Method and apparatus for electronic collection, translation, grouping, and delivery of wage assignment information

• US 20020156769A1
• Filed: 05/29/2002
• Published: 10/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ACS State & Local Solutions Incorporated (Conduent, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ACS State & Local Solutions Incorporated (Conduent, Inc.)
• Inventors: Polk, John
• Granted Patent: US 7,072,909 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/125 Finance or payroll
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

This disclosure describes a system that electronically collects, translates, groups, and delivers wage assignment information from at least one initiator to at least one recipient via an accumulator. An initiator initially receives the wage assignment information. Then, an accumulator collects the wage assignment information from at least one initiator, such as a government agency. The accumulator then translates the wage assignment information into a format compatible with electronic data interchange (EDI), such as the ANSI X12 standard. The accumulator then groups the EDI wage assignment information into specific files, batching the files based upon one data field contained within the wage assignment information data set, such as a recipient. The accumulator then delivers a batched EDI wage assignment file to each respective recipient. Once the EDI wage assignment file is received by the recipient, the wage assignment may then be implemented.

Claims

1. A system for processing a wage assignment of a person from an initiator to an accumulator and then to a recipient, comprising:

a receiving component configured to receive the wage assignment at the initiator;

a dispatching component configured to dispatch the wage assignment from the initiator to the accumulator;

a processing component configured to process the wage assignment at the accumulator;

a transmitting component configured to transmit the wage assignment from the accumulator to the recipient; and

an implementing component configured to implement the wage assignment at the recipient.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiving component includes an inputting component configured to input the wage assignment into a database.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the main dispatching component further includes a subordinate dispatching component configured to dispatch an ASCII file.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing component includes a collecting component configured to collect a plurality of wage assignments into a database.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the processing component further includes a translating component configured to translate the wage assignments into a plurality of electronic files.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the translating component further includes a generating component configured to generate an electronic data interchange (EDI) file corresponding to each wage assignment.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the main translating component comprises:

an identifying component configured to identify a set of translation rules; and

a subordinate translating component configured to translate the wage assignment according to the translation rules.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the processing component further includes a grouping component configured to group the electronic files based on a recipient into batched electronic files.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the processing component further includes a delivering component configured to deliver a batched electronic file to each of a plurality of recipients.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the transmitting component includes an EDI batch file delivering component configured to deliver an EDI batch file to each recipient.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the main implementing component includes a subordinate implementing component configured to implement a wage assignment for each wage assignment contained in the batched electronic file.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the main implementing component includes a subordinate implementing component configured to implement a wage assignment for each wage assignment contained within the batch EDI file.

13. The system of claim 6, wherein the generating component further includes a utilizing component configured to utilize the 521 record set.

14. The system of claim 6, further comprising a certifying component configured to certify the recipient.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving step includes inputting the wage assignment into a database.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of dispatching further includes the substep of dispatching an ASCII file.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the processing step includes collecting a plurality of wage assignments into a database.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the processing step further includes translating the wage assignments into a plurality of electronic files.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of translating further includes generating an electronic data interchange (EDI) file corresponding to each wage assignment.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the translating step comprises the substeps of:

identifying a set of translation rules; and

translating the wage assignment according to the translation rules.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the processing step further includes grouping the electronic files based on a recipient.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the processing step further includes delivering a batched electronic file to each of a plurality of recipients.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the transmitting step includes delivering an EDI batch file to each recipient.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the implementing step includes implementing a wage assignment for each wage assignment contained in the batched electronic file.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of implementing includes implementing a wage assignment for each wage assignment contained within the EDI batch file.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of generating an EDI file further includes utilizing the 521 record set.

28. The method of claim 20, further comprising certifying the recipient.

56. The method of claim 51, further comprising certifying the recipient.

15. A method of processing a wage assignment of a person from an initiator to an accumulator and then to a recipient, comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:

receiving the wage assignment at the initiator;

dispatching the wage assignment from the initiator to the accumulator;

processing the wage assignment at the accumulator;

transmitting the wage assignment from the accumulator to the recipient; and

implementing the wage assignment at the recipient.

29. A system for processing a wage assignment of a person from an initiator to an accumulator and then to a recipient, comprising:

means for receiving the wage assignment at the initiator;

means for dispatching the wage assignment from the initiator to the accumulator;

means for processing the wage assignment at the accumulator;

means for transmitting the wage assignment from the accumulator to the recipient; and

means for implementing the wage assignment at the recipient.

