Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title of the Invention
Method and System to Capture and Validate a Signature Using a Mobile Device
Cross-Reference to Related Applications
[0001] The present patent application claims the benefits of priority of
United States
of America Patent Application No. 61/526,826, entitled "Method and System to
Capture and Validate a Signature Using a Mobile Device" and filed at the
United
States Patent and Trademark Office on August 24, 2011, the content of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention generally relates to methods and systems to
capture and
validate signatures on electronic devices.
Background of the Invention
[0003] Many items, such as, but not limited to, those for credit and debit
card
payments, legal and non-legal documents, legal contracts, mortgage documents
and
other types of items that require a signature are presently done by the signee
physically signing his signature to the item.
[0004] Current processing for collecting a signature is inconvenient and time
consuming for both the company and the signee. Attempts to introduce more
automated means have led to more inconvenience and increased cost due, in
part, to
the requirement of fax machines, signature devices and/or dedicated telephone
lines.
Most attempts still do not reduce the time it takes to capture a signature for
a
company's item.
[0005] Thus, there is a need to adapt new and evolving technologies to provide
a
much simpler method of capturing a signature for a company's item.
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Summary of the Invention
[0006] A method and a system in accordance with the principles of the present
invention generally mitigate at least some shortcomings of prior art methods
and
systems by allowing the required signature to be captured on a mobile device
which
can be remote from the item or items requiring a signature.
[0007] Hence, a method to capture and validate a signature, in accordance with
the
principles of the present invention, generally comprises three main stages.
[0008] In the first stage, the method generally comprises creating a user
account on
the company's or merchant's server and then displaying or transmitting
instructions to
the signee on how to capture his signature using his mobile device.
[0009] In the context of the present method and system, a mobile device is a
device
having access to a communication network and which comprises a touch sensitive
screen. Non-limitative examples of such mobile devices include smart phones
(e.g.
iphoneTM, iPodTM Touch, etc.), tablet computers (e.g. iPadTM, etc.).
[0010] Understandably, if the signee is on the company's premises, the
instructions
can be simply display to him. Otherwise, if the signee is at a remote
location, the
instructions will be transmitted to him, typically, but not exclusively, by
email. Other
methods of transmission could also be used.
[0011] Once the first stage is done, the method typically proceeds to the
second stage
in which the method generally comprises prompting the signee to log in his
user
account and then capture his signature by using his finger (or fingers) or a
stylus on
the touch sensitive screen of his mobile device. Once the signature is
captured, it is
transmitted to a secure validation server where it is compared to previously
captured
signature in order to determine whether or not the captured signature is
forged.
[0012] The comparison of the captured signature with previously captured
signatures
can be performed using available calligraphy analysis tools.
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[0013] In some embodiments, the comparison can be performed by third parties.
[0014] If the validation server determines that the captured signature is
possibly
forged, further analyses can be performed by a human operator.
[0015] Ultimately, if the captured signature is validated, the company or
merchant
will be notified that the captured signature can be retrieved. Otherwise, the
company
or merchant will be notified that the captured signature is forged and the
company or
merchant will be prevented from retrieving the captured signature.
[0016] The transmittal of notifications to the company or merchant is made
between
the validation server and the company's or merchant's server via a
communication
network (e.g. the Internet, a cellular network, etc.).
[0017] Finally, in the third stage, the company or merchant will retrieve the
captured
signature from the validation server and will store it in its server, in
association with
the item or items that needed a signature, and will notify the signee that the
item or
items have been signed.
[0018] Understandably, the method can comprise other steps or stages as
needed.
[0019] In addition, though the company's or merchant's server and the
validation
server are typically distinct, in other embodiments, both servers could be the
same if,
for instance, the items' accounts and the signees' account, and the validation
are
respectively stored and performed on the same server.
[0020] By allowing a signee to remotely sign an item using his mobile device,
the
method and system in accordance with the principles of the present invention
minimizes the need for a signee to be physically present to sign an item.
