Abstract:
A system for accumulating funds is provided. The system includes a database for storing a plurality of consumer profiles, a server for receiving from a point of sale (POS) terminal a unique identifier, accessing a consumer profile that corresponds to the unique identifier, transmitting to the POS terminal a prepayment determinant, receiving from the POS terminal the prepayment amount, and incrementing the current monetary value in the consumer profile based on the prepayment amount, and a POS terminal for transmitting to the server the consumer unique identifier, receiving from the server a prepayment determinant, reading a spending amount, calculating a prepayment amount based on the prepayment determinant and the spending amount, and transmitting to the server a message including the prepayment amount.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This utility patent application claims priority to provisional application No. 62/035,139 entitled “Closed Program for Buying Merchandise at Sponsoring Merchants,” filed Aug. 8, 2014. The subject matter of provisional application No. 62/035,139 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable. 
       INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0003]    Not Applicable. 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0004]    The technical field relates generally to electronic commerce and, more specifically, to processes for merchant prepaid programs via point of sale (POS) terminals. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0005]    Methods and programs for creating excess funds for saving or charitable giving have been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,621,640 and 6,088,682 disclose methods and systems that require a customer to tender excess funds over and above the purchase price of merchandise or services. Excess funds are then assigned to a customer account managed by a central clearing house. The funds are transferred to the central clearing house, which then transfers the funds to the providers, selected by the customer. The system only operates when users tender excess cash, over and above the sale price. The POS terminal sends the data and cash to a central clearinghouse, which in turn forwards the cash to a variety of providers, selected by users. 
         [0006]    In another example, merchants ask shoppers if they want have their coin change sent to a merchant-selected charity. This method does not create a personal account for the shopper and the merchant transfers the cash directly to the charity of choice. In another example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,112,191 and 8,025,217 disclose a rounding system whereupon banks offer their customers a service that rounds up checks and credit card transactions to the next $1, $2, $5, or any amount, or adds a specific dollar amount, such as $1.00, $1.50, $2.00, or any amount. The rounded amount would then be sent to a savings account at the bank that manages the checking account. The system requires that participating consumers have an operating checking account or a credit card account and a provider account. 
         [0007]    Additional methods and programs for automatically accumulating funds or credits in a savings or charitable account have also been disclosed. In one example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,502,758 and 7,571,849, disclose methods and systems that allow a consumer to pre-define how he or she desires to save or donate using a particular account and thereafter any consumer spending transaction, such as using a debit card at a point of sale terminal, writing a check, or using a credit card, the consumer performs using the aforementioned account is subject to the predefined savings or donations scheme. This technique eliminates the need for the consumer to enter savings data at each spending transaction. The method, however, applies the predefined savings or donations scheme to all spending transactions the consumer performs using the particular account, which may not be desirable. Further, the method requires that the entity providing the savings or donations accounts also has access to the spending transaction data. If the savings or donations accounts provider is different and separate from the entity that possesses the spending transaction data, the account provider must request the spending transaction data. This may be problematic if the holder of the spending transaction data will not provide the data, presents obstacles to gaining access to the data or charges a fee for the data. 
         [0008]    Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,587,334 discloses a method and system for merchants to create an upsell by having the customers leave their coin change at the POS terminal. The method operates when a customer pays in cash and when the merchant offers an upsell. 