30. A computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for processing a wage assignment of a person from an initiator to an accumulator and then to a recipient, the computer usable medium comprising:

a receiving module configured to receive the wage assignment at the initiator;

a dispatching module configured to dispatch the wage assignment from the initiator to the accumulator;

a processing module configured to process the wage assignment at the accumulator;

a transmitting module configured to transmit the wage assignment from the accumulator to the recipient; and

an implementing module configured to implement the wage assignment at the recipient.

31. An initiator, comprising:

a receiving component configured to receive a wage assignment;

an inputting component configured to input the wage assignment into a database; and

a transmitting component configured to transmit the wage assignment to an accumulator.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the receiving component includes a paper accessing component configured to access a paper wage assignment.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the receiving component includes an electronic accessing component configured to access an electronic wage assignment.

34. The system of claim 32 wherein the inputting component includes an using component configured to use an optical character reader.

35. The system of claim 31, wherein the main transmitting component includes a subordinate transmitting component configured to transmit at least one of FTP, Internet, tape, and diskette.

36. The system of claim 31, further comprising a converting component configured to convert the wage assignment into an ASCII file.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the receiving step includes accessing a paper wage assignment.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the receiving step includes accessing an electronic wage assignment.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the inputting step includes using an optical character reader.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein the transmitting step includes transmitting by at least one of FTP, Internet, tape, and diskette.

42. The method of claim 37, further comprising converting the wage assignment into an ASCII file.

37. A method of processing a wage assignment at an initiator, comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:

receiving the wage assignment;

inputting the wage assignment into a database; and

transmitting the wage assignment to an accumulator.

43. An initiator, comprising:

means for receiving the wage assignment;

means for inputting the wage assignment into a database; and

means for transmitting the wage assignment to an accumulator.

44. A computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for processing a wage assignment at an initiator, the computer usable medium comprising:

a receiving module configured to receive a wage assignment;

an inputting module configured to input the wage assignment into a database; and

a transmitting module configured to transmit the wage assignment to an accumulator.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the collecting component includes an inputting component configured to input the wage assignments into a database.

47. The system of claim 45, wherein the translating component includes a generating component configured to generate an electronic data interchange (EDI) file.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein the generating component further includes a utilizing component configured to utilize the 521 record set.

49. The system of claim 45, wherein the main translating component comprises:

an identifying component configured to identify a set of mapping rules; and

a subordinate translating component configured to translate the wage assignments according to the mapping rules.

50. The system of claim 45, further comprising a certifying component configured to certify the recipient.

45. An accumulator, comprising:

a collecting component configured to collect a plurality of wage assignments from a plurality of initiators;

a translating component configured to translate the wage assignments into files with a standard wage assignment format, the format including data in at least one data field;

a grouping component configured to group the standard wage assignment format files into batch files based on the data stored in at least one data field of the standard wage assignment format; and

a delivering component configured to deliver a batch file to each of a plurality of recipients.

51. A method of processing wage assignments at an accumulator, comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:

collecting a plurality of wage assignments from a plurality of initiators;

translating the wage assignments into files with a standard wage assignment format, the format including data in at least one data field;

grouping the standard wage assignment format files into batch files based on the data stored in at least one data field of the standard wage assignment format; and

delivering a batch file to each of a plurality of recipients.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the collecting step includes inputting the wage assignments into a database.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of translating includes generating an electronic data interchange (EDI) file.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the step of generating an EDI file further includes utilizing the 521 record set.

55. The method of claim 51, wherein the translating step comprises the substeps of:

identifying a set of mapping rules; and

translating the wage assignments according to the mapping rules.

60. The system of claim 59, wherein the main receiving component includes a subordinate receiving component configured to receive a paper wage assignment.

61. The system of claim 59, wherein the main receiving component includes a subordinate receiving component configured to receive an electronic wage assignment.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the subordinate receiving component includes an accessing component configured to access an EDI file.

63. The system of claim 61, wherein the subordinate receiving component includes an accessing component configured to access a bathed EDI file.

64. The system of claim 59, wherein the processing component includes a translating component configured to translate the wage assignment into an electronic format.

65. The system of claim 59, wherein the implementing component includes a payment and disbursement processing component configured to process payments and disbursements.

57. An accumulator, comprising:

means for collecting a plurality of wage assignments from a plurality of initiators;

means for translating the wage assignments into files with a standard wage assignment format, the format including data in at least one data field;

means for grouping the standard wage assignment format files into batch files based on the data stored in at least one data field of the standard wage assignment format; and

means for delivering a batch file to each of a plurality of recipients.