[0021] Other and further aspects and advantages of the present invention will
be
obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be
described
or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not
referred to
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herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention
in
practice.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0022] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention
will
become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being
made
to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0023] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a portion of the method to capture and
validate a
signature using a mobile device in accordance with the principles of the
present
invention.
[0024] Figure 2 is a flow chart of another portion of the method to capture
and
validate a signature using a mobile device in accordance with the principles
of the
present invention.
[0025] Figure 3 is a flow chart of still another portion of the method to
capture and
validate a signature using a mobile device in accordance with the principles
of the
present invention.
[0026] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a system in accordance with the
principles
of the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
[0027] A novel method and a related system for capturing and validating a
signature
using a mobile device will be described hereinafter. Although the invention is
described in terms of specific illustrative embodiments, it is to be
understood that the
embodiments described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of
the
invention is not intended to be limited thereby.
[0028] Broadly, the method 10 for capturing and validating a signature using a
mobile
device comprises several steps which are more or less partitioned in several
stages.
For instance, in the present embodiment, the method 10 generally comprises
three
main stages 100, 200 and 300. The different stages generally concern different
periods
in the overall process of capturing and validating a signature using a mobile
device.
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[0029] In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a mobile
device is a
device having access to a communication network (e.g. the Internet, a cellular
network, etc.) and which comprises a touch sensitive screen. Non-limitative
examples
of mobile devices include smart phones comprising touch sensitive screens and
tablet
computers comprising touch sensitive screens.
[0030] Referring now to Fig. 1, the first stage 100 of the method 10 will be
described
in more details.
[0031] The first stage 100 of the method 10 generally encompasses the creating
of an
account and the displaying or transmitting of instructions on how to sign
using the
mobile device.
[0032] More specifically, the first stage 100 starts, at 110, by the creation,
by a
company, a merchant, or any other party (hereinafter "merchant"), of an item
that
needs the signature of a signee, typically, but not exclusively a customer.
Non-
limitative examples of other parties include notaries, mortgage lenders,
insurance
companies, lawyers, etc. Also, the term "item" must be construed broadly to
include
documents, transactions, approval, debit notes, etc.
[0033] Then, at 120, the merchant verifies whether it has established an
account for
the customer. If an account does exist for the customer, i.e. the account has
already
been established, then the merchant retrieves, at 130, a unique code from a
database
located on its server, the unique code being associated with the customer and
its
account.
[0034] If no account has yet been established for the customer, the merchant,
at 140,
performs an API call to a validation server to create a new customer account
and to
generate a new unique code. Then, at 150, the validation server, having
created the
new account and generated the unique code associated with the new account,
transmits back the unique code to the merchant. The unique code received by
the
merchant is then stored in the merchant database at 160 for future retrieval
(e.g. step
130).
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[0035] Once the unique code has been retrieved, the merchant then performs, at
170,
an API call to the validation server to create a new pending item. After that,
depending on whether the customer is on the merchant's premises, the merchant
can
either show the customer how to sign the pending item using his mobile device
(at
180) or can send instructions to the customer, typically via email, on how to
sign the
pending item using his mobile device (at 190).
[0036] Once the first stage 100 is completed, the customer has an account with
the
merchant and has been shown or instructed on how to sign the pending item
using his
mobile device.
[0037] Referring now to Fig. 2, the second stage 200 will be described in more
details.
[0038] The second stage 200 generally encompasses the actual capture of the
signature of the customer using his mobile device. In that sense, after the
customer
has installed the signature application on his mobile device, the application
will
prompt the customer, at 210, to enter his unique code, his email address and
his
password (collectively referred to as his credential information).
[0039] Then, at 220, the application will perform an API call to the
validation server
to validate the credential information submitted by the customer and to
retrieve the
pending item(s) that need to be signed.
[0040] Once retrieved, the pending items will be displayed on the screen of
the
customer's mobile device. In the present embodiment, the pending items are
typically
displayed as a list, allowing the customer to easily see most, if not all,
pending items.
The customer can thus choose which item or items he wants to sign. In that
sense, it is
to be understood that the list of pending items can include items from
different
merchants if several merchants are registered with the validation server.
[0041] If only one item needs to be signed, then the sole item will be
displayed.
