may interface or communicatively couple with the container. The programming may be read. The device may send an electronic notification that the container has been inserted and is being processed. The electronic notification may be sent to a designated representative of the merchant or account holder. The electronic notification may be sent in a variety of formats including email and text message. In some embodiments, the device, as part of the processing, may communicate with the financial institution. The communication may be electronic and may be over a computer network. The communication may be with a location of the financial institution remote from the device. For example, the device may notify the financial institution that a particular container is being processed. The device may notify the financial institution of the status and the results of the processing. The communication may be with a computer server associated with the financial institution. In order to provide this status and reporting of the processing, the device may be capable of imaging and otherwise recording the processed contents for reporting.
In some embodiments, as part of the processing, currency and coins may be recycled by the device or marked for recycling.
In some embodiments, the device may be able to destroy and produce currency and/or financial instruments. For example, as part of the processing, the device may report the processing status and results to the financial institution and then destroy the contents of the container. In other embodiments, the device may report the processing and then store the contents for later disposition. In other embodiments, the device may be capable of producing currency and/or financial instruments. For example, the device may be able to print currency and/or financial instruments. The device may be programmed with logic to calculate its printing/production requirements. For example, converting the device may have too many 100's of a currency or financial instrument; 20's may be needed. Accordingly, the device may destroy an amount of the 100's and then produce a number of the needed 20's. These embodiments may make the device a self-sufficient and sustaining device to support its merchants and/or customers.
The processing may occur locally at the device. In some embodiments, the device may send or transport the container to another location for processing.
At block 210, the processed contents are compared to an inventory for a match. The inventory may be stored in the container. For example, the processed contents may be compared to the entry in the container's programming to ensure a match; the inventory being stored in the computer associated with the container. In some embodiments, the inventory may be separate from the container. For example, the inventory may be entered into the device along with the container. The inventory may be electronically entered into the device through an entry mechanism such as a keypad or keyboard or touchscreen. In some embodiments, the inventory may be transmitted separately from the container and may be submitted to the device prior to insertion of the container. For example, the inventory may be electronically transmitted from a computing device to the device or the financial institution. The inventory may be emailed or otherwise conveyed to the device or the financial institution.
The inventory may contain an itemized listing of the contents of the container.
At block 212, if the contents do not match the specified deposit, the device may return the contents to the container, reseal, and relock the container or allow the transaction to continue based on a predetermined preference. The device may interface with the container and make an entry regarding the discrepancy. The container may be ejected from the device and the transaction ended. In some embodiments, the processing may continue with a note being made of the lack of match. In some embodiments, the account owner may specify how to handle such situations. For example, preferences may be configured regarding different situations and how such situations are handled.
For example, if the contents of the container are short as compared to the inventory, the entity may specify that the container is ejected without further processing. If the container contents are over the inventory, then the container may be processed with an annotation on the receipt of the overage. In some embodiments, the device may provide the user the option of choosing how to proceed with the transaction. In other embodiments, a message, such as an electronic message, may be sent to the account owner or a designated representative of the entity. It should be appreciated that this person may be different from the person performing the transaction. The message may contain a link or other instructions to allow a remote action to take place as to the disposition of the container.
At block 214, if the contents match or the preference is set to continue the processing, the device may check if a withdrawal is requested.
At block 216, if there is a withdrawal, the appropriate amount may be dispensed or loaded into the container. The withdrawal amount may be put into a specific compartment. The withdrawal compartment may be separate from the deposit compartment in some embodiments.
The withdrawal, according to some embodiments, may be entered into the container. In other embodiments, the withdrawal may be pre-staged with the device. For example, the withdrawal may be entered into the device before or during the container insertion. The withdrawal may be remotely entered into the device using a wireless communication from a computing device. In other embodiments, the withdrawal may be entered into the container either remotely or directly.
In some embodiments, the device may print currency. For example, bills may be printed for dispensing to fulfill an order request. In other embodiments, certificates of deposit, bearer bonds, promissory notes, checks, cheques, or other negotiable instruments may be dispensed as part of the withdrawal. These may be specified on the withdrawal request. In some embodiments, negotiable instruments other than currency may be dispensed due to a shortage of bills in the device.
As described above, the device may dispense food stamps, coupons, prepaid cards, documents, financial instruments, memory sticks, gems, and precious metals.
At block 218, a receipt is generated. The device may provide a receipt. The receipt may be placed into the container. The receipt may be provided electronically to a designated address or phone number of a designated representative of the account holder. For example, an email or text message may be sent containing the receipt. In some embodiments, the receipt may be printed by the device. In some embodiments, any shortages or overages may be noted on the receipt.
At block 220, the container is ejected. The container may be ejected from the device, once it is sealed.
The internal volume of the container may have three sections or compartments 310, 312, and 314. It should be appreciated that more or less internal compartments may be present. Each compartment may have a specific use. The compartments may be labeled, as shown at 316, 318, and 320. For example, the labels may be “Checks,” “Cash,” and “Coins.” It should be appreciated that the labels are exemplary and non-limiting as the container may have a variety of possible contents. Each set of contents may be located in its own compartment. Furthermore, the container may have more or less than three compartments. The contents may be stacked in each compartment in a vertical direction. The coins may be loose or may be in rolls. In exemplary embodiments, any withdrawal amounts may be placed in the corresponding compartment by the device.
The container 302 is shown in an open state with the internal volume exposed.
In some embodiments, another access may be provided to the container 302 to facilitate use in the device to interact with the container 302. For example, a side access port or ports 324 may be provided. There may be a side access port 324 on each side (in
A locking mechanism 326 may secure the cover 322. The locking mechanism 326 may be mechanical or electronic or electrical or a combination thereof. The locking mechanism 326 may use biometrics. The locking mechanism 326 may have an input device 328 associated therewith for entry of a code or biometric identifier. The locking mechanism 326 may be tamperproof.
The container 302 may have a computing device 330 integrally configured therewith. The computing device 330 may have a display 332 and an entry section 334.
A set of contacts 336 may provide for interface with the device. The contacts 336 are exemplary and non-limiting as there are other positions and contact types that may be used to interface with the device.
As part of the computing device 330 there may be a tracking device 338. The tracking device 338 may record movement and position of the container 302. The tracking device 338 may be a Global Positioning System (GPS) device. The tracking device 338 may be internal to the computing device 330. In some embodiments, the tracking device 338 may be interfaced with by a user through the computing device 330.
The container 302 may be made from a variety of materials, including plastics, metals, alloys, composites, and combinations thereof. For example, the container 302 may be a combination of plastic and a lightweight metal or composite, such as aluminum or steel or carbon fiber. Kevlar may be used for reinforcing the container 302 for security. The container 302 may be waterproof and/or fireproof. The container 302 may contain a dye pack or other mechanism to deter unauthorized access to the contents.
Each business or entity may have series of containers 402. Once dropped off for processing, the particular container 402 may be kept by the financial institution. A replacement container may be picked up following the drop off Once processed, the container 402 may be returned to the business or entity. A message may be transmitted indicating the container is ready. In some embodiments, the container may be specific to a particular entity. In other embodiments, the container may be accepted, processed, and returned in a single transaction.
In some embodiments, the container 402 may be used by a customer at a drive through or other self-service location. The container may be provided by a financial transaction device for the customer to insert a deposit into. The deposit may consist of a combination of cash, coins, and checks. The customer may load the container, reseal the container, and insert the container into the financial transaction device. The contents of the container may be processed as described above. A receipt may be provided. The customer may specify a withdrawal. The contents of the desired withdrawal may be inserted into the container and returned to the customer. The process may be entirely automated.
The container 402 may be manually or automatically processed. The container 402 may be used to deposit cash, checks, and coins.
According to exemplary embodiments, the container 402 may have similar characteristics as described for the container 302 above. The cover 422 may be a covering that secures onto the container 402 at the upper portion of the container body 440. Accordingly, the cover 422 may be attached in a movable and/or removable manner to the container 402. For example, the cover 422 may be a lid configuration. The device may access the container 402 through the cover 422. In some embodiments, the cover 422 may have one or more access ports for use by the device (not shown). For example, the cover 422 may be configured to mate or dock with the device in order to transfer the contents of the container to the device for processing. The device may remove the cover 422 or access the contents through an access port in the cover 422. The device may insert any contents into the container 402 through the cover 422 or directly into the container 402 with the cover removed and then the device may reseal the cover 422 to the container 402.
In some embodiments, another access may be provided to the container 402 to facilitate use in the device to interact with the container 402. In some embodiments, the container 402 may have a bottom portion 442. The bottom portion 442 may be removably attached to the lower or bottom portion of the container body 440. For example, the bottom portion 442 may be a lid in the same manner as the cover 422. The device may access the container 402 through the cover 442. For example, the bottom portion 442 may be configured to mate or dock with the device in order to transfer the contents of the container to the device for processing. The device may remove the bottom portion 442 or access the contents through an access port in the bottom portion 442. The device may insert any contents into the container 402 through the bottom portion 442 or directly into the container 402 with the bottom portion removed and then the device may reseal the bottom portion 442 to the container 402. In some embodiments, the device may access the container body 440 (and hence the contents of the container 402) through both the bottom portion 442 and the cover 422.
A locking mechanism 426 may secure the cover 422. The locking mechanism 426 may be mechanical or electronic or electrical or a combination thereof. The locking mechanism 426 may use biometrics. The locking mechanism 426 may have an input device 428 associated therewith for entry of a code or biometric identifier. The locking mechanism 426 may be tamperproof.
In a similar manner, the bottom portion 442 may have a locking mechanism 444 with an input device 446. These may be similar to the locking mechanism 426 and the input device 428 described above. In some embodiments, the locking mechanism 444 and the input device 446 may be different in configuration than the locking mechanism 426 and the input device 428. The bottom portion 442 may be accessed by different entities than the cover 422. For example, the device and the financial institution may be able to access both the cover 422 and the bottom portion 442 through their respective locking mechanisms while a customer or merchant may only be able to access the cover 422.
The container 402 may have a computing device 430 integrally configured therewith. The computing device 430 may have a display 432 and an entry section 434.
A set of contacts 436 may provide for interface with the device. The contacts 436 are exemplary and non-limiting as there are other positions and contact types that may be used to interface with the device. A similar set of contacts 448 may be located on the bottom portion (shown in dashed lines in
As part of the computing device 430 there may be a tracking device 438. The tracking device 438 may record movement and position of the container 402. The tracking device 438 may be a Global Positioning System (GPS) device. The tracking device 438 may be internal to the computing device 430. In some embodiments, the tracking device 438 may be interfaced with by a user through the computing device 430.
The container 402 may be made from a variety of materials, including plastics, metals, alloys, composites, and combinations thereof. For example, the container 402 may be a combination of plastic and a lightweight metal or composite, such as aluminum or steel or carbon fiber. Kevlar may be used for reinforcing the container 402 for security. The container 402 may be waterproof and/or fireproof. The container 402 may contain a dye pack or other mechanism to deter unauthorized access to the contents. The container body 440 may be transparent to enable observation of the contents from external to the container. The cover 422 and the bottom portion 442 may be made of different materials than the body 440 and in exemplary embodiments may be opaque. In some embodiments, the container body 440 may be opaque. The container 402 may be color coded or have labels with identifying marks or codes to enable one container to be distinguished from another container. The container 402 may be electronically tagged.
