Patents Examined by Clement Graham
  • Patent number: 8452689
    Abstract: A digital image of a check may be divided into segments. The segments may be processed to determine the edges between the background data and the check data in the segments of the digital image. A histogram of each segment may be determined and used to determine the edges of the check image portions in the segments and thus the edges of the check. The data outside the edges of the check image portions in the segments may be considered to be background data and may be identified and/or removed. The segments, with the background data removed, may be recombined into an image of the check and provided into a digital image file that may be transmitted to an institution system for deposit of the check in an account.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: United Services Automobile Association (USAA)
    Inventor: Reynaldo Medina, III
  • Patent number: 8180707
    Abstract: A system and method for managing a construction payment process. One method embodying the invention can include automatically generating an electronic notification in response to an event, the electronic notification including an action item selectable by a participant to perform an action in response to the event, and making the electronic notification available to at least one participant in a construction project.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Textura Corporation
    Inventors: Patrick J. Allin, Charles C. Cherry, William H. Eichhorn, Howard L. Niden
  • Patent number: 8099362
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method of reconciling a primary budget for a construction project. One embodiment of the invention includes generating a primary budget for the construction project and assigning a first primary budget line item from the primary budget to a participant. A secondary budget is then generated for the primary budget line item. Invoice amounts corresponding to secondary budget line items are stored. Before administering a draw that includes a new payment to the second participant, the system ensures that the total sum of a current invoiced amount and all previously invoiced amounts corresponding to secondary budget line items is less than or equal to the budget amount of the primary budget line item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: Textura Corporation
    Inventors: Patrick J. Allin, Charles C. Cherry, William H. Eichhorn, Howard L. Niden
  • Patent number: 8046288
    Abstract: A system for processing transaction data and payment data is provided. The system includes a front-end system that receives transaction data from one or more merchants, such as an employee identifier. A back-end system receives payment data from one or more payment systems, such as fraud data. A reporting system that is connected to the front-end system and the back-end system correlates the transaction data the payment data, such as to show employee identifier data and fraud data in a single record.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2011
    Assignee: Paymentech, LLC
    Inventors: Lambert Wayne LeRoux, Russell James Mahy, Jay Stumpf Dollard, Chirayu Gangadhar Harshe, Michael Kerrick Nicholls, Eric Randall Bessell, Kirk Thomas Kotz, Gregory James Bricker, Rosemary R. Thomas, Mark A. Lawler, Satish Menon, Michael P. Duffy, Laura C. Rogers, George J. White
  • Patent number: 8041623
    Abstract: Trading software may receive information from an exchange. The trading software may track historical bid and ask information for a tradeable object. The trading software may display historical market depth information for the tradeable object on a trading screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.
    Inventors: Sagy Mintz, Ryan Andrews, Scott Singer, Jens-Uwe Schluetter
  • Patent number: 8036977
    Abstract: Trading software may receive information from an exchange. The trading software may track historical bid and ask information for a tradeable object. The trading software may display historical market depth information for the tradeable object on a trading screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.