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[0042] Then, at 230, the customer will first select one or more pending items
that
need its signature, and will then uses his finger (or fingers) or a stylus and
the touch
sensitive screen of its mobile device to have his signature captured. In the
present
embodiment, the application will typically prompt the customer to enter his
signature
via a specific display. In the present embodiment, the customer can restart
the capture
of his signature if, for instance, the signature was improperly entered on the
touch
sensitive screen.
[0043] Once the customer's signature has been properly captured, the
application will
transmit the captured signature to the validation server (at 240). At this
point, the
customer does not need to perform other actions. However, the second stage 200
continues to 250 where the validation server, having received the captured
signature,
validates it against previously captured signatures, if any, stored on the
validation
server. This validation is performed in order to screen out possibly forged
signatures.
[0044] Then, at 260, if it is determined that the captured signature is
potentially
forged, the validation server will place the item or items in alert and will
prevent the
merchant from retrieving the signature until the signature has been validated
by a
human operator.
[0045] At 270, the human operator will determine whether or not the captured
signature is forged. This determination can be made with the assistance of
signature
analysis tools or calligraphy analysis tools. Such tools are available.
[0046] If the human operator determines that the captured signature is not
forged, i.e.
the captured signature is valid, then the second stage 200 will proceed at 280
where
the server will remove the alert on the item or items and will allow the
merchant to
retrieve the captured signature.
[0047] Otherwise, if the human operator determines that the captured signature
is
forged, then the second stage 200 will proceed at 290 where the server will
notify the
merchant that captured signature is forged.
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[0048] Though not shown in Fig. 2, when it is determined that a signature is
forged, a
warning email will typically be sent to the customer's email address in order
to inform
him that there has been an attempt to forge his signature. Also, the
customer's
account could possibly be frozen until the forgery attempt has been properly
taken
care of.
[0049] At this point, the method 10 will typically proceed to the third stage
300 which
is illustrated in Fig. 3 in greater details. The third stage 300 typically
encompasses the
retrieval of the captured signature and the completion of the signing of the
item or
items.
[0050] Hence, once the validation server has notified the merchant that it is
allowed
to retrieve the captured signature (step 280), the merchant will make an API
call to the
validation server, at 310, to actually retrieve the signature for the pending
item or
items.
[0051] As the validation server receives the retrieval request at 320, it will
perform a
look-up in the database to fetch the signature, if available, and will then
transmit the
signature back to the merchant.
[0052] Then, at 330, as the merchant receives the signature from the
validation server,
the merchant will store the signature within its database and will associate
the
signature with the pending item or items.
[0053] Then, at 340, the merchant will notify the customer, directly or
through an
email, that the pending item or items have been signed.
[0054] Understandably, though the three stages 100, 200 and 300 of the method
could
be performed in one continuous sequence, they could also be performed in a
discontinuous sequence. For instance, the first stage 100 could be performed
on a
given day, the second stage 200 could be performed the next day or even later,
and the
third stage 300 could be performed some days after the second stage 200 is
completed.
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[0055] Hence, the method 10 in accordance with the principles of the present
invention generally allows a more convenient way of having item signed by
avoiding
the need for the customer to be physically present and by avoiding the need
for the
whole signing sequence to be performed in a continuous fashion.
[0056] Referring now to Fig. 4, an example of a system 400 allowing the method
described above to be performed is depicted.
[0057] The system 400 generally comprises a merchant server 410 comprising a
computer system 412 and a database 414, a typically remote validation server
420
comprising a computer system 422 and a database 424, at least one mobile
device 430
comprising a touch-sensitive screen (three are shown), and a communication
network
440 (e.g. the Internet, a cellular network, etc.) which allows communication
between
the merchant server 410, the validation server 420 and the at least one mobile
device
430.
[0058] Understandably, as the various stages of the method 10 are performed,
information, requests, and API calls will be transmitted between the servers
410 and
420 and the at least one mobile device 430 through the communication network
440.
[0059] While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention
have
been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the
inventive concepts
may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims
are
intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited
by the
prior art.
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