At block 502, contents are inserted into a container. The container may be a container 190, 192, and/or 194 as described above. The container may be a cash drawer configured to interface with a point of sale device. The contents may be a combination of cash and coins. The cash may be banded/strapped or loose or a combination thereof. The coins may be rolled or loose or a combination thereof. Each different piece of content may be placed into a compartment in the internal volume of the container. The container may be associated with an entity. For example, the entity may be a merchant or business. The contents may be inserted by a device according to exemplary embodiments. The contents may be inserted into the container for use by an employee of the entity in their daily course of business during the employee's shift. The amount of the contents may be predetermined. In some embodiments, the employee may specify the amount of the contents.
The device may be a financial services device or a financial services kiosk or a transaction device. The device may be located at a location of the entity. For example, the device may be located at the entity's place of business. For example, the financial institution may have an agreement with the entity to allow the device, according to exemplary embodiments, to be located within the entity's location.
In some embodiments, a plurality of devices may be located in different locations serving as container receipt points or nodes at the entity, such as depicted, for example, in the system 100. The devices may be networked with a central system such that each device may be monitored. The device may transmit a signal upon insertion of a container and processing of the contents thereof. The signal may contain details of the transaction. The financial institution or a designated third party representative thereof may periodically service the device and remove its contents (such as collected currency) and replenish the device's contents as well as perform any required service. For example, an armored car company may service the devices to collect the contents. In some embodiments, where there are multiple devices at a location, a robot or other mobile device may be used to service the device and collect the contents. The location may have a central device and a series of satellite devices. The central device may serve as the server side and the satellite devices may be the client side.
The device may have a slot or other input area to accept the container. The container may be inserted in a particular way into the device.
As part of the insertion, an authentication may be required. The person or user inserting the container or desired to use the container may be required to authenticate to the device. In some embodiments, no authentication may be required from the user since the container may contain authentication/identity information itself.
It should be appreciated that the terms cash and coins may pertain to both United States and foreign currency. The contents may be a combination of both domestic and foreign currency, in some embodiments.
While exemplary embodiments are described with respect to the container having cash and coins as contents, these embodiments are meant to be exemplary and non-limiting as the container may be used with other contents with the methods described here. For example, the container, in addition to or in place of, may contain food stamps, coupons, prepaid cards, documents, financial instruments, memory sticks, gems, and precious metals. The contents may be determined by the type of entity and the needs during the course of business.
At block 504, the container is sealed. The sealing may include locking of the container. The locking may be electronically performed by the device. The locking may involve a code or biometrics that is associated with the employee so that only that employee (or their supervisor(s) may unlock the container). The container may be tamperproof or designed to withstand some amount of forcible entry attempts. The container may container a dye pack or other device that is triggered during an unauthorized entry. The container may record attempts at unauthorized entry using its computer. The container may use multi-factor authentication, or other methods to lock (and also open/unlock the container). The container may use both mechanical and electronic/electrical systems for locking/sealing.
As part of the sealing, the container may be programmed. The programming may include entry of information into a computing device associated with the container. For example, the container may have a processor and computer memory along with an input device and a display associated therewith. In some embodiments, the container may be remotely interfaced with through a wireless or wired connection. A second computing device may be communicatively coupled thereto.
The programming may include, but is not limited to, the contents of the device, the destination, and an authentication code of the employee.
The container may have a tracking device associated therewith. The tracking device may be activated upon locking of the container. In some embodiments, the tracking device may be manually actuated.
At block 506, the container is inserted into a point of sale (POS) device. The container may be inserted by the employee. The POS device may interface with the container.
At block 507, in an optional step, after insertion of the container, if the POS device is unable to open the container or the devices senses that the container has been tampered with, the container may be ejected. The POS device may make an entry regarding the discrepancy. This inspection may occur during the processing of the container. The inspection may occur prior to removing the contents of the container as described above at block 506.
In other embodiments, the POS device may experience a fault or error in processing the container due to a fault in the POS device's own system. The POS device may eject the container if it is unable to be processed because of a fault or error in processing the container. The POS device may transmit a fault or error code to another location indicating the device's problem. Troubleshooting may be performed remotely on the POS device.
At block 508, the contents of the container are extracted. The contents may be inventoried and then distributed for use by the POS device. For example, the contents may be distributed to a cash drawer by the POS device. In some embodiments, the container may serve as the cash drawer. The processing may involve the POS device unlocking and opening the container. For example, the cash may be extracted from its compartment; the change may be extracted from its compartment. The POS device may compare the contents with the inventory programmed into the container. In the event of a discrepancy, the POS device may alert the employee and/or eject the container.
The POS device may interface or communicatively couple with the container. The POS device may send an electronic notification that the container has been inserted. The electronic notification may be sent in a variety of formats including email and text message.
At block 510, the container is ejected from the POS device. The container may be ejected following the end of the business day or the employee's shift. In some embodiments, the container may be ejected once it is full since the container has a finite volume. The POS device may load and seal/lock the container. The POS device may record the contents of the container such as the amount of cash, coins, checks, and/or other items present in the container. This may be the inventory of the container. The contents may be monies earned during the business day.
At block 512, the container is inserted into the device. The device may the same device described above at block 502. As part of the insertion, an authentication may be required. The employee inserting the container may be required to authenticate to the device. In some embodiments, no authentication may be required from the employee since the container may contain authentication/identity information itself.
At block 513, in an optional step, after insertion of the container, if the device is unable to open the container or the devices senses that the container has been tampered with, the container may be ejected. The device may make an entry regarding the discrepancy. This inspection may occur during the processing of the container. The inspection may occur prior to removing the contents of the container for processing below.
In other embodiments, the device may experience a fault or error in processing the container due to a fault in the device's own system. The device may eject the container if it is unable to be processed because of a fault or error in processing the container. The device may transmit a fault or error code to another location indicating the device's problem. Troubleshooting may be performed remotely on the device.
At block 514, the contents of the container are processed. The processing may involve the device unlocking and opening the container. The contents may be extracted by the device. For example, the cash may be extracted from its compartment and counted (in some embodiments, the serial numbers of the cash may be read) and banded/strapped; the change may be extracted from its compartment and counted and rolled; and the checks may be extracted from their compartment and imaged. Checks may be in the container as a result of receipt in the course of business. Foreign currency may be separated from domestic currency (i.e., United States currency may be separated from foreign currency). Other contents may be processed accordingly based on the item type. The contents may be stored in the device. In this manner, the device may serve as a safe for storing the contents for the entity.
At block 516, the processed contents are compared to the inventory for a match. For example, the processed contents may be compared to the entry in the container's programming to ensure a match; the inventory being stored in the computer associated with the container. The inventory may contain an itemized listing of the contents of the container.
The device may interface or communicatively couple with the container. The programming may be read. The device may send an electronic notification to the merchant that the container has been inserted and is being processed. The electronic notification may be sent in a variety of formats including email and text message. The notification may be sent to a designated representative of the entity, such as a manager, supervisor, accountant, or CFO. Multiple persons may receive the notification.
At block 518, if the contents do not match the specified deposit, the device may return the contents to the container, reseal, and relock the container or allow the transaction to continue based on a predetermined preference. The device may interface with the container and make an entry regarding the discrepancy. The container may be ejected from the device. In some embodiments, the processing may continue with a note being made of the lack of matching. In some embodiments, the rules may specify how to handle such situations. For example, preferences may be configured regarding different situations and how such situations are handled.
For example, if the contents of the container are short as compared to the inventory, the entity may specify that the container is ejected without further processing. If the container contents are over the inventory, then the container may be processed with an annotation on the receipt of the overage. In some embodiments, the device may provide options of choosing how to proceed with the transaction. In other embodiments, a message, such as an electronic message, may be sent to the designated representative of the entity, as described above. It should be appreciated that this person may be different from the person performing the transaction. The message may contain a link or other instructions to allow a remote action to take place as to the disposition of the container.
At block 520, a receipt is generated. The device may provide a receipt. The receipt may be provided electronically to a designated representative of the entity. For example, an email or text message may be sent containing the receipt. The receipt may also be provided to the employee performing the transaction. In some embodiments, the receipt may be printed by the device. In some embodiments, any shortages or overages may be noted on the receipt.
At block 522, the container is ejected. The container may be ejected from the device. The container may now be ready for subsequent use. In some embodiments, the container may be stored in the device. The container may then be reloaded upon a command to do so and then dispensed. In some embodiments, the container is ejected and then stored outside of the device.
The preceding method may be conducted by a third party in place of the employee. As described above, in some embodiments, the containers may be serviced and handled by a third party. The third party may be an armored car company or similar entity. For example, a third party may handle, distribute, collect, and process containers for one or more business locations. The third party may have one or more devices capable of processing the containers. For example, an armored truck or other vehicle may be outfitted with one or more devices to process and handle the containers. In some embodiments, the third party may transport the containers from the business location to the financial institution for processing. In other embodiments, the third party may pick-up and distribute the containers from business locations and handle and process the containers at another location. For example, the third party may have a central receiving site to which containers are processed by one or more devices located at the central receiving site.
In exemplary embodiments, the third party may convey contents processed from containers, such as currency and coins, to the financial institution. The financial institution may provide the third party with currency and coins to load into containers. In some embodiments, the third party may use one or more containers to transfer currency, coins, checks, and other financial instruments to the financial institution. The third party may receive currency and coins in the container.
In certain embodiments, the containers may be capable of communicating with the third party as to the container's status. For example, if the container is full and needs processed, the container may communicate to the third party this status. The third party may then proceed to the container's location to pick-up and process the container. The communication may be over a computer network and/or over a cellular network and/or over a wireless network. Other methods of communication may be used. In some embodiments, the container may communicate through a point of sale device or other device to which the container is interfaced. The container may communicate with the financial institution in a similar manner. The container may communicate with both the financial institution and the third party. In some embodiments, each container may be the property of the financial institution. In other embodiments, the container may be the property of the third party.
Hereinafter, aspects of implementation of the exemplary embodiments will be described. As described above, the method of the invention may be computer implemented as a system. The system of the invention or portions of the system of the invention may be in the form of a “processing machine,” for example. As used herein, the term “processing machine” is to be understood to include at least one processor that uses at least one memory. The at least one memory stores a set of instructions. The instructions may be either permanently or temporarily stored in the memory or memories of the processing machine. The processor executes the instructions that are stored in the memory or memories in order to process data. The set of instructions may include various instructions that perform a particular task or tasks, such as those tasks described above in the flowcharts. Such a set of instructions for performing a particular task may be characterized as a program, software program, or simply software.
The description of exemplary embodiments describes servers, portable electronic devices, and other computing devices that may include one or more modules, some of which are explicitly depicted in the figures, others are not. As used herein, the term “module” may be understood to refer to executable software, firmware, hardware, and/or various combinations thereof. It is noted that the modules are exemplary. The modules may be combined, integrated, separated, and/or duplicated to support various applications. Also, a function described herein as being performed at a particular module may be performed at one or more other modules and/or by one or more other devices (e.g., servers) instead of or in addition to the function performed at the particular module. Further, the modules may be implemented across multiple devices and/or other components local or remote to one another. Additionally, the modules may be moved from one device and added to another device, and/or may be included in both devices. It is further noted that the software described herein may be tangibly embodied in one or more physical media, such as, but not limited to, a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a hard drive, read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), as well as other physical media capable of storing software, and/or combinations thereof. Moreover, the figures illustrate various components (e.g., servers, portable electronic devices, client devices, computers, etc.) separately. The functions described as being performed at various components may be performed at other components, and the various components may be combined and/or separated. Other modifications also may be made.
