Systems and methods for electronic document delivery, execution, and return

• US 8,286,859 B1
• Filed: 12/19/2011
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Original Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Inventors: Arguello, Miguel A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Labaze, Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US13/329,856
• Time in Patent Office: 302 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/487, 235/376, 705/80, 705/76
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

To expedite electronic delivery and return of a document, the document is sent to an electronic mail system and stored in an electronic form thereat. The recipient is informed that the document is available thereto at any of a plurality of merchants where the document may be retrieved. The recipient visits one of the plurality of merchants and at the visited merchant retrieves the document in the electronic form from the mail system to a computing device at the visited merchant. The recipient then reviews and executes the document at the visited merchant, and sends the executed document in an electronic form to the organization by way of the visited merchant and the computing device thereat.

Claims

1. A method employed to expedite electronic delivery and return of a document, the method comprising:

receiving an unexecuted document to an electronic mail system including a spooler at which the unexecuted document is spooled;

retrieving the unexecuted document from the spooler to a merchant'"'"'s computing device;

executing the unexecuted document;

sending the executed document to an organization, and

receiving the executed document the merchant'"'"'s computing device by way of a returning program employed on the merchant'"'"'s computing device to return the executed document to the organization in electronic form, the returning program providing that the executed document is sent to the organization and marking the executed document with information that allows the executed document to be routed within the organization.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mail system is operated by a document processing business having a plurality of merchants as branches thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the unexecuted document is stored at the mail system according to a retrieval code, the retrieval code being supplied to a document recipient by the organization.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the retrieval code is entered at the merchant'"'"'s computing device to identify the unexecuted document and retrieve the unexecuted document from the mail system.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the computing device is located at a self-service kiosk.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the self-service kiosk is dedicated to delivering the unexecuted document to a recipient and returning the executed document to the organization, the kiosk including a printer for printing the unexecuted document from electronic form to paper form and a scanner for scanning the executed document from paper form to electronic form.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the executed document is notarized by a notary public available at the merchant.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions thereon implementing a method to expedite electronic delivery and return of a document, the method comprising:

receiving an unexecuted document to an electronic mail system including a spooler at which the unexecuted document is spooled;

retrieving the unexecuted document from the spooler to a merchant'"'"'s computing device;

executing the unexecuted document;

sending the executed document to an organization, and

receiving the executed document the merchant'"'"'s computing device by way of a returning program employed on the merchant'"'"'s computing device to return the executed document to the organization in electronic form, the returning program providing that the executed document is sent to the organization and marking the executed document with information that allows the executed document to be routed within the organization.

9. The medium of claim 8 wherein the mail system is operated by a document processing business having a plurality of merchants as branches thereof.

10. The medium of claim 8 wherein the unexecuted document is stored at the mail system according to a retrieval code, the retrieval code being supplied to a document recipient by the organization.

11. The medium of claim 10 wherein the retrieval code is entered at the merchant'"'"'s computing device to identify the unexecuted document and retrieve the unexecuted document from the mail system.

12. The medium of claim 8 wherein the computing device is located at a self-service kiosk.

13. The medium of claim 12 wherein the self-service kiosk is dedicated to delivering the unexecuted document to a recipient and returning the executed document to the organization, the kiosk including a printer for printing the unexecuted document from electronic form to paper form and a scanner for scanning the executed document from paper form to electronic form.

14. The medium of claim 8 wherein the executed document is notarized by a notary public available at the merchant.

15. A system employed to expedite electronic delivery and return of a document, the system comprising:

a subsystem that receives an unexecuted document to an electronic mail system including a spooler at which the unexecuted document is spooled;

a subsystem that retrieves the unexecuted document from the spooler to a merchant'"'"'s computing device;

a subsystem that executes the unexecuted document;

a subsystem that sends the executed document to an organization, and

a subsystem that receives the executed document the merchant'"'"'s computing device by way of a returning program employed on the merchant'"'"'s computing device to return the executed document to the organization in electronic form, the returning program providing that the executed document is sent to the organization and marking the executed document with information that allows the executed document to be routed within the organization.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the mail system is operated by a document processing business having a plurality of merchants as branches thereof.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the unexecuted document is stored at the mail system according to a retrieval code, the retrieval code being supplied to a document recipient by the organization.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the retrieval code is entered at the merchant'"'"'s computing device to identify the unexecuted document and retrieve the unexecuted document from the mail system.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the computing device is located at a self-service kiosk.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the self-service kiosk is dedicated to delivering the unexecuted document to a recipient and returning the executed document to the organization, the kiosk including a printer for printing the unexecuted document from electronic form to paper form and a scanner for scanning the executed document from paper form to electronic form.