Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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AUTOMATED SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR COPIOUS ELECTRONIC ASSET
TRANSFERS
RELATED APPLICATIONS
100011 This application claims priority to United States
Application having Serial No.
17/749,097, filed on May 19, 2022, which is a continuation of United States
Application
having Serial No. 17/574,562, filed on January 13, 2022, which is a
continuation-in-part of,
and claims the benefit of, United States Application having Serial No.
17/371,068 filed on
July 8, 2021, which is a continuation-in-part of 17/339,697 filed on June 4,
2021, which
applications are entitled AUTOMATED SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR ELECTRONIC
ASSET RECOVERY, the disclosures of which are incorporated, in their
entireties, by this
reference.
BACKGROUND
100021 Currently, there are over fifty million accounts escheated
each year in the US
alone. When assets, such as financial instruments, financial accounts,
personal property, and
real property go unclaimed for a period of time, the assets revert to the
government, which is
then free to spend, dispose of, or treat the assets as its own. However, many
of the rightful
owners of the assets are living and have a right to the assets, assuming they
know about the
assets before they escheat.
100031 According to some statistics, over 80% of the escheated
assets are owned by a
living person who has a rightful claim to the assets. This volume of escheated
assets appears
to be growing by as much as 20% or more each year.
100041 Typically, a rightful owner of an asset must proactively
search the unclaimed
property databases to look for unclaimed property that have been escheated. In
some cases,
there are individuals and companies who browse these unclaimed property
databases and find
the rightful owners and promise to help them recover their assets in exchange
for a fee or a
percentage of the asset value.
100051 In some cases, a company who holds the property before
escheatment has
obligations to notify the asset owner about the existence of the asset.
However, where the
company does not receive a response, such as when a person moves or ignores a
written
letter, the company may not be able to take further action to notify the asset
owner.
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100061 With the significant volume of accounts at risk of
escheatment, searching and
contacting the rightful asset owners is inefficient, and in many cases,
untenable. It would be
a significant advantage if the rightful asset owners could be contacted and
the assets returned
to them in a more efficient, even automated, way.
100071 Through the following disclosure that includes systems and
methods, these and
other advantages will become apparent by reference to the following
description and
appended figures
SUMMARY
100081 According to some embodiments, a computer-implemented
method, includes the
steps of receiving dormant account data associated with one or more asset
owners, the
dormant account data including at least an identity of the one or more asset
owners, their last
known address, and an asset to be returned to individual ones of the one or
more asset
owners; determining a living status of the one or more asset owners;
enriching, with updated
contact information, an asset owner data record associated with each of the
asset owners;
generating a unique communication to the one or more asset owners, the unique
communication including at least an identification of the asset and
instructions on how to
recover the asset; and electronically delivering the asset to the asset owner.
100091 In some embodiments, the asset is a monetary asset and may
include one or more
of a payment, paycheck, a refund, securities, IRA account, safety deposit box
contents, other
personal property, or a deposit.
100101 In some cases, the living status of the one or more asset
owners is performed
automatically by searching death records. Of course, other records may be
searched to
determine the living status, and may be inferred, for example, by recent
payment
transactions, updated employment information, and other such information that
can be used
to infer that an asset owner is living.
100111 In some cases, the step of enriching the asset owner data
record comprises
updating the asset owner data record with one or more of current contact
information,
employment information, and financial information
100121 In some examples, the step of generating the unique
communication comprises
generating an electronic message. The electronic message may be an electronic
mail
message addressed to an e-mail address and/or a text message addressed to a
cellular
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telephone number. In some cases, the electronic message includes asset
information, which
may include an amount of the asset and a dormant account holder identity of
the asset.
100131 In some instances, the step of electronically delivering
the asset to the asset owner
comprises a funds transfer through a peer-to-peer payment service.
100141 According to some embodiments, a system includes one or
more processors; and
one or more computer-readable storage media comprising instructions that, when
executed
on the one or more processors, configure the system to at least: receive
dormant account data
associated with an asset owner; generate updated account data associated with
the asset
owner; enrich dormant account data with updated account data to create
enriched asset owner
data; generate, based at least in part on the enriched asset owner data, a
unique
communication to the asset owner; and initiate an electronic payment to the
asset owner.
100151 In some cases, the unique communication to the asset owner
includes an asset
owner name, and one or more of dormant account data, asset amount, a dormant
account
date, and a link for the asset owner to receive the asset. The dormant account
data may
identify the dormant account holder, a time during which the asset owner had
an account
with the dormant account holder or worked for the dormant account holder.
100161 In some examples, the instructions further cause the
processors to configure the
system to verify an identity of the asset owner prior to initiating the
electronic payment to the
asset owner.
100171 The instructions may further cause the one or more
processors to configure the
system to verify a living status of the asset owner.
100181 The instructions may further cause the one or more
processors to configure the
system to receive a selection from the asset owner of a desired payment
platform for
receiving the asset. The payment platform may be a peer-to-peer payment
platform.
100191 In some cases, the communication is sent to a computing
device associated with
the asset owner. The computing device may be any type of computing devices,
such as a
smartphone, a cellular telephone, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a
tablet computer, a
smart watch, or a smart vehicle.
100201 In some examples, the instructions further cause the
processors to configure the
system to generate a hyperlink specific to the asset owner. The hyperlink may
allow the
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asset owner to claim the asset, and may further provide a method for the asset
owner to verify
his or her identity, and select a payment platform for receiving the asset.