According to exemplary embodiments, the systems and methods may be computer implemented using one or more computers, incorporating computer processors. The computer implementation may include a combination of software and hardware. The computers may communicate over a computer based network. The computers may have software installed thereon configured to execute the methods of the exemplary embodiments. The software may be in the form of modules designed to cause a computer processor to execute specific tasks. The computers may be configured with hardware to execute specific tasks. As should be appreciated, a variety of computer based configurations are possible.
The processing machine described above may also utilize any of a wide variety of other technologies including a special purpose computer, a computer system including a microcomputer, mini-computer or mainframe for example, a programmed microprocessor, a micro-controller, a PICE (peripheral integrated circuit element), a CSIC (Customer Specific Integrated Circuit) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or other integrated circuit, a logic circuit, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device such as a FPGA, PLD, PLA or PAL, or any other device or arrangement of devices for example capable of implementing the steps of the process of the invention.
It is appreciated that in order to practice the method of the invention as described above, it is not necessary that the processors and/or the memories of the processing machine be physically located in the same geographical place. For example, each of the processors and the memories and the data stores used in the invention may be located in geographically distinct locations and connected so as to communicate in any suitable manner. Additionally, it is appreciated that each of the processor and/or the memory and/or data stores may be composed of different physical pieces of equipment. Accordingly, it is not necessary that the processor be one single piece of equipment in one location and that the memory be another single piece of equipment in another location. For example, it is contemplated that the processor may be two or more pieces of equipment in two or more different physical locations. These two or more distinct pieces of equipment may be connected in any suitable manner. Additionally, the memory may include two or more portions of memory in two or more physical locations. Additionally, the data storage may include two or more components or two or more portions of memory in two or more physical locations.
To explain further, processing as described above is performed by various components and various memories. However, it is appreciated that the processing performed by two distinct components as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single component. Further, the processing performed by one distinct component as described above may be performed by two distinct components. In a similar manner, the memory storage performed by two distinct memory portions as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single memory portion. Further, the memory storage performed by one distinct memory portion as described above may be performed by two memory portions. It is also appreciated that the data storage performed by two distinct components as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single component. Further, the data storage performed by one distinct component as described above may be performed by two distinct components.
Further, various technologies may be used to provide communication between the various processors and/or memories, as well as to allow the processors and/or the memories of the invention to communicate with any other entity; e.g., so as to obtain further instructions or to access and use remote memory stores, for example. Such technologies used to provide such communication might include a network, such as a computer network, for example, the Internet, Intranet, Extranet, LAN, or any client server system that provides communication of any capacity or bandwidth, for example. Such communications technologies may use any suitable protocol such as TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI, for example. It should be appreciated that examples of computer networks used in the preceding description of exemplary embodiments, such as the Internet, are meant to be non-limiting and exemplary in nature.
As described above, a set of instructions is used in the processing of the invention. The set of instructions may be in the form of a program or software. The software may be in the form of system software or application software, for example. The software might also be in the form of a collection of separate programs, a program module within a larger program, or a portion of a program module, for example. The software used might also include modular programming in the form of object oriented programming or any other suitable programming form. The software tells the processing machine what to do with the data being processed.
Further, it is appreciated that the instructions or set of instructions used in the implementation and operation of the invention may be in a suitable form such that the processing machine may read the instructions. For example, the instructions that form a program may be in the form of a suitable programming language, which is converted to machine language or object code to allow the processor or processors to read the instructions. For example, written lines of programming code or source code, in a particular programming language, are converted to machine language using a compiler, assembler or interpreter. The machine language is binary coded machine instructions that are specific to a particular type of processing machine, e.g., to a particular type of computer, for example. The computer understands the machine language.
Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with the various embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programming language used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++, C#, COBOL, dBase, Forth, Fortran, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, Python, REXX, Ruby, Visual Basic, and/or JavaScript, for example. Further, it is not necessary that a single type of instructions or single programming language be utilized in conjunction with the operation of the system and method of the invention. Rather, any number of different programming languages may be utilized as is necessary or desirable.
Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the invention may utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as may be desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further, files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module, for example.
As described above, the invention may illustratively be embodied in the form of a processing machine, including a computer or computer system, for example, that includes at least one memory. It is to be appreciated that the set of instructions, e.g., the software for example, which enables the computer operating system to perform the operations described above, may be contained on any of a wide variety of computer readable media, as desired. Further, the data for example processed by the set of instructions might also be contained on any of a wide variety of media or medium. For example, the particular medium, e.g., the memory in the processing machine, utilized to hold the set of instructions and/or the data used in the invention may take on any of a variety of physical forms or transmissions, for example. Illustratively, the medium may be in the form of paper, paper transparencies, a compact disk, a DVD, an integrated circuit, a hard disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM, a EPROM, a wire, a cable, a fiber, communications channel, a satellite transmissions or other remote transmission, as well as any other medium or source of data that may be read by the processors of the invention.
Further, the memory or memories used in the processing machine that implements the invention may be in any of a wide variety of forms to allow the memory to hold instructions, data, or other information, as is desired. Thus, the memory might be in the form of a database to hold data. The database might use any desired arrangement of files such as a flat file arrangement or a relational database arrangement, for example.
In the system and method of the invention, a variety of “user interfaces” may be utilized to allow a user to interface with the processing machine or machines that are used to implement the invention. As used herein, a user interface includes any hardware, software, or combination of hardware and software used by the processing machine that allows a user to interact with the processing machine. A user interface may be in the form of a dialogue screen for example. A user interface may also include any of a mouse, touch screen, keyboard, voice reader, voice recognizer, dialogue screen, menu box, list, checkbox, toggle switch, a pushbutton or any other device that allows a user to receive information regarding the operation of the processing machine as it processes a set of instructions and/or provide the processing machine with information. Accordingly, the user interface is any device that provides communication between a user and a processing machine. The information provided by the user to the processing machine through the user interface may be in the form of a command, a selection of data, or some other input, for example.
As discussed above, a user interface is utilized by the processing machine that performs a set of instructions such that the processing machine processes data for a user. The user interface is typically used by the processing machine for interacting with a user either to convey information or receive information from the user. However, it should be appreciated that in accordance with some embodiments of the system and method of the invention, it is not necessary that a human user actually interact with a user interface used by the processing machine of the invention. Rather, it is contemplated that the user interface of the invention might interact, e.g., convey and receive information, with another processing machine, rather than a human user. Accordingly, the other processing machine might be characterized as a user. Further, it is contemplated that a user interface utilized in the system and method of the invention may interact partially with another processing machine or processing machines, while also interacting partially with a human user.
While the embodiments have been particularly shown and described within the framework of financial services devices, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications may be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that such processes and systems do not need to be restricted to the specific embodiments described herein. Other embodiments, combinations of the present embodiments, and uses and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. The specification and examples should be considered exemplary.
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/079,09, filed Nov. 13, 2013, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985592 | Woodward et al. | Feb 1933 | A |
| 2005003 | Patton et al. | Jun 1935 | A |
| 3653480 | Yamamoto et al. | Apr 1972 | A |
| 3938090 | Borison et al. | Feb 1976 | A |
| 4050375 | Orleans | Sep 1977 | A |
| 4141078 | Bridges et al. | Feb 1979 | A |
| 4205780 | Burns et al. | Jun 1980 | A |
| 4223403 | Konheim et al. | Sep 1980 | A |
| 4264808 | Owens et al. | Apr 1981 | A |
| 4319336 | Anderson et al. | Mar 1982 | A |
| 4321672 | Braun et al. | Mar 1982 | A |
| 4385285 | Horst et al. | May 1983 | A |
| 4396985 | Ohara | Aug 1983 | A |
| 4443027 | McNeely et al. | Apr 1984 | A |
| 4453074 | Weinstein | Jun 1984 | A |
| 4454414 | Benton | Jun 1984 | A |
| RE31692 | Tyburski et al. | Oct 1984 | E |
| 4495018 | Vohrer | Jan 1985 | A |
| 4575621 | Dreifus | Mar 1986 | A |
| 4605820 | Campbell, Jr. | Aug 1986 | A |
| 4605844 | Haggan | Aug 1986 | A |
| 4614861 | Pavlov et al. | Sep 1986 | A |
| 4617457 | Granzow et al. | Oct 1986 | A |
| 4634845 | Hale et al. | Jan 1987 | A |
| 4641239 | Takesako | Feb 1987 | A |
| 4650981 | Foletta | Mar 1987 | A |
| 4661658 | Matyas | Apr 1987 | A |
| 4662621 | Lundblad | May 1987 | A |
| 4669730 | Small | Jun 1987 | A |
| 4672377 | Murphy | Jun 1987 | A |
| 4694397 | Grant et al. | Sep 1987 | A |
| 4697072 | Kawana | Sep 1987 | A |
| 4700055 | Kashkashian, Jr. | Oct 1987 | A |
| 4701601 | Francini et al. | Oct 1987 | A |
| 4713760 | Yamada et al. | Dec 1987 | A |
| 4713761 | Sharpe et al. | Dec 1987 | A |
| 4752676 | Leonard et al. | Jun 1988 | A |
| 4752877 | Roberts et al. | Jun 1988 | A |
| 4797913 | Kaplan | Jan 1989 | A |
| 4799156 | Shavit | Jan 1989 | A |
| 4807177 | Ward | Feb 1989 | A |
| 4812628 | Boston et al. | Mar 1989 | A |
| 4817949 | Bachman et al. | Apr 1989 | A |
| 4823264 | Deming | Apr 1989 | A |
| 4845347 | McCrindle | Jul 1989 | A |
| 4859837 | Halpern | Aug 1989 | A |
| 4877947 | Mori | Oct 1989 | A |
| 4891503 | Jewell | Jan 1990 | A |
| 4893333 | Baran et al. | Jan 1990 | A |
| 4931793 | Fuhrmann et al. | Jun 1990 | A |
| 4939674 | Price et al. | Jul 1990 | A |
| 4948174 | Thomson et al. | Aug 1990 | A |
| 4974878 | Josephson | Dec 1990 | A |
| 4975841 | Kehnemuyi et al. | Dec 1990 | A |
| 4977501 | Lefevre | Dec 1990 | A |
| 4988849 | Sasaki | Jan 1991 | A |
| 4992646 | Collin | Feb 1991 | A |
| 4992940 | Dworkin | Feb 1991 | A |
| 5007084 | Materna et al. | Apr 1991 | A |
| 5023782 | Lutz et al. | Jun 1991 | A |
| 5023904 | Kaplan et al. | Jun 1991 | A |
| 5025139 | Halliburton, Jr. | Jun 1991 | A |
| 5053607 | Carlson | Oct 1991 | A |
| 5054096 | Beizer | Oct 1991 | A |
| 5072380 | Randelman et al. | Dec 1991 | A |
| 5080748 | Bonomi | Jan 1992 | A |
| 5097115 | Ogasawara et al. | Mar 1992 | A |
| 5111395 | Smith | May 1992 | A |
| 5121945 | Thomson et al. | Jun 1992 | A |
| 5122950 | Mee | Jun 1992 | A |
| 5136502 | Van Remortel et al. | Aug 1992 | A |
| 5173851 | Off et al. | Dec 1992 | A |
| 5175682 | Higashiyama et al. | Dec 1992 | A |