         [0009]    Therefore, a need exists for improvements over the prior art, and more particularly for methods and systems that provide more flexibility when accumulating funds or credits on point of sale terminals. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0010]    A method and system that allows for customers to prepay merchants for merchandise or services that will later be selected by the customer. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of disclosed concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description including the drawings provided. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this Summary intended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter&#39;s scope. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment, a system for prepaying for merchandise or services is provided that solves the above-described problems. The system includes a database for storing a plurality of consumer profiles, wherein each profile includes a consumer unique identifier, a prepayment determinant, and a consumer account including a current monetary value; a server communicably coupled with the database and with a communications network, the server configured for: receiving from a point of sale (POS) terminal, via the communications network, a message including a consumer unique identifier; accessing, in the database, a consumer profile that corresponds to the consumer unique identifier; transmitting to the POS terminal, via the communications network, a message including a prepayment determinant from the consumer profile that corresponds to the consumer unique identifier; receiving from the POS terminal, via the communications network, the message including the prepayment amount; and incrementing the current monetary value in the consumer profile based on the prepayment amount; and a POS terminal communicably coupled with the communications network, the POS terminal configured for: reading input from a consumer, wherein the input includes a consumer unique identifier; transmitting to the server, via the communications network, a message including the consumer unique identifier; receiving from the server, via the communications network, a message including a prepayment determinant from the consumer profile that corresponds to the consumer unique identifier; reading a spending amount; calculating a prepayment amount based on the prepayment determinant and the spending amount; and transmitting to the server, via the communications network, a message including the prepayment amount. In addition to retail counters, POS terminals can be gas pumps, vending machines, toll booths, etc. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate various example embodiments. In the drawings: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an operating environment that supports the automatic accumulation of prepayment funds in a target account, according to an example embodiment; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2A  is a diagram showing the data flow of a setup process, according to an example embodiment; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2B  is a diagram showing the data flow of a prepayment accumulation process, according to an example embodiment; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a method for providing automatic accumulation of prepayment funds in a target account, according to an example embodiment; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart of a method for setting up the process of providing automatic accumulation of prepayment funds in a target account, according to an example embodiment; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart of a method for calculating prepayment amounts, according to an example embodiment; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a system including a computing device, according to an example embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While embodiments may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the proper scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. 
         [0021]    The disclosed systems and methods improve over the prior bank rounding art by automatically loading onto a POS terminal the amount the consumer desires to prepay at each consumer spending transaction, thereby saving time for the consumer. Further, the disclosed systems and methods improve over the prior bank rounding art by applying a predefined prepayment scheme to certain spending transactions input by a user. The disclosed systems and methods improve over the prior bank rounding art by calculating the prepayment amount the consumer desires at the POS terminal at the time of purchase, rather than at a remote location. The disclosed systems and methods also improve over the bank rounding prior art by allowing the consumer to choose their prepayment determinant and to change their prepayment determinant at the POS, merchant&#39;s website, app, etc. Lastly, the disclosed systems and methods provide an opportunity for consumers without credit to establish a history of prepayment, which supports future credit worthiness. 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an operating environment  100  that supports the automatic accumulation of prepayment funds in a target account, according to an example embodiment. The environment  100  may comprise multiple point of sale (POS) terminals  120 , multiple client computers  122  and a server  102  communicating via a communications network  106 . Each of the computers  120 ,  122  and server  102  may be connected either wirelessly or in a wired or fiber optic form to the communications network  106 . Computers  120 ,  122  and server  102  may each comprise a computing device  600 , described below in greater detail with respect to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 1  shows that computers  120 ,  122  may comprise mobile computing devices such as cellular telephones, smart phones or tablet computers, or other computing devices such as a desktop computer, laptop, game console, dedicated POS terminal, for example. Communications network  102  may be a packet switched network, such as the Internet, or any local area network, wide area network, enterprise private network, cellular network, phone network, mobile communications network, or any combination of the above.  FIG. 1  shows gas pump  123 , toll booth  124  and vending machine  125  as alternatives to POS terminal  120 , wherein the alternatives include a network connected computer having the same capabilities as POS terminal  120 . Gas pump  123 , toll booth  124  and vending machine  125  are all used to effectuate payments for gas, tolls or products via an electronic payment system. 