100211 The instructions may further cause the one or more
processors to configure the
system to generate, at a future date, enriched asset owner data as new asset
owner data
becomes available. In other words, where the asset owner cannot be located,
the system may
be configured to periodically search for updated contact information and then
enrich the asset
owner data and generate a communication when updated information becomes
available.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] A better understanding of the features, advantages and
principles of the present
disclosure will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description
that sets forth
illustrative embodiments, and the accompanying drawings of which:
[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a system for automating asset delivery
to an owner, in
accordance with some embodiments;
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates a process for automating asset delivery
to an owner, in
accordance with some embodiments;
[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates a process for automating asset delivery
including data
enrichment, in accordance with some embodiments;
[0026] FIG. 4 illustrates a process for automatically enriching
asset owner data records, in
accordance with some embodiments;
[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates a process for automatically verifying
asset owner and initiating
electronic delivery of asset to asset owner, in accordance with some
embodiments;
[0028] FIG. 6 illustrates an automated process for enriching asset
owner data, generating
a communication to the asset owner, and returning the asset to the asset
owner, in accordance
with some embodiments;
[0029] FIGS 7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate example generated
communications to an asset
owner, in accordance with some embodiments;
[0030] FIG. 8 illustrates a system for automating payment delivery
to a payee, in
accordance with some embodiments;
[0031] FIG. 9. illustrates a process for automatically verifying
the identity of a payee and
processing a payment to the payee, in accordance with some embodiments;
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100321 FIG. 10 illustrates a system for automating payment to a
payee, in accordance with
some embodiments; and
100331 FIG. 11 illustrates a process for automating payment
delivery to a payee, in
accordance with some embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
100341 This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods
for automatically
returning assets to their rightful owners. There are millions of accounts
worth hundreds of
millions of dollars, or even billions of dollars, that are held for the
rightful asset owners and
escheated to governments simply because either the rightful asset owner cannot
be
appropriately contacted, or because the rightful asset owner is unaware of the
assets. In these
cases, after a period of time, a government takes ownership and control of the
assets, which
may include, without limitation, financial instruments, financial accounts,
deposits, refunds,
earned paychecks, dormant accounts, royalty payments, insurance proceeds,
securities,
dividends, IRA accounts, contents of safety deposit boxes, cashier's checks,
personal
property, and real property, among others.
100351 In most jurisdictions, there are requirements that a
company that has an asset in a
dormant account must keep accurate records of that account and make reasonable
attempts to
contact the asset owner to return the asset. However, in many cases, the
efforts are mere de
MilliMUS and the rightful asset owners are never aware of the dormant account
or the asset
that they are owed. The dormant accounts may be held by any of a number of
companies,
which may include financial institutions, former employers, utility companies,
real estate
lenders, impound accounts, escrow accounts, among others.
100361 Typically, where a dormant account exists, a company may
send correspondence
to the last known address of the asset owner. There are some companies that
specialize in
finding asset owners and helping to deliver the assets to the owners for a
fee; however, these
companies typically must manually search for each individual asset owner. This
is
cumbersome, time consuming, and inefficient. Furthermore, because the fee
charged to the
asset owner may typically be a percentage of the asset value, only the largest
value assets
provide sufficient motivation for a company to search out the asset owner in
exchange for a
percentage of the asset value. This leaves millions of asset owners devoid of
their property.
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100371 According to some embodiments, a system is provided that
automatically finds the
asset owners and electronically delivers the assets to the rightful owners
with little or no
human intervention. This results in an efficient process that helps not only
the asset owner
by reuniting them with their asset, but also the dormant account holder that
is no longer
required to maintain records of the account or make repeated attempts to
contact the asset
owner at a last known address.
100381 As used herein, a dormant account holder is any entity that
has an asset that has
not been returned to the rightful owner. The dormant account holder may
include, without
limitation, a former employer, a utility company, a company holding a deposit
or refund, or
any other entity that is holding an asset of value that has not been returned
to the rightful
owner. A dormant account holder may include a company, a utility, a
governmental agency,
an educational institution, a real estate company, a landlord, or any other
such company that
holds a valuable asset for another.
100391 As used herein, an asset owner is the rightful owner of the
asset within a dormant
account. In many cases, an asset owner may not know of the dormant account or
the asset
that belongs to them. In many cases, the asset owner may have moved and the
last-known
address on file with the dormant account holder is no longer valid. Similarly,
all the contact
information of an asset owner may be out of date according to the dormant
account holder's
records. In these cases, the dormant account is at risk of escheatment.
100401 According to some embodiments, a system may be configured
to take the existing
asset owner data, which may include, without limitation, contact information
such as last
known address, telephone or cellphone number, email address, place of work,
etc.; financial
information such as banking institution information, account numbers, etc.;
personal
information such as marital status, social security number, tax ID number,
known relatives,
or other such information. Of course, other information may be available
within the existing
asset owner data; however, in some cases, the existing asset owner data may be
out of date or
insufficient to effectively contact the asset owner. The system may be
configured to use the
available information provided by the dormant account holder and supplement
this
information by researching databases to enrich the information with additional
details, such
as current address, current employer, current cellphone number, and any other
information
that may be useful in contacting the asset owner.
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100411 With reference to FIG. 1, a system 100 may include
computing resources 102
having access to one or more processors 104 and memory 106 storing one or more
modules
108. The computing resources 102 may include any suitable computing resources,
which
may include one or more server computers, a distributed computing
architecture, cloud
computing resources, or otherwise. The processor(s) 104 may include a central
processing
unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) both CPU and GPU, or other
processing units
104 or components known in the art Additionally, each of the processors 104
may have
access to memory 106 or may have its own local memory 106, which may store the
one or
more modules 108 which may include program data, operating system, or other
type of
instructions that cause the processor 104 to carry out acts. The processor 104
may include
multiple processors and/or a single processor having multiple cores. The
computing
resources 102 may include distributed computing resources and may have one or
more
functions shared by various computing devices.
100421 The computing resources 102 may have memory that includes
computer-readable
storage media ("CRSM"), which may be any available physical media accessible
the by
processor(s) 104 to execute instructions stored on the memory 105. In some
implementations, CRSM may include random access memory ("RAM") and Flash
memory.
In other implementations, CRSM may include, but is not limited to, read-only
memory
("ROM"), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory ("EEPROM"), or
any other
medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be
accessed by the
processor 104.
100431 In some embodiments, the computing resources 102 are in
communication with
one or more other computing systems including, but not limited to, private
databases, 109,
public databases 110, dormant account holder system 112, a communications
system 114, a
client device 115 associated with an asset owner 118, and a payment system
120. The
communications between the variously described systems may be performed over a
network
116, as is generally known in the art.
100441 In some cases, the dormant account holder system 112 may
include a dormant
account holder database 122, that may be populated with data regarding dormant
accounts,
and may include any information associated with an asset owner.
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100451 The various computing systems described herein, such as,
without limitations, the
dormant account holder system 112, the communications system 114, the client
device 115,
and the payment system 120, may all be in communication at one time or another
with the
computing resources 102 to facilitate the methods, processes, and systems
described herein.