| 5187750 | Behera | Feb 1993 | A |
| 5198975 | Baker et al. | Mar 1993 | A |
| 5220501 | Lawlor | Jun 1993 | A |
| 5224034 | Katz et al. | Jun 1993 | A |
| 5225978 | Peterson | Jul 1993 | A |
| 5231569 | Myatt et al. | Jul 1993 | A |
| 5237159 | Stephens | Aug 1993 | A |
| 5237620 | Deaton | Aug 1993 | A |
| 5257486 | Holmwall | Nov 1993 | A |
| 5265007 | Barnhard, Jr. et al. | Nov 1993 | A |
| 5265008 | Benton et al. | Nov 1993 | A |
| 5276311 | Hennige | Jan 1994 | A |
| 5283829 | Anderson | Feb 1994 | A |
| 5287269 | Dorrough et al. | Feb 1994 | A |
| 5305196 | Deaton et al. | Apr 1994 | A |
| 5311594 | Penzias | May 1994 | A |
| 5315508 | Bain et al. | May 1994 | A |
| 5321238 | Watanabe | Jun 1994 | A |
| 5326959 | Perazza | Jul 1994 | A |
| 5326960 | Tannenbaum | Jul 1994 | A |
| 5326964 | Risser | Jul 1994 | A |
| 5327508 | Deaton et al. | Jul 1994 | A |
| 5336870 | Hughes | Aug 1994 | A |
| 5349170 | Kern | Sep 1994 | A |
| 5350906 | Brody et al. | Sep 1994 | A |
| 5351187 | Hassett | Sep 1994 | A |
| 5352877 | Morley | Oct 1994 | A |
| 5367581 | Vanhorn | Nov 1994 | A |
| 5372386 | Mills | Dec 1994 | A |
| 5373550 | Campbell | Dec 1994 | A |
| 5382784 | Eberhardt | Jan 1995 | A |
| 5396417 | Burks | Mar 1995 | A |
| 5402474 | Miller | Mar 1995 | A |
| 5412190 | Kopesec | May 1995 | A |
| 5413341 | Lieberman | May 1995 | A |
| 5424938 | Wagner | Jun 1995 | A |
| 5428684 | Akiyama et al. | Jun 1995 | A |
| 5430644 | Deaton et al. | Jul 1995 | A |
| 5432506 | Chapman | Jul 1995 | A |
| 5444794 | Uhland | Aug 1995 | A |
| 5444841 | Glaser et al. | Aug 1995 | A |
| 5446740 | Yien | Aug 1995 | A |
| 5448471 | Deaton et al. | Sep 1995 | A |
| 5453601 | Rosen | Sep 1995 | A |
| 5455407 | Rosen | Oct 1995 | A |
| 5459482 | Orlen | Oct 1995 | A |
| 5465206 | Hilt et al. | Nov 1995 | A |
| 5477040 | Lalonde | Dec 1995 | A |
| 5479494 | Clitherow | Dec 1995 | A |
| 5481094 | Suda | Jan 1996 | A |
| 5483445 | Pickering | Jan 1996 | A |
| 5484988 | Hills | Jan 1996 | A |
| 5487100 | Kane | Jan 1996 | A |
| 5495981 | Warther | Mar 1996 | A |
| 5500890 | Rogge et al. | Mar 1996 | A |
| 5502576 | Ramsay et al. | Mar 1996 | A |
| 5504677 | Pollin | Apr 1996 | A |
| 5506691 | Bednar et al. | Apr 1996 | A |
| 5508731 | Kohorn | Apr 1996 | A |
| 5513117 | Small | Apr 1996 | A |
| 5513250 | McAllister | Apr 1996 | A |
| 5530907 | Pavey et al. | Jun 1996 | A |
| 5532464 | Josephson et al. | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5532689 | Bueno | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5539825 | Akiyama et al. | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5541583 | Mandelbaum | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5544043 | Miki et al. | Aug 1996 | A |
| 5544046 | Niwa | Aug 1996 | A |
| 5550734 | Tarter | Aug 1996 | A |
| 5551021 | Harada | Aug 1996 | A |
| 5557515 | Abbruzzese et al. | Sep 1996 | A |
| 5563400 | Le Roux | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5566330 | Sheffield | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5568489 | Yien | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5570465 | Tsakanikas | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5572004 | Raimann | Nov 1996 | A |
| 5583759 | Geer | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5583760 | Klesse | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5590196 | Moreau | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5590197 | Chen | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5592377 | Lipkin | Jan 1997 | A |
| 5592378 | Cameron | Jan 1997 | A |
| 5599528 | Igaki | Feb 1997 | A |
| 5602936 | Green et al. | Feb 1997 | A |
| 5603025 | Tabb | Feb 1997 | A |
| 5612868 | Off et al. | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5615109 | Eder | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5615277 | Hoffman | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5617474 | Ditzig et al. | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5619558 | Jheeta | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5621201 | Langhans | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5621812 | Deaton et al. | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5638457 | Deaton et al. | Jun 1997 | A |
| 5640577 | Scharmer | Jun 1997 | A |
| 5642419 | Rosen | Jun 1997 | A |
| 5642485 | Deaton et al. | Jun 1997 | A |
| 5644723 | Deaton et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5644727 | Atkins | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5644778 | Burks et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5649114 | Deaton et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5649117 | Landry | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5652786 | Rogers | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5659165 | Jennings | Aug 1997 | A |
| 5659469 | Deaton et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
| 5659741 | Eberhardt | Aug 1997 | A |
| 5666493 | Wojcik et al. | Sep 1997 | A |
| 5668953 | Sloo | Sep 1997 | A |
| 5669528 | Romero et al. | Sep 1997 | A |
| 5677521 | Garrou | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5677955 | Doggett et al. | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5679938 | Templeton | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5679940 | Templeton | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5680459 | Hook et al. | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5687250 | Curley et al. | Nov 1997 | A |
| 5687322 | Deaton et al. | Nov 1997 | A |
| 5689593 | Pan et al. | Nov 1997 | A |
| 5692132 | Hogan | Nov 1997 | A |
| 5698837 | Furuta | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5699528 | Hogan | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5703344 | Bezy et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5704044 | Tarter et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5708422 | Blonder et al. | Jan 1998 | A |
| 5710889 | Clark et al. | Jan 1998 | A |
| 5715298 | Rogers | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5715314 | Payne | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5715399 | Bezos | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5717868 | James | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5717989 | Tozzoli et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5724424 | Gifford | Mar 1998 | A |
| 5727249 | Pollin | Mar 1998 | A |
| 5729594 | Klingman | Mar 1998 | A |
| 5744787 | Teicher | Apr 1998 | A |
| 5748780 | Stolfo | May 1998 | A |
| 5751842 | Eccles | May 1998 | A |
| 5757917 | Rose et al. | May 1998 | A |
| 5764789 | Pare, Jr. et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5770843 | Rose et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5774553 | Rosen | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5783808 | Josephson | Jul 1998 | A |
| 5784696 | Melnikoff | Jul 1998 | A |
| 5787403 | Randle | Jul 1998 | A |
| 5788285 | Wicker | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5789732 | McMahon et al. | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5793861 | Haigh | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5794221 | Egendorf | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5796827 | Coppersmith et al. | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5802498 | Comesanas | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5802499 | Sampson et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5805719 | Pare, Jr. et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5812988 | Sandretto | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5819236 | Josephson | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5819238 | Fernholz | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5823463 | Fissmann et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5825003 | Jennings et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5826241 | Stein | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5826245 | Sandberg-Diment | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5826247 | Pintsov et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5832090 | Raspotnik | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5832447 | Rieker | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5832457 | O'Brien | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5832460 | Bednar | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5832463 | Funk | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5832464 | Houvener et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5832488 | Eberhardt | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5835580 | Fraser | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5835603 | Coutts | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5835899 | Rose et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5838812 | Pare, Jr. et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5842421 | Desilets et al. | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5852811 | Atkins | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5852812 | Reeder | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5859419 | Wynn | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5864609 | Cross et al. | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5864830 | Armetta et al. | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5870456 | Rogers | Feb 1999 | A |
| 5870721 | Norris | Feb 1999 | A |
| 5870723 | Pare | Feb 1999 | A |
| 5870724 | Lawlor et al. | Feb 1999 | A |
| 5870725 | Bellinger et al. | Feb 1999 | A |
| 5873072 | Kight | Feb 1999 | A |
| 5875437 | Atkins | Feb 1999 | A |
| 5878141 | Daly et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5883337 | Dolan et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5883377 | Chapin, Jr. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5883810 | Franklin et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5884274 | Walker et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5884288 | Chang | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5884290 | Smorodinsky et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5889863 | Weber | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5893080 | McGurl et al. | Apr 1999 | A |
| 5897625 | Gustin | Apr 1999 | A |
| 5898157 | Mangili et al. | Apr 1999 | A |
| 5898838 | Wagner | Apr 1999 | A |
| 5903881 | Schrader | May 1999 | A |
| 5907142 | Kelsey | May 1999 | A |
| 5910896 | Hahn-Carlson | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5910988 | Ballard | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5915246 | Patterson et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5917965 | Cahill et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5920847 | Kolling et al. | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5926745 | Threadgill et al. | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5928082 | Clapper | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5930778 | Geer | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5933812 | Meyer et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5940510 | Curry et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5940811 | Norris | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5940844 | Cahill et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5943656 | Crooks | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5945653 | Walker et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5949044 | Walker et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
| 5950174 | Brendzel | Sep 1999 | A |
| 5956700 | Landry | Sep 1999 | A |
| 5960411 | Hartman et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
| 5963647 | Downing et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5963659 | Cahill et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5963925 | Kolling et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5966698 | Pollin | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5970469 | Scroggie et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5970475 | Barnes et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5978780 | Watson | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5987434 | Libman | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5987435 | Weiss et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5987436 | Halbrook | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5987439 | Gustin et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5991749 | Morrill, Jr. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5991750 | Watson | Nov 1999 | A |
| 6000832 | Franklin et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6002767 | Kramer | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6003762 | Hayashida | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6006084 | Miller et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6006205 | Loeb et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6006208 | Forst et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6009442 | Chen et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6012049 | Kawan | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6014634 | Scroggie et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6014636 | Reeder | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6016482 | Molinari et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6016484 | Williams et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6018718 | Walker et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6021202 | Anderson et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6026388 | Liddy et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6029139 | Cunningham et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6029141 | Bezos et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6029153 | Bauchner et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6032133 | Hilt et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6032134 | Weissman | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6032136 | Brake, Jr. et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6032137 | Ballard | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6032257 | Olarig et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6032859 | Muehlberger et al. | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6035281 | Crosskey et al. | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6035285 | Schlect et al. | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6035287 | Stallaert et al. | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6036099 | Leighton | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6038553 | Hyde, Jr. | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6039249 | Szewczykowski | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6041312 | Bickerton et al. | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6041315 | Pollin | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6044362 | Neely | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6045039 | Stinson et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6047261 | Siefert | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6048271 | Barcelou | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6052674 | Zervides et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6058307 | Garner | May 2000 | A |