58. A computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for processing wage assignments at an accumulator, the computer usable medium comprising:

a collecting module configured to collect a plurality of wage assignments from a plurality of initiators;

a translating module configured to translate the wage assignments into files with a standard wage assignment format, the format including data in at least one data field;

a grouping module configured to group the standard wage assignment format files into batch files based on the data stored in at least one data field of the standard wage assignment format; and

a delivering module configured to deliver a batch file to each of a plurality of recipients.

59. A recipient, comprising:

a receiving component configured to receive a wage assignment from an accumulator;

a processing component configured to process the wage assignment; and

an implementing component configured to implement the wage assignment against a wage of an employee.

66. A method of processing a wage assignment at a recipient, comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:

receiving a wage assignment from an accumulator;

processing the wage assignment; and

implementing the wage assignment against a wage of an employee.

67. The method of claim 66, wherein the receiving step includes a paper wage assignment.

68. The method of claim 66, wherein the receiving step includes an electronic wage assignment.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the receiving step includes accessing an EDI file.

70. The method of claim 68, wherein the receiving step includes accessing a batched EDI file.

71. The method of claim 66, wherein the processing step includes translating the wage assignment into an electronic form.

72. The method of claim 66, wherein the implementing step includes payment and disbursement processing.

73. A recipient, comprising:

means for receiving a wage assignment from an accumulator;

means for processing the wage assignment; and

means for implementing the wage assignment against a wage of an employee.

74. A computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for processing a wage assignment at a recipient, the computer usable medium comprising:

a receiving module configured to receive a wage assignment from an accumulator;

a processing module configured to process the wage assignment; and

an implementing module configured to implement the wage assignment against a wage of an employee.

75. A system for collecting and delivering wage assignment information of a person, comprising:

a first receiving component configured to receive wage assignment information for the person;

a storing component configured to store the wage assignment information in a database at an agency;

a transmitting component configured to transmit the database from the agency to an accumulator;

a collecting component configured to collect the database at the accumulator;

a translating component configured to translate the database into a file with a standardized format, the standardized format includes data stored in at least one data field;

a batching component configured to batch the standardized format file based at least on the data stored in the one data field;

a delivering component configured to deliver the batched standardized format file to a recipient;

a second receiving component configured to receive at the recipient the batched standardized format file; and

a processing component configured to process the standardized format file to initiate the wage assignment.

76. The system of claim 75, where the person is a noncustodial parent.

77. The system of claim 75, wherein the collecting component includes an electronic file receiving component configured to receive the database as an electronic file.

78. The system of claim 75, wherein the translating component includes an EDI generating component configured to generate an electronic data interchange (EDI) file.

79. The system of claim 78, wherein the translating component further includes a 521 record set generating component to generate an EDI file using the 521 record set.

80. The system of claim 79, further comprising:

an identifying component configured to identify a set of translating rules; and

a subordinate translating component configured to translate the wage assignment information according to the translation rules.

81. A method of collecting and delivering wage assignment information of a person, comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:

receiving wage assignment information for the person;

storing the wage assignment information in a database at an agency;

transmitting the database from the agency to an accumulator;

collecting the database at the accumulator;

translating the database into a file with a standardized format, the standardized format includes data stored in at least one data field;

batching the standardized format file based at least on the data stored in the one data field;

delivering the batched standardized format file to a recipient;

receiving at the recipient the batched standardized format file; and

processing the standardized format file to initiate the wage assignment.

82. The method of claim 81, where the person is a noncustodial parent.

83. The method of claim 81, wherein the collecting step includes receiving the database as an electronic file.

84. The method of claim 81, wherein the translating step includes generating an electronic data interchange (EDI) file.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein the translating step further includes generating an EDI file using the 521 record set.

86. The method of claim 85, further comprising:

identifying a set of translating rules; and

translating the wage assignment information according to the translation rules.

87. A system for collecting and delivering wage assignment information of a person, comprising:

means for receiving wage assignment information for the person;

means for storing the wage assignment information in a database at an agency;

means for transmitting the database from the agency to an accumulator;

means for collecting the database at the accumulator;

means for translating the database into a file with a standardized format, the standardized format includes data stored in at least one data field;

means for batching the standardized format file based at least on the data stored in the one data field;

means for delivering the batched standardized format file to a recipient;

means for receiving at the recipient the batched standardized format file; and

means for processing the standardized format file to initiate the wage assignment.