         [0023]    Environment  100  may be used when multiple consumers or customers  110 ,  112  engage in consumer spending transactions and desire to accumulate funds using server  102 . A consumer spending transaction comprises the purchase of a good or service using cash, a check, a credit card, a debit card, a gift card, store credit, or the like. Spending transaction data, or transaction data, comprises any of the data that is used or transferred during a consumer spending transaction, such as: the price paid for a good or service purchased, the individual price paid for any good or service purchased in a group of goods or services, any taxes paid and how the taxes were applied to each good or service purchased in a group, any prepayment or discounts that were provided to the consumer and how the prepayment were applied to each good or service purchased in a group, the date, the time, the location, the cashier&#39;s name, the account number that was used, the name of the consumer, any account data related to the account that was used to purchase the goods or services. The term spending amount refers to the price of one or more goods or services purchased (without or without applicable taxes, tariffs, discounts, setoffs, etc.), or the individual price of any good or service purchased in a group of goods or services. 
         [0024]    An account is a record that logs transactions between a consumer and his account provider, the merchant, and the resulting position of the consumer with the account provider. An account may hold various pieces of information, the most significant being the current balance of prepaid funds, credits or money of the consumer. An account may refer to a prepaid account that holds funds, credits or money that the provider owes to the consumer. 
         [0025]    Account data refers to information that identifies a particular account, such as an account number, the name of the account holder, a routing number, a SWIFT code, the name of the account provider, the address of the account provider, any numbers or codes printed on a physical card, any passwords, PIN numbers or other credentials associated with the account, etc. 
         [0026]    Target account  180  is the prepayment account held by the merchant and offered by the merchant to the customers  110 ,  112  to which funds, credits or money are transferred in the methods  200  and  300  defined below. Each computer  120 ,  122  may connect directly to server  102 , as defined in method  200 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  further shows that server  102  includes a database or repository  104 , which may be a relational database comprising a Structured Query Language (SQL) database stored in a SQL server. Computers  120 ,  122  may also each include their own database. The repository  104  serves data from a database, which is a repository for data used by server  102  and the client computers during the course of operation of the invention. The database  104  may include a consumer record for each consumer  110 ,  112 . A consumer record may include: contact/identifying information for a consumer, spending transaction data of the consumer, a unique identifier for the consumer, demographic data for the consumer (such as age, sex, income data, race, color, marital status, etc.), source account(s) data, target account(s) data, any other account data, social security number, tax identification number, and prepaid scheme information, which is defined in created detail below with reference to  FIG. 2A . A consumer record may also include a current monetary value, current value or balance of prepayment funds that represents an amount of funds, that has been saved using the disclosed embodiments and that is scheduled to be transferred to the target account. 
         [0028]      FIG. 1  shows an embodiment wherein networked computing devices  120 ,  122  interact with server  102  and repository  104  over the network  106 . Server  102  and POS terminal  120  include a software engine that delivers applications, data, program code and other information to each other and networked computing devices, such as  122 . The software engine of server  102  or POS terminal  120  may perform other processes such as transferring multimedia data in a stream of packets that are interpreted and rendered by a software application as the packets arrive. It should be noted that although  FIG. 1  shows only two networked computing devices  120 ,  122 , and one server  102 , the system of the supports any number of networked computing devices and servers connected via network  106 . 
         [0029]    Server  102  and POS terminal  120  include program logic comprising computer source code, scripting language code or interpreted language code that is compiled to produce executable file or computer instructions that perform various functions of the disclosed embodiments. In another embodiment, the program logic may be distributed among more than one of server  102 , POS terminal  120 , computer  122 , or any combination of the above. In yet another embodiment, the program logic may comprise program module  607  in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0030]    Note that although server  102  and POS terminal  120  are shown as single and independent entities, in one embodiment of, the functions of server  102  and POS terminal  120  may be integrated with another entity, such as one of the client computers or one or more of account providers  180 . Further, server  102  and POS terminal  120  and their functionality, according to a preferred embodiment, can be realized in a centralized fashion in one computer system or in a distributed fashion wherein different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. 
