Remote system override

• US 20070150566A1
• Filed: 12/27/2005
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SI SA (Newell Brands Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SI SA (Newell Brands Inc.)
• Inventors: Lamparello, Drew, Tsang, Edward
• Granted Patent: US 7,979,502 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/206 Software aspects at ATMs

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for providing remote supervisory override of a lockout at a workstation is disclosed. The apparatus includes a first workstation an override response module which is configured to receive an override request message. The override response module provides an override response message that includes an indicator of an action authorized by the user of the apparatus.

Claims

1. A method of providing remote supervisory override of a workstation, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving at a first workstation an override request message, wherein a supervisor operates the first workstation;

receiving supervisor input, wherein the input indicates an authorized action;

sending an override response message from the first workstation to a second workstation, wherein the second workstation sent the override request message, and wherein the override response message includes an indication of the action authorized by the supervisor.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the step of:

providing a prompt to the supervisor that the override request message has been received.

3. The method of claim 1, further including the steps of:

receiving at the first workstation transactional information, wherein the transactional information is related to a suspended transaction; and

providing the transactional information to the supervisor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the transactional information is provided to the supervisor in response to the supervisor opening an attachment to the override request message.

5. The method of claim 3, further including the steps of:

receiving at the first workstation an active user query; and

responding to the active user query, wherein the response includes an indicator associated with the supervisor.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the response includes a user-classification associated with the supervisor.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications between the first and second workstations include Peer-to-Peer communications.

8. A first workstation in a distributed institution, the first workstation comprising:

a communication module configured to communicate with a server via a first communication path and with a second workstation via a second communication path; and

an override response module, wherein the override response module is configured to receive an override request message from a third workstation and provide an override response message to the third workstation, wherein the override response message includes an indicator of an action authorized by the user of the first workstation.

9. The first workstation of claim 8, wherein the override response module is further configured to provide a prompt to the user in response to receiving the override request message.

10. The first workstation of claim 8, wherein the override response module provides an interface for displaying the override request message.

11. The first workstation of claim 10, wherein the interface includes a plurality of action buttons, wherein responsive to the user selecting one of the action buttons, the override response message includes the indicator of authorized action.

12. The first workstation of claim 11, wherein the plurality of action buttons includes at least one of a deny button and a grant button, wherein the deny button indicates a denial of the override request and the grant button indicates granting authorization for the override request.

13. The first workstation of claim 10, wherein the interface provides a window for displaying indicators of pending override requests.

14. The first workstation of claim 10, wherein the interface provides a message field in which the user may input a message to the sender of the override request message.

15. The first workstation of claim 14, wherein the override response module is configured to display transactional information to the user, wherein the transactional information is related to a suspended transaction.

16. The first workstation of claim 15, wherein the transactional information is displayed to the user in response to the user opening an attachment.

17. The first workstation of claim 8, wherein the override response module is configured to respond to an active user query, which is received via the second communication path, wherein the response is sent to the second workstation.

18. The first workstation of claim 17, wherein the response includes an indicator associated with the user of the first workstation.

19. The first workstation of claim 8, wherein the second and third workstations are the same, wherein communications between the first and second workstations include Peer-to-Peer communications.