88. A computer usable medium having computer readable code therein for collecting and delivering wage assignment information of a person, the computer usable medium comprising:

a first receiving module configured to receive wage assignment information for the person;

a storing module configured to store the wage assignment information in a database at an agency;

a transmitting module configured to transmit the database from the agency to an accumulator;

a collecting module configured to collect the database at the accumulator;

a translating module configured to translate the database into a file with a standardized format, the standardized format includes data stored in at least one data field;

a batching module configured to batch the standardized format file based at least on the data stored in the one data field;

a delivering module configured to deliver the batched standardized format file to a recipient;

a second receiving module configured to receive at the recipient the batched standardized format file; and

a processing module configured to process the standardized format file to initiate the wage assignment.

90. The system of claim 89, where the state entity is a child support department.

91. The system of claim 89, wherein the translating component further includes a 521 record set generating component configured to generate EDI files using the 521 record set.

92. The system of claim 89, further comprising:

an identifying a set of translating rules; and

a rules translating component configured to translate the wage assignment information according to the translation rules.

93. The system of claim 89, wherein the processing component includes a payment and disbursement processing component configured to process payments and disbursements.

94. The system of claim 89, where the recipient is an employer.

95. The system of claim 94, further comprising a certifying component configured to certify the employer.

89. A system for collecting and delivering a plurality of wage assignment information representing child support payments for a plurality of noncustodial parents, comprising:

a generating component configured to generate wage assignment information for a noncustodial parent;

a storing component configured to store the wage assignment information in a file in a database at a state entity;

a transmitting component configured to transmit the database from the state entity to an accumulator;

a collecting component configured to collect a plurality of databases containing files with wage assignment information into a single database at the accumulator;

a translating component configured to translate the files in the single database into electronic data interchange (EDI) files;

a batching component configured to batch the EDI files based on the recipient field;

a delivering component configured to deliver a batched EDI file to each of a plurality of recipients;

a receiving component configured to receive at each recipient a batched EDI file; and

a processing component configured to process the batched EDI file to initiate the wage assignment against a wage of the noncustodial parent.

96. A method of collecting and delivering a plurality of wage assignment information representing child support payments for a plurality of noncustodial parents, comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:

generating wage assignment information for a noncustodial parent;

storing the wage assignment information in a file in a database at a state entity;

transmitting the database from the state entity to an accumulator;

collecting a plurality of databases containing files with wage assignment information into a single database at the accumulator;

translating the files in the single database into electronic data interchange (EDI) files;

batching the EDI files based on the recipient field;

delivering a batched EDI file to each of a plurality of recipients;

receiving at each recipient a batched EDI file; and

processing the batched EDI file to initiate the wage assignment against a wage of the noncustodial parent.

97. The method of claim 96, where the state entity is a child support department.

98. The method of claim 96, wherein the translating step further includes generating EDI files using the 521 record set.

99. The method of claim 96, further comprising:

identifying a set of translating rules; and

translating the wage assignment information according to the translation rules.

100. The method of claim 96, wherein the processing step includes payment and disbursement processing.

101. The method of claim 96, where the recipient is an employer.

102. The method of claim 101, further comprising certifying the employer.

103. A system for collecting and delivering a plurality of wage assignment information representing child support payments for a plurality of noncustodial parents, comprising:

means for generating wage assignment information for a noncustodial parent;

means for storing the wage assignment information in a file in a database at a state entity;

means for transmitting the database from the state entity to an accumulator;

means for collecting a plurality of databases containing files with wage assignment information into a single database at the accumulator;

means for translating the files in the single database into electronic data interchange (EDI) files;

means for batching the EDI files based on the recipient field;

means for delivering a batched EDI file to each of a plurality of recipients;

means for receiving at each recipient a batched EDI file; and

means for processing the batched EDI file to initiate the wage assignment against a wage of the noncustodial parent.

104. A computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for collecting and delivering a plurality of wage assignment information representing child support payments for a plurality of noncustodial parents, the computer usable medium comprising:

a generating module configured to generate wage assignment information for a noncustodial parent;

a storing module configured to store the wage assignment information in a file in a database at a state entity;

a transmitting module configured to transmit the database from the state entity to an accumulator;

a collecting module configured to collect a plurality of databases containing files with wage assignment information into a single database at the accumulator;

a translating module configured to translate the files in the single database into electronic data interchange (EDI) files;

a batching module configured to batch the EDI files based on the recipient field;

a delivering module configured to deliver a batched EDI file to each of a plurality of recipients;

a receiving module configured to receive at each recipient a batched EDI file; and

a processing module configured to process the batched EDI file to initiate the wage assignment against a wage of the noncustodial parent.