    Inventors: Sagy Mintz, Ryan Andrews, Scott Singer, Jens-Uwe Schluetter
  • Patent number: 8032442
    Abstract: A system 10 for providing logistics for a sale of goods. The system 10 may be implemented over a global computer network 20, and is effective to provide financial logistics for a sale of goods between a seller and a remote buyer, in a manner that does not require interaction between the seller and buyer. The system 10 further implements a geography-based and time-based strategy for executing the logistics of shipping time-sensitive goods from the seller to the buyer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2011
    Assignee: StubHub, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeff Fluhr, Matthew Levenson, Jeff Lawson, Shawn Kernes
  • Patent number: 7933826
    Abstract: To electronically authorize and initiate payment, payment information including a date which pre-dates a due date of a payment by an amount of time corresponding to a time period for making payment in a particular manner. The received payment information is displayed in the form of a check, with the date displayed as a date on the check. A user authorization to proceed with the payment is received. An instruction to initiate the payment in the particular manner on the check date is transmitted based on the received user authorization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: CheckFree Corporation
    Inventors: Bill Kitchen, Ginger B. Moses, Ralph Au, Clarence M. Bringardner, Kenneth W. Bradley, III
  • Patent number: 7890415
    Abstract: A trading process represents an order that it is handling at multiple market processes simultaneously. Each of the market processes and the trading process follow a two-phase commit protocol, wherein permission to execute the order is obtained from the process controlling the order, and then the order is executed. Accordingly, multiple executions of an order are prevented. The control process is typically the trading process that originated the order. However, in some market methodologies, the market process may assume control over the order. Permission to execute the order is explicitly given by a trading process. Permission to execute the order may be inferred after a market process determines that no other market processes have control over the order.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Inventor: Christopher Keith
  • Patent number: 7870057
    Abstract: A method and system for the determination of optimal pricing and allocation of securities in an open, competitive environment. The method and system may also be used in developing pre-markets of other items that are difficult to price and allocate in a competitive manner, such as the underwriting/securitization of contracts for property; future revenue/earning streams from an asset and/or group of assets; underwritten insurance portfolios, intellectual property and other goods and services. The system of price optimization and allocation is accomplished by interactive feedback of information using a display and including competitive participation of individual members of the public (and/or their agents) or institutional buyers over a data network e.g., the Internet, uncovering the nature and identification of demand in a self-organizing fashion. Demand emerges through participants' interaction with the system and with each other, via a graphically-supported, interactive reservation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2011
    Inventor: N. Caleb Avery
  • Patent number: 7831498
    Abstract: A method of producing a suspicious activity reports includes storing configuration information at a transaction processing device. The configuration information configures the device to produce suspicious activity reports based on certain criteria. The method also includes receiving transaction information and determining, based on the transaction information and the certain criteria, whether a suspicious activity report is to be prepared. The method also includes generating a suspicious activity report containing at least some of the transaction information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2010
    Assignee: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: John M. Morales, James E. Cowell, Melanie B. Mulleneaux
  • Patent number: 7818244
    Abstract: A system for implementing a tree on paths method for generating a recombining interest rate tree from previously generated paths. The inventive method is a tree on paths method whereby a tree is created from previously generated paths. The tree on paths method uses Monte Carlo simulations to generate paths and uses a recombining algorithm to obtain a computationally efficient tree from the generated paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Fannie Mae
    Inventors: Venkat G. Dharan, Marat V. Kramin, Alexander L. Shulman
  • Patent number: 7805353
    Abstract: A method and system is provided by which an entity manages an exposure to an economic risk associated with a commodity and initially includes the step of modeling the exposure to the risk using financial instruments such as forward contracts and option contracts. Next, a hedge for the exposure is executed. Liquidated cash flows, that are based on the modeled exposure and said hedge, are periodically calculated. If liquidated cash flows are positive, a payout is provided to the entity while a payout is received from the entity if the liquidated cash flows are negative. In an exemplary embodiment, the liquidated cash flows are marked to the market.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Morgan Stanley
    Inventor: John A. C. Woodley
  • Patent number: 7797226
    Abstract: An interactive grid-based graphical trading system for use in securities trading provides a dynamic, visual display of trading data consisting of orders, quotes and indices, for any security and for any number of market participants. The trading data are plotted on a grid consisting of cells arranged in rows and columns, which are associated with specific parameters. Distinct visual presentation styles are used, and differences in the price parameter are represented spatially. The values of the price and other parameters associated with the same orders and quotes are mapped against the values associated with the rows and columns of the grid. A trader may place or modify trading orders by interacting with the trading data displayed on the grid, and with specific GUI objects displayed on the same grid. Trading instructions are generated and transmitted to a market participant, in a manner transparent to the trader.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2010
    Inventors: Pranil Ram, Crispin M. Almodovar
  • Patent number: 7725384
    Abstract: A system and method for managing a construction payment process. One method embodying the invention can include electronically receiving registration information including payment information from a plurality of participants, electronically storing the registration information for use with multiple construction projects, and transferring a plurality of payments to a plurality of participants associated with a plurality of construction projects by electronically accessing the registration information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Textura Corporation
    Inventors: Patrick J. Allin, Charles C. Cherry, William H. Eichhorn, Howard L. Niden
  • Patent number: 7720761
    Abstract: A method and system is disclosed for enabling the accurate determination of price points (APRs), credit limits, and other discretionary levels for each cardholder that maximize Net Present Value (NPV) for the portfolio, given constraints on quantities such as risk of default. In accordance with one embodiment, the present invention uses a Markov Decision Process (MDP) methodology to generate a simplified transition matrix representative of the potential state transitions for account holders. This model applies account level historical information on purchases, payments, profitability and delinquency risk to make these decisions. In addition, a data structure is disclosed constructed to implement a transition matrix computationally in different sizes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N. A.