The computing systems may be local system with one or more server computers,
distributed
computing system, cloud computing systems, or a combination of variously
computer
architecture systems
100461 The computing resources 102 may be in communication with an
enriched data
records 124 database which it may maintain and populate with data associated
with an asset
owner. In some cases, the enriched data records 124 populated by the computing
resources
102 will contain more recent data, or additional data not found in a
corresponding asset
owner data record of a dormant account holder database 122. In some cases, the
enriched
data records 124 will contain an entry that corresponds with an asset owner
data record
contained in the dormant account holder database 122, but the enriched data
record 124 may
contain additional information not found in the dormant account holder
database 122.
100471 With reference to FIG. 2, an example process flow and
operation of the system
100 will be described from the perspective of the computer resources 102. At
block 202, the
computing resources 102 receives dormant account data. For example, data
associated with a
dormant account may be retrieved from the dormant account holder database 122
by the
dormant account holder system 112 and send, such as via network 16, to the
computing
resources 102.
100481 The computing resources 102 may store the dormant account
data in the enriched
data records 124 database prior to, or during, a time in which the computing
resources
generates additional data to add or replace in the dormant account data
record. The
computing resources may retrieve, discover, or generate new data to add to the
dormant
account record in the enriched data records 124 database and either replace or
append the
new data to create an enriched data record that includes additional or
alternative information
to the data provided from the dormant account holder database 122. The
additional data may
be generated based upon searching one or more private databases 109. In some
examples,
the computing resources 102 are under control of a licensed private
investigator who may
have access to private databases that are not generally available to the
public.
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100491 For example, a licensed private investigator is a person
that is licensed by one or
more states and is able to access sensitive personal information that is not
generally available
to the public. This is due, in large part, because a licensed professional is
required to
complete mandatory education, training, and has been evaluated for probable
integrity and
trustworthiness. A licensed professional is held to a high standard of care
with the available
information. For example, if the private investigator improperly accesses or
abuses the
information, the licensed private investigator can lose his professional
license and further be
subject to penalties.
100501 At block 204, the computing resources 102, under control of
a licensed private
investigator, may access proprietary databases which may include, without
limitation,
address history, email addresses, deceased records search, phone numbers,
social security
records, bank records, credit bureau records, criminal records, property
records, vehicle
records, domain registrations, aircraft ownership, boat ownership, among other
types of
information. The computing resources 102 may compare the information from the
private
databases 109 with the information stored in the enriched data records 124 and
may append
or replace data fields with more pertinent information. This may include more
up to date
contact information or adding information that was missing from the data
record. For
example, the enriched data record may be generated to include an updated email
address, cell
phone number, last-known job, or a determining of living or deceased. This
data may be
generated and appended within the enriched data record 124 to generate updated
account data
associated with individual account holders.
100511 While the description uses examples that rely on a single
data record, it should be
appreciated that the enriched data records 124 may contain tens of thousands,
hundreds of
thousands, or millions of individual data records associated with unique asset
owners. An
advantage of the described system and methods is that, in many embodiments,
the computing
resources are configured with instructions that cause the computing resources
to
automatically retrieve information from the private databases 109, the public
databases 110,
and generate enriched data records 124 to store in the enriched data records
database.
100521 At block 206, the computing resources 102 may compare
retrieved data from
private databases 109 and/or public databases 110 with data in the enriched
data records 124
and may supplement account data with current data. For example, in the case
where an asset
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owner moves, the computing resources may compare two known addresses and
determine
which address is the most current and supplement the account data with the
current data to
generate the enriched data record. The same may be true for any type of data
associated with
the asset owner 118.
100531 At block 208, the computing resources may automatically
generate asset owner
contact. For example, the computing resources 102 may send instructions to the
communications system 114 with asset owner 118 information, such as from the
enriched
data record 124 associated with the asset owner 118, and the communications
system 114
may initiate contact with the asset owner using information from the enriched
data record
124. As an example, where the enriched data record 124 includes updated
information
related to an asset owner's physical address, cellphone number, or email
address, the
communications system 114 may generate a communication to contact the asset
owner 118
through any known form of communication. As a further example, the
communications
system 114 may generate a message and send the message to the asset owner's
cellphone
number. The generated communication may include any of a number of textual
elements,
graphical elements, hyperlinks, and use any type of messaging protocol such
as, without
limitation, short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (M1VIS),
enhanced
message service (EMS), instant message (IM), and other types of messaging
protocols.
100541 In some cases, the generated communication may include
personal information
about the asset owner, such as, the asset owner's name, account number, dates
for which the
asset owner was a customer or employee of a dormant account holder, as well as
other
information. The generated communication may additionally include a link to
allow the asset
owner 118 to receive the asset.
100551 At block 210, the computing resources may communicate with
a payment system
120 to enable the asset owner to receive the asset. In some cases, the
generated
communication may include a link that directs the asset owner to the payment
system 120
that may be set up to allow the asset owner 118 to provide verification of
identity and then
electronically receive payment of the asset. The payment system 120 may be
configured to
send payment through any suitable electronic means or non-electronic means.
Current
examples of electronic payment platforms include platforms such as Venmo ,
Zelle ,
Xoom , PayPal , Google Pay , and Apple Pay , among others. These exemplary
payment
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platforms may also be referred to as peer-to-peer payment services in which
funds are
transferred directly from a first account to a second account. In some cases,
the second
account may be a bank account, a rewards cards, a credit card, a debit card,
an account
associated with the payment platform, and the like. In some cases, a payment
may be
delivered to the asset owner by delivering a physical financial instrument,
such as a check, a
cashier's check, a stock certificate, cash, a certificate of deposit, or some
other physical
financial instrument
100561 In some instances, a dormant account holder may have
hundreds or thousands of
dormant accounts that each belong to unique asset owners 118. The described
system and
methods facilitate the dormant account holder to efficiently find the asset
owners by
generated enriched data records and providing an electronic means for
transferring the
monetary assets to the asset owners 118. In some examples, the described steps
may be
performed automatically. For example, the computing resources may receive data
from the
dormant account holder database 122, which may be in a comma delimited file, a
database
file, a spreadsheet file, or some other data structure and then proceed to
automatically search
through public databases 110 and/or private databases 109, generate the
enriched data record
associated with an asset owner 118, generate a communication through the
communication
system 114 to the asset owner 118, verify the asset owner identity, and
electronically transfer
the monetary asset to the asset owner 118.
