EP1016996A2 - Server und Verfahren zum Verarbeiten von Rechnungen für ein System zum Ausliefern von digitalen Dokumenten - Google Patents

Server und Verfahren zum Verarbeiten von Rechnungen für ein System zum Ausliefern von digitalen Dokumenten Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1016996A2
EP1016996A2 EP99126155A EP99126155A EP1016996A2 EP 1016996 A2 EP1016996 A2 EP 1016996A2 EP 99126155 A EP99126155 A EP 99126155A EP 99126155 A EP99126155 A EP 99126155A EP 1016996 A2 EP1016996 A2 EP 1016996A2
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
bill
customer
processing server
bill processing
database
Prior art date
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Ceased
Application number
EP99126155A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP1016996A3 (de
Inventor
Mark Bresnan
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Pitney Bowes Inc
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Pitney Bowes Inc
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Pitney Bowes Inc filed Critical Pitney Bowes Inc
Publication of EP1016996A2 publication Critical patent/EP1016996A2/de
Publication of EP1016996A3 publication Critical patent/EP1016996A3/de
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/04—Billing or invoicing

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a bill processing server for use in a digital document delivery system and method, particularly for use via the Internet. It is particularly directed to such a system for presenting documents such as bills to customers and for receipt of customer information.
  • Digital document delivery systems are for use in delivering documents which otherwise would typically be delivered by hard copy printing processes.
  • the digital document delivery system typically incorporates a router instruction processor (RIP), a bill processing server (BPS) and an interactive bill presentment server (IBPS), all of which operate in conjunction with an electronic inserter and an associated electronic print stream and customer preference data for generating a primary document to a customer typically in the nature of a bill and associated secondary documents (inserts) which would normally accompany the printed form of such a bill if it were to be generated as hard copy.
  • RIP router instruction processor
  • BPS bill processing server
  • IBPS interactive bill presentment server
  • a bill processing server acts as a fulfillment center. It forms part of an overall digital document delivery system and performs a plurality of functions so as to act as an overall interface between a router instruction processor and an interactive bill presentment server.
  • the BPS saves and retrieves customer account data stored in an associated customer account database. It also services requests for links associated with secondary documents that can be referenced ("linked to") by the customer viewing his or her primary document.
  • the BPS also processes bill status requests from the IBPS.
  • the BPS can generate reports of various types that the proprietor of the digital document delivery system desires, such as daily reports concerning customer usage of the digital document delivery system.
  • the BPS can initiate payment feeds from the digital document delivery system to a payment processing system, such as a bank or other financial institution responsible for money transfers from customers' bank accounts or credit/debit card accounts to the account of the digital document delivery system proprietor.
  • an overall digital document delivery system of which the bill processing server 42 of the present invention forms an integral part thereof comprises a plurality of computer servers operating to perform various functions, including a router instruction processor 36, a bill processing server 42 and an interactive bill presentment server 44.
  • These various devices can be implemented on one or more computer servers, such as the Intel based Pentium IITM 400 MHz computer with 512 megabytes random access memory and with a 9 gigabyte hard drive.
  • the overall operation of the digital document delivery system is more fully set forth in the previously mentioned European patent co-pending patent application number (Attorney Docket Number E-789) entitled: System and Method for Presenting and Processing Documents on the Internet. Further disclosure of the digital document delivery system is sent forth in a co-pending European patent application number (Attorney Docket Number E-780) entitled: System and Method for Separating a Print Stream into an Electronic Document Print Stream and a Physical Document Print Stream, filed on the same date hereof and owned by the same assignee hereof. As disclosed therein, the digital document delivery system is directed to generating an electronic equivalent of a primary document with one or more inserts associated therewith.
  • An interactive bill presentation server (IBPS) generates HTML or other web based language statements for delivery via the Internet to a customer 52 using a web browser 54 on the customer's associated computer. By so doing, the primary document such as a customer bill 70, is presented on the customer's monitor via the web browser.
  • IBPS interactive bill presentation server
  • the IBPS receives the electronic print data typically from an electronic inserter (EI) module 26 which contains the primary document information such as a customer bill and information concerning secondary documents (inserts) which would normally be sent along with the bill if it were to be generated as hard copy.
  • EI electronic inserter
  • the BPS is primarily responsible for processing digital bill data associated with a bill presented to the customer via the digital document delivery system.