105. A system for collecting and processing a wage assignment of a person, comprising:

a collecting component configured to collect a plurality of wage assignments into files in a database at an accumulator;

a translating component configured to translate each file in the database into a file with a standardized format, the standardized format includes data stored in at least one data field; and

a batching component configured to batch the standardized format file based at least on the data stored in the one data field.

106. The system of claim 105, where the person is a noncustodial parent.

107. The system of claim 105, wherein the collecting component includes a receiving component configured to receive electronic files.

108. The system of claim 105, wherein the translating component includes an EDI using component configured to use electronic data interchange (EDI) as the standardized format.

109. The system of claim 108, wherein the EDI using component further includes a utilizing component configured to utilize the 521 record set.

110. The system of claim 105, further comprising a delivering component configured to deliver the batched standardized format file to a recipient.

111. The system of claim 105, further comprising:

an identifying component configured to identify a set of translating rules; and

a rules translating component configured to translate the wage assignment information according to the translation rules.

113. The method of claim 112, where the person is a noncustodial parent.

114. The method of claim 112, wherein the collecting step includes receiving electronic files.

115. The method of claim 112, wherein the translating step includes using electronic data interchange (EDI) as the standardized format.

116. The method of claim 115, wherein the using step includes utilizing the 521 record set.

117. The method of claim 112, further comprising delivering the batched standardized format file to a recipient.

118. The method of claim 116 further comprising:

identifying a set of translating rules; and

translating the wage assignment information according to the translation rules.

122. The system of claim 121, where the state entity is a child support department.

123. The system of claim 121, wherein the translating component further includes a generating component configured to generate EDI files using the 521 record set.

124. The system of claim 121, further comprising:

an identifying component configured to identify a set of translating rules; and

a rules translating component configured to translate the wage assignment information according to the translation rules.

125. The system of claim 121, further comprising:

a batching component configured to batch the EDI files based on the recipient field; and

a delivering component configured to deliver a batched EDI file to each of a plurality of recipients.

127. The method of claim 126, where the state entity is a child support department.

128. The method of claim 126, wherein the translating step further includes generating EDI files using the 521 record set.

129. The method of claim 126, further comprising:

identifying a set of translating rules; and

translating the wage assignment information according to the translation rules.

130. The method of claim 126, further comprising:

batching the EDI files based on the recipient field; and

delivering a batched EDI file to each of a plurality of recipients.

112. A method of collecting and processing a wage assignment of a person, comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:

collecting a plurality of wage assignments into files in a database at an accumulator;

translating each file in the database into a file with a standardized format, the standardized format includes data stored in at least one data field; and

batching the standardized format file based at least on the data stored in the one data field.

119. A system for collecting and processing a wage assignment of a person, comprising:

means for collecting a plurality of wage assignments into files in a database at an accumulator;

means for translating each file in the database into a file with a standardized format, the standardized format includes data stored in at least one data field; and

means for batching the standardized format file based at least on the data stored in the one data field.

120. A computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for collecting and processing a wage assignment of a person, the computer usable medium comprising:

a collecting module configured to collect a plurality of wage assignments into files in a database at an accumulator;

a translating module configured to translate each file in the database into a file with a standardized format, the standardized format includes data stored in at least one data field; and

a batching module configured to batch the standardized format file based at least on the data stored in the one data field.

121. A system for collecting and processing a plurality of wage assignments representing child support payments for a plurality of noncustodial parents, comprising:

a collecting component configured to collect a plurality of wage assignment information into files in a database at an accumulator; and

a translating component configured to translate the files in the database into electronic data interchange (EDI) files.

126. A method of collecting and processing a plurality of wage assignments representing child support payments for a plurality of noncustodial parents, comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:

collecting a plurality of wage assignment information into files in a database at an accumulator; and

translating the files in the database into electronic data interchange (EDI) files.

131. A system for collecting and processing a plurality of wage assignments representing child support payments for a plurality of noncustodial parents, comprising:

means for collecting a plurality of wage assignment information into files in a database at an accumulator; and

means for translating the files in the database into electronic data interchange (EDI) files.

132. A computer usable medium having computer readable code therein for collecting and processing a plurality of wage assignments representing child support payments for a plurality of noncustodial parents, the computer usable medium comprising:

a collecting module configured to collect a plurality of wage assignment information into files in a database at an accumulator; and

a translating module configured to translate the files in the database into electronic data interchange (EDI) files.