100571 FIG. 3 illustrates a process flow 300 for verifying an
asset owner. At block 302,
the computing resources may determine the living status of a dormant asset
owner. For
example, where a data record is received from a dormant account holder
database 122, the
computing resources 102 may determine whether the asset owner associated with
the data
record is living or deceased. This may be performed, for example, by
retrieving data from a
living record database. In some cases, the system may infer a status of
living, such as, for
example, where an asset owner shows recent activity such as moving history,
opening new
accounts, changing telephone numbers, and the like.
100581 At block 304, the system automatically enriches the data
associated with the asset
owner by storing data associated with a living status and any additional
details generated
during verification.
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100591 At block 306, the system generated a communication to the
asset owner. The
communication may include any of the details found in the enriched data
record, and may
include, as an example, an identification of the dormant account holder, the
dormant account
number, a date or date range during which the asset owner had a relationship
with the
dormant account holder, personal information of the asset owner, and the like.
The
communication may be sent through any suitable medium, and may include
electronic
communication (e.g., email, text messaging, etc.), physical mail sent to the
asset owners' last
known address, telephone communications, or some other form of communication.
In some
cases of electronic communication, the communication may include a link (e.g.,
hyperlink) to
visit one or more websites, such as to verify the identity of the asset owner
and/or verify the
identity of the dormant account holder, or arrange delivery of the asset.
100601 At block 308, the system may verify the identity of the
asset owner. This may be
performed through any suitable method, and may include, for example,
requesting the asset
owner to identify a previous address, telephone number, past or present
relationship with a
rd
party merchant, verify a payment range on a credit or mortgage account, or
some other
form of verification.
100611 At block 310, a payment is automatically generated to the
account owner. In some
cases, the payment is an electronic payment sent through an online payment
processing
center and the asset owner may be prompted to choose a payment merchant to
receive the
payment from.
100621 FIG. 4 illustrates a logical process flow for enriching an
asset owner data record.
At block 402, the computing resources 102 may receive an asset owner data
file. This may
come, for example, from a dormant account holder who has information
associated with an
asset owner. The asset owner may have had a prior relationship with the
dormant account
holder, and the dormant account holder may have assets, such as money, that it
owes to the
asset owner. In many cases, the dormant account holder has been unable to
return the assets
to the asset owner and may use a system, such as those described herein, to
return the assets
to their rightful owner.
100631 At block, 404, the system determines the living status of
the asset owner. This
may be done, for example, by retrieving or generating data associated with
current contact
information, recent transactions, and the like.
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100641 At block 406, the system may determine contact information
of the asset owner.
The system may have access to public databases, private databases, as well as
other sources
of information to find contact information associated with the asset owner.
100651 At block 408, the asset owner data file may be enriched
with newly discovered or
generated data associated with the asset owner, such as, without limitation,
living status, the
identification of family members or friends, credit history, telephone number,
cellphone
number, address, current or past employment, as well as other information Tn
some
examples, the enriched data file may be used to generate a communication to
the asset owner
to return assets.
100661 FIG. 5 illustrates a logical process flow for generating a
communication and
initiating an asset return to the asset owner. At block 502, the system 100
automatically
sends a communication to the asset owner, which may include asset owner data.
For
example, the communication may include a text message that indicates that a
company is
holding assets that belong to the asset owner. The assets may include, for
example, a deposit,
an overpayment on an account, a refund, a paycheck, among other things. The
communication may further include asset owner data such as the asset owner
name, address,
information associated with the dormant account holder (e.g., identity of
dormant account
holder, logo of dormant account holder, account number, dates that asset owner
was
associated with dormant account holder, and the like).
100671 In some embodiments, the communication is a one-to-one
communication. In
other words, a unique message is created for each unique recipient. In some
cases, the
message includes information specific to the asset owner, such as an account
number, a date
of service, an identification of the asset, the source of the asset, among
other information that
make the communication unique to each recipient.
100681 At block 504, the system may verify the identity of the
asset owner through any
suitable method, such as those described herein in relation to other
embodiments.
100691 At block 506, the system receives confirmation of a desired
payment method. For
instance, the asset owner may be prompted to select a desired payment method,
and the
system receives confirmation of the desired payment method. This may be done
electronically, such as by the asset owner selecting from a list or drop-down
menu, and the
selection may be transmitted to the computing resources 102. The payment
method may
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include one or more of an electronic payment, automated clearing house
payment, physical
check, a credit at a merchant, a credit with the dormant account holder, a
gift card, and the
like.
100701 At block 508, the computing resources 102 may automatically
initiate transfer of
the asset to the asset owner. The computing resources 102 may instruct the
payment system
120 to send money to the asset owner through the desired payment method.
100711 FTC. 6 illustrates a logical process flow 600 for
automatically enriching asset
owner data, generating communications, and delivering asset to asset owner.
100721 At block 602 the system (e.g., computing resources 102),
partitions a list of
unclaimed property data by deceased and living asset owners. In many cases,
assets
belonging to owners who have deceased can no longer be claimed, but rather,
the property is
escheated to the government. Thus, bifurcating the unclaimed property by
living and
deceased asset owners increases efficiency by only processing asset owner data
for the living
asset owners.
100731 At block 604, the unclaimed property data is enriched with
contact information for
the portion of the data associated with living asset owners. The contact
information may
include any information described herein and be generated according to any
method with
respect to any embodiment herein.
100741 At block 606, the enriched asset owner data is sent to the
computing resources
102. This may be performed, for example, by a push from a remote computing
system t the
computing resources 102, by a pull from the computing resources 102, or
through some other
protocol. In some cases, the enriched data records 124 are stored in a
relational database and
may be stored on a physical memory associated with the computing resources
102. In some
cases, the enriched data records 124 are stored remotely from the computing
resources 102.
100751 At block 608, the system generates a communication and
sends it to the living
asset owners. The communication may be any form of communication, such as
those
described herein, and may further include any information that may allow an
asset owner to
have confidence that the communication is legitimate, as described elsewhere
herein with
regard to embodiments described.
100761 At block 610, the system verifies the living asset owner
identity, such as through
challenge questions to the living asset owner.