  • the BPS 42 acts as an interface between the storage of customer bill data in an associated account database 56 and presentment of that bill data to customers interested in viewing such data in electronic form as presented to the customer over the Internet by the output of the IBPS 44.
  • the BPS shields the router instruction processor (RIP) from bill processing and bill payment concerns.
  • the BPS is the primary device responsible for storing and retrieving customer bill data from the database and updating that data as required, based upon interaction of the customer with the digital document delivery system.
  • the BPS also acts as a "traffic cop" so as to prevent a customer from viewing a primary document and any secondary documents until all necessary documents are available for viewing. Thus the IBPS will not present a primary document to a customer requesting it until it receives permission from the BPS.
  • the BPS is also the server that typically is used to notify a customer that a primary document is available for viewing. Such notification can be achieved by E-mail, fax, pager or regular mail.
  • An alternative method can be used if the customer does not view a primary document within some period of time. Thus for instance, if the customer does not respond to an E-mail request within some time period (such as a week, for instance) a fax or regular mail message could be sent to the customer.
  • the overall primary document which could be a customer bill, is presented to the IBPS for presentment to the customer via the Internet.
  • the bill data is in the form of a Bill Data Object.
  • the Bill Data Object forms part of a Bill Request Object (bR).
  • the Bill Request Object is a type of Send Request Object as more fully described with reference to Figure 4.
  • the BPS responds to these objects by persisting the Bill Data Objects by permanently storing these objects in an account database 56.
  • the BPS also maintains the status of all customer interaction with respect to the digital document delivery system.
  • the information is forwarded from the IBPS to the BPS on demand by the BPS.
  • the BPS stores the status data for logging and archiving as well as for updating the Bill Data Object with the newly retrieved status before forwarding a status message back to the RIP.
  • the BPS is responsible for periodically processing bill payments made by the customer by merging the bill data from the account database 60 with the payment data received from the customer and forwarding this processed information indicative of the overall account balance of the customer to an associated payment processing system 43 such as a financial institution.
  • the payment processing system has an accurate and timely summary of all of the customers for whom electronic bills are generated, including their account balances based upon payments received from such customers.
  • the BPS can generate reports 80 of various types that the proprietor of the digital document delivery system desires, such as daily reports concerning customer usage of the digital document delivery system.
  • the BPS serves up secondary document (insert) data in the form of web hotlink references to the IBPS on demand.
  • the IBPS when it generates the web documents does so with links to the associated secondary document(s).
  • FIG. 3 presents details of the BPS, RIP and IBPS modules. These figures detail the transfer of the objects between the modules as well as the language protocols used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 presents a detailed description of a Send Request Object.
  • a Bill Request Object (bR) is a particular type of Send Request Object. Not all the components of a Send Request Object need to be present in a particular object sent from the RIP to the BPS.
  • the RIP, BPS and IBPS can be implemented on computer servers; e.g., Intel processor based servers using Microsoft Windows NTTM operating systems.
  • a high level object oriented language e.g., Sun Microsystems' JAVA language, can be preferably used to implement the specific instructions for performing above-described tasks.
  • the bill processing server is an integral part of an overall digital document delivery system whose primary responsibility is for maintaining and updating customer account data based upon generation of customer bills and receipt of payment information from customers. It can also be the device for generating customer notification of a bill so as to inform the customer, such as via an e-mail message, to access a web location which contains the electronically generated bill and associated inserts.
  • the bill processing server also receives Bill Request Objects with embedded Bill Data Objects from an associated router instruction processor which allows the BPS to update customer account information based upon the generation of associated electronic bills.
  • Electronic Inserter 26 Get data from Job Setup Module 32, customer preference file from customer preference database 20, print stream separator 16 and EMRDF output, compose bill request objects (bR), receive status messages from RIP, control AFP feed to IBPS.
  • Job Setup Application 32 Produce file of inserts in the form of hotlinks that are logically assigned to physical inserter bins.
  • Router Instruction Processor (RIP) 36 Service incoming requests from multiple clients (EIs), route requests to FAX, EMAIL, WEB, LOCAL PRINT, and PAGER, issue notifications based on status received, process status back to clients.
  • Database Account 56 Store remittance data, bill data, and status data for digital bills.
  • Bill Processing Server (BPS) 42 Save and retrieve bill data to the database, service CORBA requests for hotlinks from IBPS, process bill status messages from IBPS back to the RIP, issue reports and initiate payments feeds.
  • Interactive Bill Present Server (IBPS) 44 Process interactive events performed on the bill by customers, render HTML to customers based on downloaded servlets and stored XML rules, design document templates.