| 6058379 | Odom et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6058380 | Anderson et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6058381 | Nelson | May 2000 | A |
| 6061665 | Bahreman | May 2000 | A |
| 6064764 | Bhaskaran et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6064987 | Walker et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6065675 | Teicher | May 2000 | A |
| 6067524 | Byerly et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6070150 | Remington et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6070798 | Nethery | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6073104 | Field | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6073113 | Guinan | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6076072 | Libman | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6078907 | Lamm | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6081790 | Rosen | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6085168 | Mori et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6088683 | Jalili | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6088685 | Kiron et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6088686 | Walker et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6091362 | Stilp et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6092056 | Tull, Jr. et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6092057 | Zimmerman et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6098053 | Slater | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6098070 | Maxwell | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6100120 | Yu | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6101479 | Shaw | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6105006 | Davis et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6105007 | Norris | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6105011 | Morrison, Jr. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6108639 | Walker et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6108641 | Kenna et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6108642 | Findley | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6110044 | Stern | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6111858 | Greaves et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6112085 | Garner et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6115690 | Wong | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6119011 | Borst et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6119106 | Mersky et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6119107 | Polk | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6125354 | MacFarlane et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6125391 | Meltzer et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6128599 | Walker et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6128602 | Northington et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6128603 | Dent et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6129273 | Shah | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6138118 | Koppstein et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6138917 | Chapin, Jr. | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6141666 | Tobin | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6144726 | Cross | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6144946 | Iwamura | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6148293 | King | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6149055 | Gatto | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6149056 | Stinson et al. | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6164528 | Hills et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
| 6169974 | Baumgartner et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6173272 | Thomas et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6178409 | Weber et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6181837 | Cahill et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6182059 | Angotti et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6185541 | Scroggie et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6185542 | Moran et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6185544 | Sakamoto et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6188309 | Levine | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6202054 | Lawlor et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6205433 | Boesch et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6213391 | Lewis | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6223168 | McGurl et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6227447 | Campisano | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6233565 | Lewis et al. | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6233566 | Levine et al. | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6236972 | Shkedy | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6240369 | Foust | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6240444 | Fin et al. | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6243580 | Garner | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6243689 | Norton | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6247000 | Hawkins et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6267292 | Walker et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
| 6278981 | Dembo et al. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6278996 | Richardson et al. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6279158 | Geile et al. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6282516 | Giullani | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6283366 | Hills et al. | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6285777 | Kanevsky et al. | Sep 2001 | B2 |
| 6289322 | Kitchen et al. | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6289324 | Kawan | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6292789 | Schutzer | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6298335 | Bernstein | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6301379 | Thompson et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6301567 | Leong et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6304858 | Mosler et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6305603 | Grunbok, Jr. et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6308887 | Korman et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6318536 | Korman et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6321212 | Lange | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6324524 | Lent et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6327575 | Katz | Dec 2001 | B1 |
| 6332126 | Peirce et al. | Dec 2001 | B1 |
| 6332163 | Bowman-Amuah | Dec 2001 | B1 |
| 6334108 | Deaton et al. | Dec 2001 | B1 |
| 6336103 | Baker | Jan 2002 | B1 |
| 6338047 | Wallman | Jan 2002 | B1 |
| 6338049 | Walker et al. | Jan 2002 | B1 |
| 6341724 | Campisano | Jan 2002 | B2 |
| 6343279 | Bissonette et al. | Jan 2002 | B1 |
| 6344108 | Von Medvey et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
| 6349290 | Horowitz et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
| 6349972 | Geiger et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
| 6351735 | Deaton et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
| 6354491 | Nichols et al. | Mar 2002 | B2 |
| 6356881 | Milch et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
| 6360209 | Loeb et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
| 6363164 | Jones et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
| 6363364 | Nel | Mar 2002 | B1 |
| 6363365 | Kou | Mar 2002 | B1 |
| 6366967 | Wagner | Apr 2002 | B1 |
| 6374235 | Chen et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
| 6377935 | Deaton et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
| 6390362 | Martin | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6393409 | Young et al. | May 2002 | B2 |
| 6404866 | Hopper et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6405173 | Honarvar et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6405181 | Lent et al. | Jun 2002 | B2 |
| 6409593 | Petrecca | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6411806 | Garner et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6411942 | Fujimoto | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6411947 | Rice et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6415259 | Wolfinger et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6418419 | Nieboer et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6418420 | DiGiorgio et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6418430 | DeFazio et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6424947 | Tsuria et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6424949 | Deaton et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6434159 | Woodward et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| 6434534 | Walker et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| 6438594 | Bowman-Amuah | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| 6442748 | Bowman-Amuah | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| 6446072 | Schulze et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
| 6454647 | Woodbury, Jr. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
| 6456981 | Dejaeger et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
| 6460020 | Pool et al. | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6464134 | Page | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6477580 | Bowman-Amuah | Nov 2002 | B1 |
| 6485922 | Erickson et al. | Nov 2002 | B1 |
| 6490568 | Omara et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6493685 | Ensel et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6494367 | Zacharias | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6495437 | Yu | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6513019 | Lewis | Jan 2003 | B2 |
| 6516302 | Deaton et al. | Feb 2003 | B1 |
| 6535896 | Britton et al. | Mar 2003 | B2 |
| 6536663 | Lozier et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
| 6542739 | Garner | Apr 2003 | B1 |
| 6547129 | Nichols et al. | Apr 2003 | B2 |
| 6554185 | Montross et al. | Apr 2003 | B1 |
| 6560581 | Fox et al. | May 2003 | B1 |
| 6567791 | Lent et al. | May 2003 | B2 |
| 6571282 | Bowman-Amuah | May 2003 | B1 |
| 6574350 | Rhoads et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6574377 | Cahill et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6578000 | Dodrill et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6578015 | Haseltine et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6578068 | Bowman-Amuah | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6578761 | Spector | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6607127 | Wong | Aug 2003 | B2 |
| 6609104 | Deaton et al. | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 6609113 | O'Leary et al. | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 6609125 | Layne et al. | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 6611811 | Deaton et al. | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 6611819 | Oneda | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 6615189 | Phillips et al. | Sep 2003 | B1 |
| 6626354 | Baitz | Sep 2003 | B1 |
| 6629081 | Cornelius et al. | Sep 2003 | B1 |
| 6636615 | Rhoads et al. | Oct 2003 | B1 |
| 6640238 | Bowman-Amuah | Oct 2003 | B1 |
| 6640249 | Bowman-Amuah | Oct 2003 | B1 |
| 6647376 | Farrar et al. | Nov 2003 | B1 |
| 6658393 | Basch et al. | Dec 2003 | B1 |
| 6659259 | Knox et al. | Dec 2003 | B2 |
| 6661910 | Jones et al. | Dec 2003 | B2 |
| 6662215 | Moskowitz et al. | Dec 2003 | B1 |
| 6684195 | Deaton et al. | Jan 2004 | B1 |
| 6687684 | Whitehouse et al. | Feb 2004 | B1 |
| 6704714 | O'Leary et al. | Mar 2004 | B1 |
| 6714919 | Findley | Mar 2004 | B1 |
| 6718313 | Lent et al. | Apr 2004 | B1 |
| 6721715 | Nemzow | Apr 2004 | B2 |
| 6728397 | McNeal | Apr 2004 | B2 |
| D490840 | Arakaki et al. | Jun 2004 | S |
| D491186 | Arakaki et al. | Jun 2004 | S |
| D491953 | Arakaki et al. | Jun 2004 | S |
| 6749122 | Koenck et al. | Jun 2004 | B1 |
| 6754640 | Bozeman | Jun 2004 | B2 |
| 6769605 | Magness | Aug 2004 | B1 |
| 6776332 | Allen et al. | Aug 2004 | B2 |
| D496365 | Liu et al. | Sep 2004 | S |
| 6795809 | O'Brien et al. | Sep 2004 | B2 |
| 6795812 | Lent et al. | Sep 2004 | B1 |
| 6796490 | Drummond et al. | Sep 2004 | B1 |
| 6804786 | Chamley et al. | Oct 2004 | B1 |
| 6805287 | Bishop et al. | Oct 2004 | B2 |
| 6805289 | Noriega et al. | Oct 2004 | B2 |
| 6806145 | Haukka et al. | Oct 2004 | B2 |
| D498236 | Liu et al. | Nov 2004 | S |
| 6817008 | Ledford et al. | Nov 2004 | B2 |
| 6819748 | Matada | Nov 2004 | B2 |
| 6820058 | Wood et al. | Nov 2004 | B2 |
| 6824066 | Weyant | Nov 2004 | B2 |
| 6825940 | Wu et al. | Nov 2004 | B1 |
| 6826542 | Virgin | Nov 2004 | B1 |
| 6834344 | Aggarwal et al. | Dec 2004 | B1 |
| 6856973 | Bott | Feb 2005 | B1 |
| RE38717 | Wyborny et al. | Mar 2005 | E |
| 6860375 | Hallowell et al. | Mar 2005 | B2 |
| 6865547 | Brake, Jr. et al. | Mar 2005 | B1 |
| 6874139 | Krueger et al. | Mar 2005 | B2 |