    Inventors: Margaret S. Trench, Shane P. Pederson, Tak Wing (Edward) Lau, Lizhi Ma, Hui (Stephanie) Wang, Suresh K. Nair
  • Patent number: 7698211
    Abstract: A method and system for the determination of optimal pricing and allocation of securities in an open, competitive environment. The method and system may also be used in developing pre-markets of other items that are difficult to price and allocate in a competitive manner, such as the underwriting/securitization of contracts for property; future revenue/earning streams from an asset and/or group of assets; underwritten insurance portfolios, intellectual property and other goods and services. The system of price optimization and allocation is accomplished by interactive feedback of information using a display and including competitive participation of individual members of the public (and/or their agents) or institutional buyers over a data network e.g., the Internet, uncovering the nature and identification of demand in a self-organizing fashion. Demand emerges through participants' interaction with the system and with each other, via a graphically-supported, interactive reservation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2010
    Inventor: N. Caleb Avery
  • Patent number: 7698206
    Abstract: The invention proposes an improvement for a method for collecting a debt. The method includes entering in a data processing system data at least including data concerning the debtor and the debt, permitting debt access to at least two parties to at least a part of the data entered in the system, and initiating an action for collecting the debt on a basis of the data entered in the database. The improvement comprises entering accounting data regarding accounts payable to the creditor and payments to the creditor into the system, enabling a financing party providing a loan to the creditor on the payable accounts to inspect at least a part of the accounting data for determining an amount of the loan based on at least the part of the accounting data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2010
    Assignee: CollectByWeb Limited
    Inventor: Sheyda Mostowfi
  • Patent number: 7693779
    Abstract: A method and system for the determination of optimal pricing and allocation of securities in an open, competitive environment. The method and system may also be used in developing pre-markets of other items that are difficult to price and allocate in a competitive manner, such as the underwriting/securitization of contracts for property; future revenue/earning streams from an asset and/or group of assets; underwritten insurance portfolios, intellectual property and other goods and services. The system of price optimization and allocation is accomplished by interactive feedback of information using a display and including competitive participation of individual members of the public (and/or their agents) or institutional buyers over a data network e.g., the Internet, uncovering the nature and identification of demand in a self-organizing fashion. Demand emerges through participants' interaction with the system and with each other, via a graphically-supported, interactive reservation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2010
    Inventor: N. Caleb Avery
  • Patent number: 7676423
    Abstract: A method and system for the determination of optimal pricing and allocation of securities in an open, competitive environment. The method and system may also be used in developing pre-markets of other items that are difficult to price and allocate in a competitive manner, such as the underwriting/securitization of contracts for property; future revenue/earning streams from an asset and/or group of assets; underwritten insurance portfolios, intellectual property and other goods and services. The system of price optimization and allocation is accomplished by interactive feedback of information using a display and including competitive participation of individual members of the public (and/or their agents) or institutional buyers over a data network e.g., the Internet, uncovering the nature and identification of demand in a self-organizing fashion. Demand emerges through participants' interaction with the system and with each other, via a graphically-supported, interactive reservation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2010
    Inventor: N. Caleb Avery