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100771 At block 612, the system presents asset delivery terms to
the asset owner. For
example, the asset owner is presented with a dollar amount of the owed asset,
and the asset
owner must agree to provide a portion of the asset as remuneration to a third
party facilitating
the return of the asset. The terms may also include other terms, such as terms
related to
delivery time, delivery location, delivery amount, and the like.
100781 At block 614 the system processes payment to the asset
owner. In some cases, the
system may send instnictions to a financial payment system with a payment
amount and a
delivery address to initiate the payment to the asset owner. The delivery
address may be an
electronic address such as an email address, a telephone number address, and
internet
protocol address, an account number, a username to an account, or some other
identifier that
allows a payment to be sent to a desired recipient.
100791 It should be appreciated that while examples presented
herein may describe a
single data record and a single communication, it should be appreciated that
the described
systems and methods can provide hundreds of thousands, or more, enriched asset
owner
records, and unique communications to each of those asset owners, very
efficiently and in a
short period of time. Furthermore, where an asset owner may not be located or
may not
respond to a communication, the system can continue to search for updated
contact
information and the generate a new communication once the system receives
updated contact
details for the asset owner. The system may store asset owner data for asset
owners that do
not have valid contact information and continue to look for updated contact
information on a
scheduled basis, such as every month, or every three months, or every six
months, or some
other interval.
10080] In many of the examples herein, a dormant account holder
may fund an escrow
account based upon the volume of dormant accounts that it holds. As asset
owners receive
their assets and deplete the escrow account, the dormant account holder may
replenish the
escrow account once an account threshold has been met. The described systems
and methods
offer numerous benefits to the dormant account holder as well as the asset
owner. For
example, the record keeping burden on the dormant account holder may be
onerous and may
be dictated by state laws. Accordingly, a dormant account holder that has
locations in
multiple states must be aware of, and comply with, the different state laws.
By efficiently
reuniting an asset owner with the asset, this relieves the burden on the
dormant account
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holder in terms of operating expense and record keeping costs. Furthermore,
where a
dormant account holder is proactive about returning assets to the asset
owners, it creates
goodwill in the company from customers and employees. Finally, returning the
asset to the
asset owners provides a monetary benefit to the asset owner, which is a mutual
benefit to
both the dormant account holder and the asset owner.
100811 With reference to FIGS 7A, 7B, and 7C, a series of
generated communications are
illustrated. HG 7A represents an initial contact with an asset owner once the
asset owner
data record has been enriched with current contact information. According to
the illustrated
example, the generated communication is being sent through a text message to
the asset
owners cellular telephone. The initial communication may include any suitable
information
to lend legitimacy to the communication and may include, for example, the
asset owners
name, an account number, a date of contact between the asset owner and the
dormant account
holder, a company logo or company name associated with the dormant account
holder, and
instructions for either claiming the asset or opting out of claiming the
asset.
100821 FIG. 7B illustrates a communication containing a link, such
as a hyperlink, that
directs the asset owner to a website to verify the identity of the asset owner
and claim the
asset.
100831 FIG. 7C illustrates an example communication in which the
asset owner has
chosen to not receive the asset through the system. By opting out, an asset
owner can decline
to claim the asset through the systems and processes described herein, but
rather, can either
contact the dormant account holder directly to claim the asset, wait until the
dormant account
has been escheated and turned over to the government and the asset owner can
go through the
unclaimed property process that is overseen by a local government, or chose
not to pursue the
asset in which case the asset will escheat to the government.
100841 FIG. 8 illustrates a system 800 for verifying the identity
of a payee and processing
a payment to the payee. There are many circumstances where a payor owes
remuneration to
a payee. In some cases, a payor needs to make copious transfers to a plurality
of payees. In
some cases, especially where the payment amount is below a threshold,
initiating a payment
to a payee may cost a considerable percentage of the payment amount, and in
some cases,
initiating the payment may cost more than the amount of the payment itself.
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100851 For example, where a payor owes small amounts of money to numerous
payees,
the cost of administering the payment process, including paying employees, the
cost of
equipment and supplies to print checks, postage, and the like may result in a
cost that is a
significant amount compared with the total of the payments. In some cases, the
costs to
process the payments may be greater than 100/0, or 20%, or 30%, or 50%, or
80%, or 100% or
more compared with the amount of the payment or payments. In some cases, the
payor is
di sincentivi zed from issuing owed payments because of the cost of processing
the payments
when compared to the amount of the payments.
100861 In some cases, the systems and methods disclosed and
described herein may
provide for an efficient system to handle copious payments, especially those
of a smaller
amount. In many cases, the systems described herein, such as with reference to
FIGS 1-7C,
allow for numerous payments to be made by relying on a subset of the
components and
process steps described.
100871 The system 800 includes computing resources 802 that may be
any suitable
computing resources, such as those described elsewhere herein, and may be one
or more
localized servers, may be a distributing computing environment, or some other
architecture.
The computing resources 802 may have one or more processors 804 and physical
memory
806 that may store one or more modules 808 executable by the one or more
processors 804 to
perform acts.
100881 The system 800 may have access to one or more private
databases 809, public
databases 810, and other information. A payor system 812 may be in
communication with a
payor database 822 that stores one or more payee data records. A
communications system
814 may be in communication with the computing resources 802 and/or the payor
system
812, such as through a network 816, as described elsewhere herein with respect
to any of the
embodiments.
100891 The communication system 814 may be configured to generate
and/or send a
communication to a payee 818, such as by sending an electronic message to a
client device
815 associated with the payee. A payment system 820 may be in communication
with the
computing resources 802 and can be configured to process a payment to the
payee 818. In
some cases, the computing resources 802 may generate a communication to a
payee 818,
such as by incorporating data contained in the payee data records, or the
enriched data
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records 824 in order to send a communication to the payee that allows the
payee to ascertain
the purpose of the communication. Such a system may be configured to allow a
payor to
electronically send payments to numerous payees with a high degree of
automaticity, for a
very low cost. In some cases, the system may be provided as a service and a
payor may
subscribe to the service. In some cases, the system may be licensed to a
payor. In some
cases, the system is made available to a payor on a per transaction basis.
100901 With reference to FTC 9, at block 902, the system may
receive a payee data file
The payee data file may include data identifying a payee and an amount of a
payment, among
other things. For instance, the payee data file may include one or more of a
payee name, a
physical address, an email address, a cellular telephone number, a home phone
number, an
account number, a payment amount, a date of service associated with the
payment, among
other things. In some cases, the system may enrich the data provided in the
payee data file,
while in other cases, there may not be a need to enrich the data because the
provided data is
sufficient to carry out the process. In some cases, the system may enrich the
data provided in
the payee data file, such as, for example, by discovering updated contact
information, in
which case the payee data file may be enriched with the new data and updated.