| 6885994 | Scroggie et al. | Apr 2005 | B1 |
| 6886046 | Stutz et al. | Apr 2005 | B2 |
| 6892187 | Phillips et al. | May 2005 | B2 |
| 6901406 | Nabe et al. | May 2005 | B2 |
| 6912502 | Buddle et al. | Jun 2005 | B1 |
| 6938156 | Wheeler et al. | Aug 2005 | B2 |
| RE38801 | Rogers | Sep 2005 | E |
| 6942569 | Petracca | Sep 2005 | B2 |
| 6945453 | Schwarz, Jr. | Sep 2005 | B1 |
| 6950881 | Ndili | Sep 2005 | B1 |
| 6950940 | Wheeler et al. | Sep 2005 | B2 |
| 6954896 | Dodrill et al. | Oct 2005 | B1 |
| 6961710 | Yanagisawa et al. | Nov 2005 | B1 |
| 6963857 | Johnson | Nov 2005 | B1 |
| 6965868 | Bednarek | Nov 2005 | B1 |
| 6965882 | Lapstun et al. | Nov 2005 | B1 |
| 6970259 | Lunt et al. | Nov 2005 | B1 |
| 6970830 | Samra et al. | Nov 2005 | B1 |
| 6970855 | Das et al. | Nov 2005 | B2 |
| 6980970 | Krueger et al. | Dec 2005 | B2 |
| RE38957 | Laussermair et al. | Jan 2006 | E |
| 6991157 | Bishop et al. | Jan 2006 | B2 |
| 6999938 | Libman | Feb 2006 | B1 |
| 6999943 | Johnson et al. | Feb 2006 | B1 |
| 7003476 | Samra et al. | Feb 2006 | B1 |
| 7004382 | Sandru | Feb 2006 | B2 |
| 7006979 | Samra et al. | Feb 2006 | B1 |
| 7010495 | Samra et al. | Mar 2006 | B1 |
| 7010512 | Gillin et al. | Mar 2006 | B1 |
| 7014110 | Minowa et al. | Mar 2006 | B2 |
| 7024374 | Day et al. | Apr 2006 | B1 |
| 7024385 | Adcock et al. | Apr 2006 | B1 |
| 7025256 | Drummond et al. | Apr 2006 | B1 |
| 7039600 | Meek et al. | May 2006 | B1 |
| 7040533 | Ramachandran | May 2006 | B1 |
| 7050996 | Blagg et al. | May 2006 | B1 |
| 7062456 | Riehl et al. | Jun 2006 | B1 |
| 7068832 | Price et al. | Jun 2006 | B1 |
| 7070095 | Gandel et al. | Jul 2006 | B1 |
| 7070112 | Beenau et al. | Jul 2006 | B2 |
| 7072864 | Brake, Jr. et al. | Jul 2006 | B2 |
| 7076458 | Lawlor et al. | Jul 2006 | B2 |
| 7076465 | Blagg et al. | Jul 2006 | B1 |
| 7080036 | Drummond et al. | Jul 2006 | B1 |
| 7092905 | Behrenbrinker et al. | Aug 2006 | B2 |
| 7096003 | Joao et al. | Aug 2006 | B2 |
| 7104443 | Paul et al. | Sep 2006 | B1 |
| 7119659 | Bonalle et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
| 7121471 | Beenau et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
| 7133846 | Ginter et al. | Nov 2006 | B1 |
| 7143063 | Lent et al. | Nov 2006 | B2 |
| 7146344 | Wankmueller | Dec 2006 | B2 |
| 7150393 | Drummond et al. | Dec 2006 | B1 |
| 7155409 | Stroh | Dec 2006 | B1 |
| 7159116 | Moskowitz | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 7177836 | German et al. | Feb 2007 | B1 |
| 7188089 | Goldthwaite et al. | Mar 2007 | B2 |
| 7194437 | Britto et al. | Mar 2007 | B1 |
| 7200255 | Jones et al. | Apr 2007 | B2 |
| 7225249 | Barry et al. | May 2007 | B1 |
| 7228155 | Saunders | Jun 2007 | B2 |
| 7249092 | Dunn et al. | Jul 2007 | B2 |
| 7249112 | Berardi et al. | Jul 2007 | B2 |
| 7266511 | Teshima | Sep 2007 | B2 |
| 7269575 | Concannon et al. | Sep 2007 | B1 |
| 7277870 | Mourad et al. | Oct 2007 | B2 |
| 7287009 | Liebermann | Oct 2007 | B1 |
| 7308426 | Pitroda | Dec 2007 | B1 |
| 7312707 | Bishop et al. | Dec 2007 | B1 |
| 7313543 | Crane et al. | Dec 2007 | B1 |
| 7317823 | Price et al. | Jan 2008 | B1 |
| 7337148 | Xie et al. | Feb 2008 | B2 |
| 7349884 | Odom et al. | Mar 2008 | B1 |
| RE40220 | Nichols et al. | Apr 2008 | E |
| 7356516 | Richey et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
| 7360693 | Sullivan | Apr 2008 | B1 |
| 7379896 | Meek et al. | May 2008 | B1 |
| 7380707 | Fredman | Jun 2008 | B1 |
| 7398253 | Pinnell | Jul 2008 | B1 |
| 7401048 | Rosedale | Jul 2008 | B2 |
| 7401049 | Hobbs et al. | Jul 2008 | B2 |
| 7401731 | Pletz et al. | Jul 2008 | B1 |
| 7471818 | Price et al. | Dec 2008 | B1 |
| 7493288 | Biship et al. | Feb 2009 | B2 |
| 7506804 | Zajkowski et al. | Mar 2009 | B2 |
| 7512551 | Postrel | Mar 2009 | B2 |
| 7523385 | Nguyen et al. | Apr 2009 | B2 |
| 7536354 | DeGroeve et al. | May 2009 | B1 |
| 7546272 | Loy | Jun 2009 | B2 |
| 7571142 | Flitcroft et al. | Aug 2009 | B1 |
| 7577611 | Heit et al. | Aug 2009 | B2 |
| 7584153 | Brown et al. | Sep 2009 | B2 |
| 7587363 | Cataline et al. | Sep 2009 | B2 |
| 7607583 | Berardi et al. | Oct 2009 | B2 |
| 7640205 | Michelassi et al. | Dec 2009 | B2 |
| 7647344 | Skurtovich, Jr. et al. | Jan 2010 | B2 |
| 7676409 | Ahmad | Mar 2010 | B1 |
| 7680735 | Loy | Mar 2010 | B1 |
| 7686218 | Hessburg et al. | Mar 2010 | B2 |
| 7698398 | Lai | Apr 2010 | B1 |
| 7707111 | Brake, Jr. et al. | Apr 2010 | B2 |
| 7734545 | Fogliano et al. | Jun 2010 | B1 |
| 7743979 | Fredman | Jun 2010 | B2 |
| 7747522 | Walker et al. | Jun 2010 | B1 |
| 7748614 | Brown | Jul 2010 | B2 |
| 7814016 | Pranger | Oct 2010 | B2 |
| 7822684 | Rielly et al. | Oct 2010 | B2 |
| 7860789 | Hirka et al. | Dec 2010 | B2 |
| 7882684 | Anzini et al. | Feb 2011 | B2 |
| 7890422 | Hirka et al. | Feb 2011 | B1 |
| 8177132 | Bohen | May 2012 | B1 |
| 8229816 | Mattison | Jul 2012 | B1 |
| 8616360 | Bergeron | Dec 2013 | B2 |
| 8800866 | Gromley | Aug 2014 | B1 |
| 20010011222 | Mclauchlin et al. | Aug 2001 | A1 |
| 20010018666 | Sugiyama et al. | Aug 2001 | A1 |
| 20010018739 | Anderson et al. | Aug 2001 | A1 |
| 20010023415 | Keil | Sep 2001 | A1 |
| 20010027441 | Wankmueller | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010029490 | Inamochi | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010032139 | Debonnett, Jr. | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010034663 | Teveler et al. | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010034718 | Shaked et al. | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010037299 | Nichols et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010037300 | Miyazaki et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010037309 | Vrain | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010038033 | Habib | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010044747 | Ramachandran et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010044764 | Arnold | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010047322 | Plate | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010047334 | Nappe et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010047489 | Ito et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010051533 | Wietzke et al. | Dec 2001 | A1 |
| 20010051919 | Mason | Dec 2001 | A1 |
| 20020002513 | Chiasson | Jan 2002 | A1 |
| 20020012445 | Perry | Jan 2002 | A1 |
| 20020013728 | Wilkman | Jan 2002 | A1 |
| 20020023055 | Antognini et al. | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20020026365 | Natanzon | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20020026394 | Savage et al. | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20020032651 | Embrey | Mar 2002 | A1 |
| 20020038363 | MacLean | Mar 2002 | A1 |
| 20020046106 | Ishibashi et al. | Apr 2002 | A1 |
| 20020046169 | Keresman et al. | Apr 2002 | A1 |
| 20020047316 | Chitayat | Apr 2002 | A1 |
| 20020049605 | Hagi | Apr 2002 | A1 |
| 20020052842 | Schuba et al. | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020052845 | Nielsen | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020055907 | Pater et al. | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020059103 | Anderson et al. | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020059139 | Evans | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020062257 | Minamishin et al. | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020069134 | Solomon | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020069158 | Larkin et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020072976 | Virtanen et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020073019 | Deaton | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020077890 | LaPointe et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020077966 | Harycki et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020077978 | O'Leary et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020082962 | Farris et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020082985 | MacKay | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020084321 | Martens et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020087415 | Allen et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020087452 | Megiddo | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020087468 | Ganesan et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020087469 | Ganesan et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020091635 | Dilip et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020099586 | Bladen et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020099649 | Lee et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020100803 | Sehr | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020107770 | Meyer et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020107788 | Cunningham | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020111837 | Aupperle | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020111891 | Hoffman et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020116331 | Cataline et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020120537 | Morea et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020120571 | Maung et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020120846 | Stewart et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020123934 | Tanaka et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020123946 | Haworth et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020123948 | Yumoto | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020128981 | Kawan et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020129221 | Borgin et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020133461 | Ramachandran | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020138390 | May | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020138398 | Kalin et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020145039 | Carroll | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20020147691 | Davis et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20020152116 | Yan et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20020152123 | Giordano et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20020152179 | Racov | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20020156723 | Lilly et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20020165808 | Zamsky et al. | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20020169658 | Adler | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20020170966 | Hannigan et al. | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20020178071 | Walker et al. | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20020178112 | Goeller et al. | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20020178117 | Maguire et al. | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20020184123 | Sijacic et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020184145 | Sijacic et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020184151 | Maloney | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020188478 | Breeland et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020188565 | Nakamura et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020194081 | Perkowski | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020194096 | Falcone et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020194117 | Nabe et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020194119 | Wright et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020198803 | Rowe | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020198807 | Kobayashi et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020198817 | Dhir | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020198822 | Munoz et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020198830 | Randell et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020199182 | Whitehead | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20030004874 | Ludwig et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030005288 | Moskowitz et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030018557 | Gilbert et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030018567 | Flitcroft et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030023557 | Moore | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030028481 | Flitcroft et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030033252 | Buttridge et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030037002 | Higgins et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030040927 | Sato et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030040959 | Fei et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030046218 | Albanese et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030048888 | Hopper et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030055675 | Klein Twennaar | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030065618 | VanDeBoe, Jr. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
| 20030065805 | Barnes, Jr. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
| 20030069780 | Hailwood et al. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
| 20030083933 | McAlear | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030097335 | Moskowitz et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030100803 | Lu et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030105641 | Lewis | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030105688 | Brown et al. | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030110070 | De Goeij | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030110136 | Wells et al. | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030110442 | Battle | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030120686 | Kim et al. | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030125969 | Kizer et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030126011 | Bryman et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030130919 | Templeton et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030130940 | Hansen et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030130945 | Force et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030130952 | Bell et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030135464 | Mourad et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030144942 | Sobek | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030144952 | Brown et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030149629 | Claridge et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