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  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Development Economics (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • Economics (AREA)
  • Finance (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
  • Financial Or Insurance-Related Operations Such As Payment And Settlement (AREA)
EP99126155A 1998-12-29 1999-12-29 Server und Verfahren zum Verarbeiten von Rechnungen für ein System zum Ausliefern von digitalen Dokumenten Ceased EP1016996A3 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US22221998A 1998-12-29 1998-12-29
US222219 1998-12-29

Publications (2)

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EP1016996A2 true EP1016996A2 (de) 2000-07-05
EP1016996A3 EP1016996A3 (de) 2001-02-14

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EP99126155A Ceased EP1016996A3 (de) 1998-12-29 1999-12-29 Server und Verfahren zum Verarbeiten von Rechnungen für ein System zum Ausliefern von digitalen Dokumenten

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EP (1) EP1016996A3 (de)
CA (1) CA2293203A1 (de)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1045554A3 (de) * 1999-04-12 2003-01-08 Pitney Bowes Inc. Vermittlerbefehlprozessor für ein Digitaldokument- Übermittlungssystem
WO2016172723A1 (en) * 2014-04-25 2016-10-27 Sherman Charles Alexander Bill calculation and payment system

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1998015925A2 (en) 1996-10-09 1998-04-16 Visa International Service Association Electronic statement presentment system
EP1016997A2 (de) 1998-12-29 2000-07-05 Pitney Bowes Inc. System und Verfahren zur Presentation und Bearbeitung von Dokumenten im Internet
EP1016958A2 (de) 1998-12-29 2000-07-05 Pitney Bowes Inc. System und Verfahren um einen Druckerdatenfluss in einen elektronischen Dokumentdatenfluss und einen physischen Dokumentdatenfluss zu trennen

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3652078A (en) * 1969-10-20 1972-03-28 Bell & Howell Co Selective insertion machine having verification and overweight diversion
US5121945A (en) * 1988-04-20 1992-06-16 Remittance Technology Corporation Financial data processing system
US5699528A (en) * 1995-10-31 1997-12-16 Mastercard International, Inc. System and method for bill delivery and payment over a communications network
US5761650A (en) * 1995-12-29 1998-06-02 Csg Systems, Inc. Billing system and method

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1998015925A2 (en) 1996-10-09 1998-04-16 Visa International Service Association Electronic statement presentment system
EP1016997A2 (de) 1998-12-29 2000-07-05 Pitney Bowes Inc. System und Verfahren zur Presentation und Bearbeitung von Dokumenten im Internet
EP1016958A2 (de) 1998-12-29 2000-07-05 Pitney Bowes Inc. System und Verfahren um einen Druckerdatenfluss in einen elektronischen Dokumentdatenfluss und einen physischen Dokumentdatenfluss zu trennen

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1045554A3 (de) * 1999-04-12 2003-01-08 Pitney Bowes Inc. Vermittlerbefehlprozessor für ein Digitaldokument- Übermittlungssystem
WO2016172723A1 (en) * 2014-04-25 2016-10-27 Sherman Charles Alexander Bill calculation and payment system

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Publication number Publication date
EP1016996A3 (de) 2001-02-14
CA2293203A1 (en) 2000-06-29

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