In some
cases, the payee data file may be a part of a larger set of data files that
may include a
plurality of payee data files. For instance, an entity may provide payee data
files for
numerous payees, such as in a database file, or some other file format that
the system can
read and use to process payments.
100911 At block 904, the system may optionally determine contact
information of one or
more payees. For instance, as discussed in relation to embodiments herein, the
system may
search private and/or public records databases to discover contact information
for a payee
that may not be provided in the payee data file. The system can therefore
enrich the payee
data records, if necessary, and use the enriched data records in carrying out
the methods
described herein.
100921 At block 906, the system generates a communication with one
or more payees.
The communication may be any type of suitable communication, as described
herein, and
may include information to allow the payee to ascertain what the payment
relates to. For
example, the communication may include one or more of a payee identity, an
amount of
payment, reason for payment, a date the payment became due to the payee, an
identification
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of the payor, an account number associated with the payment, and a way to
receive the
payment, among other things.
100931 At block 908, the system verifies the identity of the payee
and may be done by any
suitable method, such as those discussed herein.
100941 At block 910, the payment may be processed and delivered to
the payee. In some
cases, the payee is aware that the payment is owed to the payee, while in
other cases, the
payee may not be aware that the payment is owed. Tn some cases, the payee can
electronically receive the payment, such as through any suitable electronic
payment platform
as described elsewhere herein.
100951 As a non-limiting example, a class action lawsuit may
identify individual members
of a plaintiff's class. In some cases, the class may number hundreds,
thousands, tens of
thousands, or more individuals. When the class action receives a final
disposition, each of
the members of the class may be entitled to a portion of the class action
proceeds. In some
cases, the members of the class receive a small portion of the class action
proceeds, and the
cost for processing and delivering the payments may be a substantial cost when
compared to
the amount of the payments. The discloses system may receive payee data
records associated
with the members of the class, which may include payee name, mobile phone
number,
identification of the class action, and a payment amount. The system may
automatically
generate a unique communication to each class member that may include an
identification of
the class action, the member name, and a link to verify identity of the class
member and/or to
receive payment. The class member may follow the link to verify the class
member's
identity through any suitable method, and then select to receive an electronic
transfer of the
payment amount. This process may happen for thousands of class members, or an
even larger
number of class members.
100961 The disclosed system is capable of quickly and efficiently
handling large numbers
of payments to individuals. In some cases, the system receives a spreadsheet
containing
payee names, contact details (e.g., mobile phone number), and payment amounts.
The
spreadsheet containing payee data records may number tens of thousands, and
the system can
efficiently process these payee data records, generate unique communications
to each payee,
verify the identity of each payee, and initiate an electronic payment to each
payee. In many
cases, the payee data records will include more than 10 unique payees, or more
than 100
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unique payees, or more than 1000 payees, and the system can be configure to
automatically
generate a communication and initiate an electronic funds transfer to the
payees.
100971 FIG. 10 illustrates a system 1000 for automating a payment
to a payee in
accordance with some embodiments. In some cases, where a payor desires to make
financial
transfers to numerous payees, the cost of administering the payment process,
including
paying employees, the cost of equipment and supplies to print checks, postage,
and the like
may result in a cost that is a significant amount compared with the total of
the financial
transfer. In some cases, the costs to process the payments may be greater than
10%, or 20%,
or 30%, or 50%, or 80%, or 100% or more compared with the amount of the
financial
transfer. In some cases, the payor is disincentivized from issuing owed
payments because of
the cost of processing the payments when compared to the amount of the
payments.
100981 In some cases, the systems and methods disclosed and
described herein may
provide for an efficient system to handle copious payments, and can lead to a
great deal of
automation while still ensuring privacy, efficiency, and accuracy. In many
cases, the systems
described herein, such as with reference to FIGS 1-9, allow for numerous
payments to be
made by relying on a subset of the components and process steps described.
100991 The system 1000 may share many of the components as other
embodiments
described herein, such as those illustrated in relation to FIG 8. The system
1000 includes
computing resources 802 that may be any suitable computing resources, such as
those
described elsewhere herein, and may be one or more localized servers, may be a
distributing
computing environment, or some other architecture. The computing resources 802
may have
one or more processors 804 and physical memory 806 that may store one or more
modules
808 executable by the one or more processors 804 to perform acts.
101001 The system 800 may have access to one or more private
databases 809, public
databases 810, and other information. A partner system 812 may be in
communication with
a partner database 1022 that stores one or more data records that may include
the payee 818.
The partner system may be in communication with the payee 818, such as through
a client
device 815 associated with the payee. For instance, the payee 818 may have an
account with
the partner system 1012 and may receive trusted communications from the
partner system
1012.
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101011 In a non-limiting example, the partner may be a bank at
which the payee maintains
one or more bank accounts, and the partner system 1012 may be a banking system
with
which the payee 818 has interactions. In some cases, the client device 815
associated with the
payee 818 may have a banking application installed that facilitates
communication between
the partner system 1012 and the payee 818 and may allow the payee 818 to view
details of
one or more bank accounts. The partner system 1012 may include a
communications system,
and as described, may include an application that can send notifications,
alerts, badges, icons,
messages, or other forms of electronic communication to the client device 815
for the payee
818. The communications may happen through the network 816, as is generally
known in
the art.
101021 In some examples, the partner system 1012 is configured to
access a partner
database 1022 that includes records that may contain data related to one or
more payees. In
some cases, the computing resources 802 may transmit data to the partner
system 1012 that
includes details of one or more payees, and the partner system 1012 may
correlate the
identity of the one or more payees with data stored in the partner database
1022. For
example, where the computing resources send a social security number
associated with a
payee, the partner system 1012 may query the partner database 1022 to
correlate the social
number with a data entry in the partner database 1022. In the case that the
partner system
1012 is able to correlate the payee with data stored in the partner database
1022, the partner
system 1012 may send a confirmation of correlation to the computing resources
and/or send a
communication to the client device 815 associated with the payee 818.