| 20030158782 | Thomson et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
| 20030158811 | Sanders et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
| 20030172039 | Guy et al. | Sep 2003 | A1 |
| 20030187787 | Freund | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030187789 | Karas et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030191710 | Green et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030200107 | Allen et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030200180 | Phelan, III et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030208421 | Vicknair et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030208439 | Rast | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030208441 | Poplawski et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030212630 | Kahr | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030213843 | Jackson | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030217003 | Weinflash et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030217005 | Drummond et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030217329 | Good | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030218066 | Fernandes et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030220863 | Holm et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030225663 | Horan et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20030229525 | Callahan et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20030229590 | Byrne et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20030233255 | Dirienzo | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20030233278 | Marshall | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20030233305 | Solomon | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20030236679 | Galves et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20030236747 | Sager | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20030237046 | Parker et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20040002916 | Timmerman et al. | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040010419 | Sinnott | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040010462 | Moon et al. | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040010465 | Michalski et al. | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040019561 | Isturiz et al. | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040019605 | Keown et al. | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040029569 | Khan et al. | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040039686 | Klebanoff | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040039691 | Barratt et al. | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040044606 | Buttridge et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
| 20040044951 | Repko et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
| 20040049455 | Mohsenzadeh | Mar 2004 | A1 |
| 20040049456 | Dreyer | Mar 2004 | A1 |
| 20040064401 | Palaghita et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040064409 | Kight et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040078324 | Lonnberg et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040078328 | Talbert et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040078332 | Ferguson et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040094624 | Fernandes et al. | May 2004 | A1 |
| 20040111363 | Trench et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040111371 | Friedman | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040118930 | Berardi et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040128248 | Fujihara et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20040133516 | Buchanan et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20040138991 | Song et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20040139001 | Henriques et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20040143526 | Monasterio et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20040149544 | Dal Ferro | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040158522 | Brown et al. | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040159700 | Khan et al. | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040169088 | Nelms et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040172358 | Lent et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040177036 | Nutahara et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040181441 | Fung et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040193540 | Brown et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040199406 | Owens et al. | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040201735 | Baron | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040210498 | Freund | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040210531 | Barron et al. | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040228514 | Houle et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040230536 | Fung et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040232223 | Beenau et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040236688 | Bozeman | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040239481 | Beenau | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040242308 | Gray | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040243506 | Das | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040249689 | Naraki et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040249764 | Delitz et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040252012 | Beenau et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040254837 | Roshkoff | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040260607 | Robbins et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040260646 | Berardi et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20050004864 | Lent et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050004866 | Bonalle et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050006286 | Fery et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050021363 | Stimson et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050021466 | Buchanan et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050033619 | Barnes et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050033689 | Bonalle et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050033690 | Antognini et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050035847 | Bonalle et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050038718 | Barnes et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050038741 | Bonalle et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050040242 | Beenau et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050055254 | Schmidtberg et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050077349 | Bonalle et al. | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050086166 | Monk et al. | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050086178 | Xie et al. | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050091156 | Hailwood et al. | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050097033 | Pretell et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050097046 | Singfield | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050097050 | Orcutt | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050108102 | York | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050108151 | York | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050114367 | Serebrennikov | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050114883 | Nagai et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050125295 | Tidwell et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050125296 | Tidwell et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050125315 | Munoz et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050125337 | Tidwell et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050125338 | Tidwell et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050125339 | Tidwell et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050125350 | Tidwell et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050125351 | Tidwell et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050125360 | Tidwell et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050137982 | Michelassi et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050144059 | Schuessler | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050144143 | Freiberg | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050149440 | Michelassi et al. | Jul 2005 | A1 |
| 20050154664 | Guy et al. | Jul 2005 | A1 |
| 20050159986 | Breeland et al. | Jul 2005 | A1 |
| 20050160051 | Johnson | Jul 2005 | A1 |
| 20050167342 | Vullriede et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050167488 | Higgins et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050171898 | Bishop et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050171901 | Rosenblatt et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050177480 | Huang | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050177523 | Weiss et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050179251 | Wagoner et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050182654 | Abolfathi et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050182735 | Zager et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050189427 | Brown et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050199708 | Friedman | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050199709 | Linlor | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050203857 | Friedman | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050209954 | Asher et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050209955 | Underwood et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050216421 | Barry et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050216888 | Drummond et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050228751 | Keown et al. | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20050234789 | Czyzewski et al. | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20050246627 | Sayed | Nov 2005 | A1 |
| 20050251446 | Jiang et al. | Nov 2005 | A1 |
| 20050256802 | Ammermann et al. | Nov 2005 | A1 |
| 20050261916 | McCall et al. | Nov 2005 | A1 |
| 20050261955 | Humble et al. | Nov 2005 | A1 |
| 20050261995 | Phelan | Nov 2005 | A1 |
| 20050273425 | Yamazaki | Dec 2005 | A1 |
| 20050283429 | Bates et al. | Dec 2005 | A1 |
| 20050283437 | McRae et al. | Dec 2005 | A1 |
| 20050289051 | Allin et al. | Dec 2005 | A1 |
| 20060004629 | Neemann et al. | Jan 2006 | A1 |
| 20060015463 | Gupta et al. | Jan 2006 | A1 |
| 20060026073 | Kenny, Jr. et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060029261 | Hoffman et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060031718 | Thornhill et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060035444 | Nakamura et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060036553 | Gupta et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060039733 | Meyerhofer | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060041540 | Shannon et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060053056 | Alspach-Goss et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
| 20060064329 | Abolfathi et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
| 20060080230 | Freiberg | Apr 2006 | A1 |
| 20060080243 | Kemper et al. | Apr 2006 | A1 |
| 20060080254 | Chigira et al. | Apr 2006 | A1 |
| 20060095350 | Hall et al. | May 2006 | A1 |
| 20060095358 | Viarengo et al. | May 2006 | A1 |
| 20060106650 | Bush | May 2006 | A1 |
| 20060106717 | Randle et al. | May 2006 | A1 |
| 20060122943 | Mann, III et al. | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060136335 | Ferguson | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060143077 | Prorock | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060143117 | Chigira et al. | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060149671 | Nix et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060155554 | Mo | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060161478 | Turner et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060161501 | Waserstein et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060167989 | Bashen et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060178986 | Giordano et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
| 20060206427 | Love et al. | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20060208060 | Mendelovich et al. | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20060208064 | Mendelovich et al. | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20060208065 | Mendelovich et al. | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20060259390 | Rosenberger | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060282389 | Gupte | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20060287953 | Chauhan | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20070005498 | Cataline et al. | Jan 2007 | A1 |
| 20070011089 | DeSchryver | Jan 2007 | A1 |
| 20070136211 | Brown et al. | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20070138255 | Carreon et al. | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20070198404 | Hirka | Aug 2007 | A1 |
| 20070208671 | Brown et al. | Sep 2007 | A1 |
| 20070265924 | Schwarz | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20070288334 | Creedle et al. | Dec 2007 | A1 |
| 20080010202 | Schwarz | Jan 2008 | A1 |
| 20080082207 | Sjostrom | Apr 2008 | A1 |
| 20080116283 | Newbrough et al. | May 2008 | A1 |
| 20080133350 | White et al. | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080193008 | Mount et al. | Aug 2008 | A1 |
| 20080262915 | Gojkovic et al. | Oct 2008 | A1 |
| 20080282324 | Hoal | Nov 2008 | A1 |
| 20090043651 | Schwarz | Feb 2009 | A1 |
| 20090112639 | Beaver | Apr 2009 | A1 |
