Universal asset and relationship manager

• US 8,015,209 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2001
• Issued: 09/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Treetop Ventures LLC
• Original Assignee: Treetop Ventures LLC
• Inventors: Barritz, Steven, Cohen, Gerald, Kassan, Peter, Barritz, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): AL HASHEMI, SANA A
• Application Number:
  US09/824,404
• Publication Number:
  US 20020065825A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,809 Days
• Field of Search: 707/102, 707/3, 707/104.1, 707794-796, 707/807, 705/26, 705/27, 705/80, 709/10, 709/106
• US Class Current: 707/794
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

A universal asset and relationship manager, allows interaction and correlation between user-based data records—which define, list and catalogue user-based assets, comprising both physical assets and information assets—with vendor-based data records, in a manner which enables users to manage, track and service their assets for organizational, upkeep, inventory and business purposes.

Claims

1. A system for tracking assets purchased by a consumer, and managing future services to be performed for the assets, the system comprising:

processor readable media operatively coupled to one or more processors;

at least one database provided on the processor readable media, the at least one database storing at least;

electronic asset information including information representing assets that are purchased and owned by a plurality of consumers;

electronic asset category information including information representing a plurality of categories of the assets;

electronic service information including information representing at least one future service to be respectively performed for at least one of the assets;

electronic identification information including information representing at least one of a plurality of consumers;

electronic vendor information including information related to vendors that sell the assets to the plurality of consumers, service the assets after the assets are purchased by the plurality of consumers, or both sell and service the assets for the assets that are purchased by the plurality of consumers;

the processor readable media having instructions for causing the following steps to be performed by the one or more processors;

receive over a communication network from a first user computing device electronic transaction information, wherein the electronic transaction information includes information representing an acquisition of at least one asset, a vendor identifier representing at least one vendor to provide at least one future service to be performed for the at least one asset, and an identifier representing the consumer who purchased the at least one asset;

receive, over the communication network from a second user computing device associated with the at least one vendor to provide the at least one future service, electronic service information that represents the at least one future service to be performed for the at least one asset;

determine based on at least the electronic transaction information and the electronic service information that a first service is scheduled for the at least one asset at a first time; and

transmit, over the communication network, an electronic notification to the first user computing device that the first service is scheduled, wherein the transmitting occurs at a second time relative to the first time.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to group the electronic asset information into groups of records, wherein the groups of records represent at least the categories of records.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic asset information further includes one or more data items selected from an information data group consisting of:

warranties;

periodic maintenance;

payment schedules;

payment history;

proof of ownership of assets;

proof of purchase;

product recall data;

tax related information;

installment payment dates;

expiration dates;

renewal dates;

expenditure history; and

next mandated maintenance date.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic asset information further includes one or more data items selected from an information data group consisting of time and date of transactions;

vendor;

personal data of purchaser;

addressing information of recipient;

personal demographic information about purchaser or recipient;

generic description of an asset;

contract terms and conditions;

entity purchased from; and

contact information.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to set a variety of authorization levels that determine and select records in the database that correspond with the variety of authorization levels.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein records in the at least one database are encrypted.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic identification further includes respective personal preference information of the plurality of consumers.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to respond to unsolicited requests for detailed information about the assets.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to receive a request for information from remote computing facilities.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to associate the at least one asset with at least one category represented by the electronic asset category information associations at the time a transaction is made.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to display at least one of the electronic asset information, the electronic category information the electronic service information and the electronic identification information for the purposes of editing and viewing the same.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to provide decision support to at least one of the plurality of consumers based on at least one of a transaction and one or more assets owned by the at least one of the plurality of consumers.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the decision support is based on heuristics and rules established by the user.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to enable user-to-user communications.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to enable user-to-vendor communications and the transference of information from vendor-based databases to users at the request of users.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor readable media further has instructions for causing the one or more processors to schedule one of the vendors to perform a service for the at least one asset.

17. The system of claim 4, in which the data items also include transaction type information including:

purchase, rental, lease, and contract signing.

18. The system of claim 5, in which the authorization levels are based on criteria selected from a criteria group that consists of:

a user identifier;

a requestor personal identification number;

type of access rights granted;

data that pertains to assets associated with a requestor;

transaction code;

asset and relationship tracking repository data record category; and

vendor class.

19. The system of claim 9, in which the request processor assigns a unique transaction number to each of the requests.