101031 As used herein, to "correlate" the data is used to mean
that any identifying data
sent by the computing resources 802 to the partner system 1012, is found by
the partner
system in the partner database 1022. For example, where the computing
resources 802 sends
identifying information, such as a name, address, telephone number, social
security number,
account number, or some other type of identifying information, where the
partner system is
able to find a match between one or more pieces of identifying information
sent by the
computing resources 802 in the partner database 1022, then the data is
correlated. In other
words, the data is correlated when the partner system 1012 determines that the
payee has a
current account or has a dormant account with the partner system 1012.
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101041 The partner system 1012 may be configured to generate
and/or send a
communication to a payee 818, such as by sending an electronic message to a
client device
815 associated with the payee. The electronic message may be any suitable
message, and
may include a message sent through an application controlled by the partner
system, such as
a push notification, an alert, a text message, a dashboard message, or
otherwise. The
message may include text and/or images. The message may provide information to
the payee
that the payee is eligible to receive a financial transfer and may provide in
stnicti ons for
receiving the financial transfer.
101051 In some cases, the payee is accustomed to receiving
financial information from the
partner system, 1012 and may be more likely to trust a notification regarding
a financial
transfer that is available to the payee than if the message simply came
through an untrusted
source.
101061 A payment system 820 may be in communication with the
computing resources
802 and/or the partner system 1012 and can be configured to process a payment
to the payee
818. In some cases, the partner system 1012 may generate a communication to
the payee
818, such as by incorporating data contained in the partner database 1022, to
send a
communication to the payee that allows the payee to ascertain the purpose of
the
communication. In some cases, the payment system 820 may be controlled or
operated by
the partner system 1012 and the financial transfer may be effectuated through
the partner
system 1012. Such a system may be configured to allow a payor to
electronically send
payments to numerous payees with a high degree of automaticity, for a very low
cost.
101071 With reference to FIG. 11, at block 1102, the system 1000
may receive a payee
data file. The payee data file may contain one or more data entries that
identify one or more
payees. The data file may be in any suitable file type or data structure
types. In some cases,
a data entry in the data file is associated with a payee and includes one or
more types of
identifying information, such as, for example, a name, last known address,
social security
number, birth date, employment information, relative information, tax
identification number,
drivers license number, or some other type of identifying information. The
data file may
additionally include details of a financial transfer to be made to the one or
more payees, and
may include the source of the financial transfers, the amount of the transfer,
a date the
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transfer became available, and a date at which the financial transfer will be
forfeited, among
other information.
101081 At block 1104, the system 1000 may optionally determine
contact information of
the one or more payees in the data file. This may be done, as described above,
by searching
one or more public or private databases to obtain additional information about
the one or
more payees. Additionally, the system 1000 may search death records to
determine that the
one or more payees are still living
101091 At block 1106, the system 1000 may enrich the data records,
such as by updating
employment information, contact information, living status information, and
the like.
101101 At block 1108, the system 1000 correlates information of
the payee with the
partner system. As an example, the partner system may be a bank, an electronic
payment
platform (e.g., Venmo , Zelle , Xoom , PayPal , Google Pay , and Apple Pay ,
among
others), or some other type of financial or communication platform. The system
1000 may
send the payee information (which may include the enriched data file) to the
partner system,
which determines that the one or more payees have identifying information that
is found in
the partner database (e.g., correlated). In some examples, correlating the
payee information
in the partner database indicates that the payee has a relationship with the
partner, such as by
having a financial account, a customer account, or some other type of
relationship, with the
partner. The payee information may be correlated by matching one or more
pieces of data in
the payee record with one or more pieces of data in the partner database. For
example, where
the payee record is received by a partner and it includes a name, a telephone
number, an
address, a birth date, and a social security number, the partner database may
match a social
security number to correlate the payee information Similarly, where an
identification
number may not be available, the partner system may determine that the name,
birthday, and
address match a data record in the partner database to correlate the payee
information with an
entry in the partner database. In short, any piece of data or combination of
pieces of data
associated with payee information may be used to correlate the payee
information with an
entry in the partner database.
101111 At block 1110, the partner system sends a communication to
the payee. As
described elsewhere herein, the communication may be through any suitable
means, but in
some cases, is sent as a push notification through an application controlled
by the partner.
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101121 At block 1112, the financial transfer is sent to the payee.
This may happen through
any suitable mechanism, and may include depositing money into a payee account
maintained
by the partner, or may include another form of electronic funds transfer into
any account
associated with the payee. The financial transfer may come through a payment
system not
affiliated with the partner, or may come through the partner system 1012. In
some cases, the
financial transfer may be crypto currency and deposited into a crypto wallet
associated with
the payee. As used herein, the terms payment and financial transfer may be
used
interchangeably. The terms refer to the transfer of anything of value, which
may include
financial instruments, crypto currency, digital works, non-fungible tokens,
currency, or any
other thing having value that can be transferred electronically or digitally.
101131 In some examples, the partner system 1012 may include a
link on a website of the
partner with a notification to all of its customers that may introduce the
system 1000 as a
trusted source of financial transactions.
101141 There are numerous use cases for such systems and methods
to greatly increase
efficiency and reduce cost to payors that regularly send payments to payees.
Such suitable
instances include, without limitation, class action settlements, employee
paychecks, income
tax refunds, property tax refunds, insurance proceeds, retirement account
payments, credit
balance returns, social security payments, jury duty payments, court deposit
refunds,
overpayment refunds, event ticket refunds, retail rebate payments, airline
ticket refunds,
excess proceeds payments, government stimulus payments, manufacturer rebate
payments,
property tax refunds, prepaid debit card balances, unclaimed property
payments, healthcare
provider payment returns, dormant account payments, hospital payment returns,
jail
commissary balances, capital credit distributions, utility deposit returns,
dormant bank
balance returns, insurance premium returns, account overpayment credits,
casino cash-outs,
sports betting payouts, multilevel marketing commission payments, credit card
perk
payments, royalty payments, dormant royalty payments, among others.
101151 In many cases, accounts below a threshold dollar amount are
not escheatable to the
government, and the account remains with the account holder. In some cases,
where the
amount of money in the account is small, the account holder will not process a
payment to
the payee because it becomes too expensive to initiate the payment or figure
out a system in
order to make the payments. The problem is exacerbated where a large entity
has a copious
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number of payments to make. For example, a hospital may have thousands of
accounts with
small balances that need to be returned to the patients, such as a result of
overpayment. The
hospital may not deliver the small account balances to the patients because
doing so is cost
prohibitive to the hospital, and where the amount in the account is below a
threshold, the
account may not be escheatable so it may never be entered as unclaimed
property.