| 20090171778 | Powell | Jul 2009 | A1 |
| 20090313110 | Asai et al. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
| 20100049654 | Pilo | Feb 2010 | A1 |
| 20100057551 | Blaisdell | Mar 2010 | A1 |
| 20100057553 | Ameiss et al. | Mar 2010 | A1 |
| 20100078471 | Lin et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100078472 | Lin et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100082481 | Lin et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100082490 | Rosenblatt et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100153199 | Ahmad | Jun 2010 | A1 |
| 20110259706 | Aas | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20128141772 | Folk et al. | Mar 2012 | |
| 20128177132 | Bohen et al. | May 2012 | |
| 20130015036 | Doi | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20138616360 | Bergeron et al. | Dec 2013 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 421808 | Apr 1991 | EP |
| 0665486 | Aug 1995 | EP |
| 1014318 | Jun 2000 | EP |
| 2000029963 | Jan 2000 | JP |
| 2001-266039 | Sep 2001 | JP |
| 2002-24618 | Jan 2002 | JP |
| 2002-056063 | Feb 2002 | JP |
| 2002-083241 | Mar 2002 | JP |
| 2002-508547 | Mar 2002 | JP |
| 2002087536 | Mar 2002 | JP |
| 2002-140505 | May 2002 | JP |
| WO 9116691 | Oct 1991 | WO |
| WO 9308545 | Apr 1993 | WO |
| WO 9428497 | Dec 1994 | WO |
| WO 9608783 | Mar 1996 | WO |
| WO 9612242 | Apr 1996 | WO |
| WO 9714108 | Apr 1997 | WO |
| WO 9745796 | Dec 1997 | WO |
| WO 9745814 | Dec 1997 | WO |
| WO 9809260 | Mar 1998 | WO |
| WO 9910823 | Mar 1999 | WO |
| WO 0018060 | Mar 2000 | WO |
| WO 0039979 | Jul 2000 | WO |
| WO 0175730 | Oct 2001 | WO |
| WO 02063432 | Aug 2002 | WO |
| WO 2004079603 | Sep 2004 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| Hasting, Nelson et. al., A Case Study of Authenticated and Secure File Transfer The Iowa Campaign Finance Reporting System. |
| Kutler, A Different Drummer on the Data Highway, American Banker, Section No. 91, vol. 160, May 12, 1995, p. 14. |
| Epper, A Player Goes After Big Bucks in Cyberspace, American Banker, vol. 160, No. 86, ISSN 0002-7561, May 5, 1995, p. 17. |
| Berry et al., A potent new tool for selling databse, Business Week, Cover Story, Sep. 5, 1994, pp. 56-62. |
| Alshawi, M. et al., Alshawi, M. et. al., An IFC Web Based Collaborative Construction Computer Environment Wisper. |
| Applets, java.sun.com, May 21, 1999. |
| Associates National Bank (DE) Credit Card, The Associates, www.theassociates.com/consumer/credit—cards/main.html, Apr. 6, 1999, 6 pages. |
| At Your Request, www.wingspanbank.com, Sep. 28, 1999. |
| Anonymous, Aversion Therapy Banks Overcoming Fear of the 'Net to Develop Safe Internet-based Payment System w/ Netscape Communicator, Network World, ISSN 0887- 7661, Dec. 12, 1994. |
| Brown, Keith, Brown, The Builders Revolution, BuildNet Publishing Division, Jan. 1996, ISBN 096493390x. |
| Butterworth, Paul, Butterworth; ‘Automating the Business Process of Mission Critical Distributed Applications’; Forte Software, Inc.; Apr. 1997. |
| Java, Banking on Java(TM) Technology, java.sun.com, May 21, 1999. |
| Bechtel Construction Operations Incorporated Standardizes on Primavera's Expedition Contract Management Software, Business Wire, Jul. 27, 1999. |
| Fusaro, Roberta, Builders Moving to Web tools Computerworld, Nov. 16, 1998, vol. 32, No. 46, pp. 51, 53. |
| Microsoft, CNBC on MSN Money Microsoft Money 2003 Deluxe. |
| Anonymous, CORBA Overview, arch2.htm at pent2l.infosys.tuwien.ac.at, May 25, 1999. |
| Calyx Software, Point for Windows Version 3.x Interface Marketing Guide, Rev. Dec. 8, 1999, Copyright 1999. |
| Vandenengel, Cards on the Internet Advertising on a $3 Bill, Industry Intelligence, Feb. 1, 1995, pp. 46-48. |
| Kutler, Cash Card Creator Looking Beyond Mondex, Feb. 9, 1995. |
| Bank, Cash, Check,Charge—What's Next?, Seattle Times, Mar. 6, 1995. |
| Marlin, Chasing Document Management, Inform, vol. 13, No. 4, Apr. 199, pg. 76-82. |
| Consortium Created to Manage Common Electronic Purse Specifications, http//www.visa.com/av/news/PRmisc051199.vhtml, printed Feb. 23, 2001. |
| Civitello Jr., Construction Operations Manual of Policies and Procedures, Third Edition, 2000. |
| Marchman, Construction Scheduling with Primavera Project Planner, May 25, 1999. |
| Chester, Cross-platform integration with XML and SOAP, IT PTO Sep.-Oct. 2001. |
| Mitchell, Cyberspace Crafting Software . . . , Business Week, Feb. 27, 1999, pp. 78-86. |
| Definition of ‘Opt Out’, Wiktionary, (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/opt—out), Aug. 18, 2008 (1 page). |
| Friedman, Dictionary of Business Terms, Barron's Third Edition, Copyright 2000. |
| Strassel, Dutch Software Concern Experiments with Electronic ‘Cash’ in Cyberspace, The Wall Street Journal, Apr. 17, 1995. |
| Post, E-Cash Can't Live With It, Can't Live Without It, The American Lawyer, Mar. 1, 1995, pp. 116-117. |
| Thomas, Enterprise JAVABEANS(TM) Technology Server Component Model for the Java(TM) platform, java.sun.com, May 2, 1999. |
| Seibert, Paul, Facilities Planning & Design for Financial Institutions Bankline Publications, 1996, ISBN 1-55738-780-X. |
| Owens, David, Facilities Planning & Relocation RSMeans, 1993, ISBN 0-87629-281-3. |
| Maize, Fannie Mae on the Web, Doucment ID 52079, May 8, 1995. |
| FreeMarkets, Interop Enterprise Award Winner for FreeMarkets Web Applications, Copyright 1999. |
| The Gale Group, G&D America's Multi-application Smart Card Selected for Combined Payroll and ‘Virtual Banking’ Program in Mexico, Business Wire, Apr. 24, 1998, p241047. |
| Getting Smart with Java Sun Micro Says American Express to Use Java for Smart Card, ABCNews.com, printed on Jun. 6, 2000. |
| Getting Started Specific GE TPN Post Service Use Guidelines, printed on Apr. 26, 1999. |
| Harris, Harris InfoSource, printed on Apr. 26, 1999. |
| Knowles, Improved Internet Security Enabling On-Line Commerce, PCWeek, vol. 12, No. 11, ISSN 0740-1604, Mar. 20, 1995. |
| Meredith, Internet bank moves closer to virtual reality, USA Today, May 5, 1995. |
| Larsen, Amy, Internet goes to Work for Builders, InterWeek, Nov. 16, 1998, Issue 741. |
| Radosevich, Is Work Flow Working?, CNN.com, Apr. 6, 1999 at <http//www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9904/06/workflow/ent.idg, p. 1 of 5, retrieved from the internet on Nov. 28, 2005. |
| JAVA, JAVA (TM) Technology in the Real World, java.sun.com, May 21, 1999. |
| JAVA, JAVA(TM) Remote Method Invocation (RMI) Interface, java.sun.com, May 32, 1999. |
| JAVA, JAVA(TM) Servlet API, java.sun.com, May 21, 1999. |
| Frank, John N. Frank, Beyond Direct Mail, Credit Card Management, vol. 9, Iss. 5, Aug. 1996, 4pgs. |
| Kilian-Kehr, Roger, Kilian-Kehr, Mobile Security with Smartcards, Dissertation, Apr. 8, 2002. |
| Kristol, Kristol, HTTP Cookies Standards, Privacy, and Politics, ACM Transactions on Internet Technology, vol. 1, No. 2, p. 151-198, Nov. 2001. |
| Li, et al., Li et al., Combined Coherence and Prefetching Mechanisms for Effective Web Caching, IEEE, pp. 3034-3038, 2001. |
| OMG, Library, www.omg.com, May 25, 1999. |
| Myers, Randy, Myers, The Wired World of Investment Information, Nation's Business, Washington, vol. 85, Iss. 3, p. 58, Mar. 1997. |
| Mary C. Lacity, et al., Mary C. Lacity, et al., The Information Systems Outsourcing Bandwagon, Sloan Management Review, vol. 35, No. 1, Fall 1993, pp. 73-86. |
| Method of Protecting Data on A Personal Computer, IBM Corporation, TDB 11-85, Order 85A 62426, Nov. 1, 1995, p. 2530. |
| Clark, Microsoft, Visa to Jointly Develop PC Electronic-Shopping Software, The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 9, 1994, Nov. 9, 1994 WSJ B9. |
| Muse Technologies, Leading the New Age of Perceptual Computing, Apr. 26, 1999. |
| Nelte, et al., Nelte et al., Cookies Weaving the Web into a State, Crossroads, vol. 7, Issue 1, ACM Press, 6 pages, Fall 2000. |
| Nowlin, Jerry L., Nowlin, Construction Financing to Build Your Own Home, First Edition, Jerry L. Nowlin Consulting, Inc., ISBN 0962864307, Jul. 1990. |
| Sirbu, et al, NetBill an Internet Commerce System Optimized for Network Delivered Services, printed on Feb. 27, 1995. |
| Mitchell, Netlink Goes After an Unbanked Niche, Card Technology, ISSN 1093-1279, Sep. 1999, p. 22. |
| Barnham, Network Brings Together Producers and Companies, Document ID 17347. |
| Houlder, OFT Gives the Individual Top Priority Report Calls for Deregulation of Business Lending, Document ID 91716, Jun. 8, 1994. |
| OMWARE, Inc., Web Pages, Feb. 2000, Retrieved from http//web.archive.org/web20000226033405/www.omware.com/products.html, Retrieved from the Internet on Nov. 28, 2005. |
| Anonymous, Overview of CORBA, May 25, 1999. |
| Youll, James, Peer to Peer Transactions in Agent Mediated Electronic Commerce. |
| Harris, Planning Using Primavera Project Planner P3 Version 3.0, User Guide, Copyright 1999 by Eastwood Harry Pty Ltd., 1999. |
| Johnston, Pondering Passport Do You Trust Microsoft With Your Data?, www.pcworld.com/resource/printable/article/0.aid,63244,00.asp, Sep. 24, 2001. |
| Primavera Systems, Inc., Primavera Expedition User Guide, Version 6.0, Primavera Systems, Inc., 1998. |
| Primavera Systems Delivers Expedition Express,Business Wire, Feb. 23, 1999. |
| Primavera Systems, Inc.—How the World Manages Projects, Expedition Contract Control Software, www.primavera.com, Jun. 23, 2005. |
| Primavera and PurchasePro.com to Create E-Commerce Marketplace for Construction Industry, Primavera Ships P3, version 3.0, www.purchasepro.com/, Sep. 21, 1999, pp. 1-3. |
| Van Collie, Shimon Craig, Problem Disbursement Control Needed Construction Loan Tool from PriMerit NewTrend. |
| Product Data Integration Technologies, Inc., Step Integratin Authors, printed on Apr. 26, 1999. |
| Resource Center Consolidated Edison Selects GE TPN Post, printed Apr. 26, 1999. |
| Kormann, Risks of the Passport Single Signon Protocol, Computer Networks, Elsevier Science Press, vol. 33, Sep. 20, 2003, pp. 51-58. |
| SBA Pro-Net, U.S. Small Business Administration Procurement Marketing and Access Network, Last Modified Apr. 1, 1999. |
| Jepsen, SOAP Cleans up interoperability problems on the web, IT PTO, Jan./Feb. 2001. |
| Safe Single-Sign-On Protocol with Minimal Password Exposure No Decryption and Technology Adaptivity, IBM Corporation, TDB 03-95, Order 95A, Mar. 1, 1995, pp. 245-248. |
| Deckmyn, Dominique, San Francisco manages $45M project via web-based Service, Computerworld, Aug. 9, 1999, vol. 33, No. 32, p. 14. |
| Sun Microsystems, Inc., Schema for Representing CORBA Objects in an LDAP directory, May 21, 1999, pp. 1-9. |
| Jakobsson et al., Secure and lightweight advertising on the web, Computer Networks, 31 (1999) 1101-1109. |
| Servlet/Applet/HTML Authentication Process with Single Sign-On, IBM Corporation, IBM Order 00A6004, Jan. 1, 2000. |
| Shibata, Seventh International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Systems Workshops, IEEE Computer Society, Jul. 4-7, 2000. |
| Siebel, Siebel Ensuring Customer Success, www.siebel.com, Nov. 17, 1999. |
| SmartAxis, How it works, http//www.smartaxis.co.uk/seller/howitworks.html, printed on Feb. 23, 2001. |
| Mosig, Richard, Software Review the Construction Project Manager Cost Engineering, Jan. 1996, vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 7-8. |
| Hernandez, Tomas et al., Software Solutions Building Design & Construction, Nov. 1999, vol. 40, No. 11, pp. 38-40. |
| Thomas Publishing Company, SoluSource for Engineers by Engineers, Thomas Publishing Company, Apr. 26, 1999. |
| Java, Staying in Touch with JNDI, java.sun.com, May 21, 1999. |
| Summary of The At Your Request Architecture, First USA Bank Confidential and Proprietary, Apr. 2, 1999, pp. 1-8. |
| Taylor, Telecommunications Demand Analysis in Transition, Proceedings of the 31st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, vol. 5, Jan. 6-9, 1998, pp. 409-415. |
| Temporary Global Passwords, IBM Corporation, IBM TDB v36, n3, Mar. 93, Order 93A 60636, Mar. 1, 1993, pp. 451-454. |
| Brown, Keith, The Buiders Revolution, Internet Archive Wayback Machine, Jan. 1998. |
| The Check is in the Email, Information Today, vol. 12, No. 3, ISSN 8755-6286, 03/01995. |
| Cotts, David, The Facility Management Handbook Second Edition AMACM, 1998, ISBN 0-8144-030-8. |
| Java, The JDBC(TM) Data Access API, java.sun.com, May 21, 1999. |
| Carden, Philip, The New Face of Single Sign-on, Network Computing, http//www.networkcomputing.com, printed Dec. 29, 2000, 4 pages. |
| Thomas Publishing Company, ThomasNet, Apr. 26, 1999. |
| Ritz, Total Construction Project Management, McGraw-Hill, 1994. |
| Hewlett-Packard Company, Understanding Product Data Management, Hewlett-Packard Company. |
| Yee, Bennet, Using Secure Coprocessors. |
| OMG, Welcome to OMG's CORBA for Beginners Page!, www.omg.co, May 25, 1999. |
| OMG, What is CORBA?, www.omg.com, May 25, 1999. |
| Fujimura et al., XML Voucher Generic Voucher Language, Feb. 2003. |
| eCharge, eCharge Corporation, www.echarge.com, Dec. 3, 1999. |
| Anonymous; “New Branch Features Help Educate Customers”; Staff Spotlight; Published for NBD Employees in Southeast Michigan; vol. 10, No. 10, Oct. 1997. |
| Ball, Robert S.; “NBD branch would have video, but no tellers”; Daily Tribune, Royal Oak, Mich, PM-Circl 38,101; Jul. 31, 1995. |
| Killian-Keher, Roger, Mobile Security with Smartcards, Dissertation, Apr. 8, 2002. |
| FOIA # 09-02-12 Responsive Records Book #5, Mar. 12, 2009, acs00278229. |
| Citibank EBT Services, Pricing Proposal T-DCS, Best and Final Pricing for Treasury Debit Card Services Pilot—Houston, Texas, Sep. 1991, acs00277456. |
| FOIA # 09-02-12 Responsive Records Book #3, Mar. 12, 2009, acs00277531. |
| FOIA # 09-02-12 Responsive Records Book #11, Mar. 12, 2009, acs00279715. |
| Eaton, Kit; “Apple ATM? Patent Suggests Reinvented Cash Machines With iPhone Marriage”; Fast Company.com; May 24, 2010; 1 page. |
| Anonymous; “Exploring Apple's New e-Wallet Patent on ATM Transactions”; Patently Apple; May 24, 2010; www.patentlyapple.com; 11 pages. |
| Anand, Anika; “Citi Opens ‘Bank of the Future’ With Touchscreens in Union Square”; Business Insider; Dec. 16, 2010; 2 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14079091 | Nov 2013 | US |
| Child | 14692328 | US |