101161 By utilizing the systems and methods described herein, a
payee data file that
includes one or more payees can be received by the disclosed system The payee
data file
may include identification of the payees and may further include cell phone
numbers and
payment amounts associated with each payee. The system may automatically
generate
communications with each of the payees in the payee data file, verify the
identity of the
individual payees, and then process electronic payments to the payees. The
system functions
largely automatically, thus reducing cost to the payor, increasing efficiency,
and increasing
the speed at which the payment reaches the payee.
101171 The disclosure sets forth example embodiments and, as such,
is not intended to
limit the scope of embodiments of the disclosure and the appended claims in
any way.
Embodiments have been described above with the aid of functional building
blocks
illustrating the implementation of specified components, functions, and
relationships thereof
The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily
defined herein for
the convenience of the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined to the
extent that the
specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed.
101181 The processes described herein are illustrated as a
collection of steps in a logical
flow, which represent a sequence of operations that can be implemented in
hardware,
software, or a combination thereof In the context of software, the steps
represent computer-
executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media
that, when
executed by one or more processors, perform the recited operations. Generally,
computer-
executable instructions include routines, modules, programs, objects,
components, data
structures, and the like that perform particular functions or implement
particular data types.
The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be
construed as a
limitation, and any number of the described blocks can be combined in any
order and/or in
parallel to implement the processes. Moreover, some of the operations can be
repeated during
the process.
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10H91 The foregoing description of specific embodiments will so
fully reveal the general
nature of embodiments of the disclosure that others can, by applying knowledge
of those of
ordinary skill in the art, readily modify and/or adapt for various
applications such specific
embodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from the general
concept of
embodiments of the disclosure. Therefore, such adaptation and modifications
are intended to
be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments,
based on the
teaching and guidance presented herein The phraseology or terminology herein
is for the
purpose of description and not of limitation, such that the terminology or
phraseology of the
specification is to be interpreted by persons of ordinary skill in the
relevant art in light of the
teachings and guidance presented herein.
101201 The breadth and scope of embodiments of the disclosure
should not be limited by
any of the above-described example embodiments, but should be defined only in
accordance
with the following claims and their equivalents.
101211 Conditional language, such as, among others, "can,"
"could," "might," or "may,"
unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the
context as used, is
generally intended to convey that certain implementations could include, while
other
implementations do not include, certain features, elements, and/or operations.
Thus, such
conditional language generally is not intended to imply that features,
elements, and/or
operations are in any way required for one or more implementations or that one
or more
implementations necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user
input or
prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or operations are included or
are to be
performed in any particular implementation.
101221 Although illustrated as separate elements, the method steps
described and/or
illustrated herein may represent portions of a single application. In
addition, in some
embodiments one or more of these steps may represent or correspond to one or
more
software applications or programs that, when executed by a computing device,
may cause the
computing device to perform one or more tasks, such as the method step.
101231 In addition, one or more of the devices described herein
may transform data,
physical devices, and/or representations of physical devices from one form to
another.
Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the modules recited herein may
transform a
processor, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and/or any other portion of a
physical
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computing device from one form of computing device to another form of
computing device
by executing on the computing device, storing data on the computing device,
and/or
otherwise interacting with the computing device.
101241 The term -computer-readable medium," as used herein,
generally refers to any
form of device, carrier, or medium capable of storing or carrying computer-
readable
instructions. Examples of computer-readable media comprise, without
limitation,
transmission-type media, such as carrier waves, and non-transitory-type media,
such as
magnetic-storage media (e.g., hard disk drives, tape drives, and floppy
disks), optical-storage
media (e.g., Compact Disks (CDs), Digital Video Disks (DVDs), and BLU-RAY
disks),
electronic-storage media (e.g., solid-state drives and flash media), and other
distribution
systems.
101251 A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that
any process or method
disclosed herein can be modified in many ways. The process parameters and
sequence of the
steps described and/or illustrated herein are given by way of example only and
can be varied
as desired. For example, while the steps illustrated and/or described herein
may be shown or
discussed in a particular order, these steps do not necessarily need to be
performed in the
order illustrated or discussed.
101261 The various exemplary methods described and/or illustrated
herein may also omit
one or more of the steps described or illustrated herein or comprise
additional steps in
addition to those disclosed. Further, a step of any method as disclosed herein
can be
combined with any one or more steps of any other method as disclosed herein.
101271 It is, of course, not possible to describe every
conceivable combination of elements
and/or methods for purposes of describing the various features of the
disclosure, but those of
ordinary skill in the art recognize that many further combinations and
permutations of the
disclosed features are possible. Accordingly, various modifications may be
made to the
disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit thereof Further, other
embodiments of
the disclosure may be apparent from consideration of the specification and
annexed
drawings, and practice of disclosed embodiments as presented herein. Examples
put forward
in the specification and annexed drawings should be considered, in all
respects, as illustrative
and not restrictive. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are
used in a generic
and descriptive sense only, and not used for purposes of limitation.
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101281 Unless otherwise noted, the terms "connected to" and
"coupled to" (and their
derivatives), as used in the specification, are to be construed as permitting
both direct and
indirect (i.e., via other elements or components) connection. In addition, the
terms "a" or
-an," as used in the specification, are to be construed as meaning -at least
one of" Finally,
for ease of use, the terms "including" and "having" (and their derivatives),
as used in the
specification, are interchangeable with and have the same meaning as the word
"comprising."
101291 From the foregoing, and the accompanying drawings, it will
be appreciated that,
although specific implementations have been described herein for purposes of
illustration,
various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope
of the
appended claims and the elements recited therein. In addition, while certain
aspects are
presented below in certain claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various
aspects in any
available claim form. For example, while only some aspects may currently be
recited as
being embodied in a particular configuration, other aspects may likewise be so
embodied.
Various modifications and changes may be made as would be obvious to a person
skilled in
the art having the benefit of this disclosure. It is intended to embrace all
such modifications
and changes and, accordingly, the above description is to be regarded in an
illustrative rather
than a restrictive sense.
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