         [0031]      FIG. 2A  is a diagram showing the data flow  200  of a setup process, according to an example embodiment.  FIG. 2A  depicts the transfer of data from an example consumer  110  to target account provider  180  and server  102 .  FIG. 2A  shows that consumer  110  may provide enrollment data  206  to target account provider  180 . The enrollment data  206  is used by the target account provider to establish a target account, such as a prepaid account, with the target account provider  180 . Thus, enrollment data  206  may include any of the data that may be entered into a consumer record, as defined above. Note the system supports the creation of more than one target account with more than one target account providers. 
         [0032]      FIG. 2A  further shows that consumer  110  may provide enrollment data and change enrollment data  202  to server  102 . The enrollment data  202  is used by the server  102  to establish or change a user account with server  102  and to define and store prepayment scheme information that defines how the consumer  110  intends to prepay for merchandise and services using the system. Thus, enrollment data  202  may include any of the data that may be entered into a consumer record, as defined above, as well as any of the enrollment data  206  Further, enrollment data  202  may include account data for one or more target accounts. In this document, the terms prepayment and prepaid are used interchangeably. 
         [0033]    In one embodiment, with regard to enrollment data  202 , the program logic of server  102  stores the account data, or a portion thereof, pertaining to one or more target accounts on a third party site via network  106 . 
         [0034]    As explained above, prepayment scheme information defines how the consumer  110  intends to prepay funds, credits or money using the system. Prepayment scheme information may include definitions for prepayment schemes. A first type of prepayment scheme involves rounding. Each time a consumer effectuates a consumer spending transaction, the spending amount is rounded up or increased by a small amount, referred to as a prepayment amount, up to a predefined amount. The prepayment amount, for example, may comprise an amount that rounds the spending amount up to the nearest selected whole dollar amount (i.e., $1.00, $2.00, $5.00, etc.), up to the nearest whole dollar amount plus an additional value, up to a percentage of the spending amount, up to a percentage of the spending amount plus an additional value, etc. In another example, the prepayment amount is simply an amount that is added to a spending amount. The prepayment amount is added to the current value in a consumer record of consumer  110 , as defined in more detail below. The current value is the amount of funds, money or credit that is allocated for transferring to one or more target accounts. 
         [0035]    The prepayment scheme may also include an extra dollars amount that defines a set amount of money that is added on top of another prepayment amount. For example, an extra dollar amount of $1.00, $2.00, $5.00, etc. may be added to a prepayment determinant that rounds the spending amount up to the nearest whole dollar amount. In this scheme, the program logic rounds the spending amount up to the nearest whole dollar amount and then adds the extra dollars amount to the resulting value. 
         [0036]    Note that the enrollment of the target account with target account provider  180  and the enrollment of the user account with server  102  may be accomplished by the consumer  110  via his client computer, via voice interaction over a telephone, in person or by proxy. 
         [0037]    A prepayment determinant is defined as any data that indicates which of the prepayment schemes defined above is used for a particular spending transaction. The prepayment determinant is stored in the consumer record associated with each consumer. In another embodiment, machine readable instructions may be used to define prepayment schemes as defined above. The machine readable instructions may be stored in the consumer record associated with each consumer. The machine readable instructions define an algorithm that, when executed, calculate a prepayment amount based on spending transaction data. 
         [0038]    Note that the enrollment of the target account with target account provider  180 , and the enrollment of the user account with server  102  may be accomplished by the consumer  110  via his client computer, via voice interaction over a telephone, in person or by proxy. 
         [0039]      FIG. 2B  is a diagram showing the data flow  200  of an automatic prepayment funds accumulation process, according to an example embodiment.  FIG. 2B  is described with reference to  FIG. 3  below. 
         [0040]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a method  300  for providing automatic accumulation of prepayment funds in a target account, according to an example embodiment.  FIG. 3  depicts the actions of an example consumer  110 , the terminal  120 , and server  102  in the process of providing automatic accumulation of prepayment funds in a target account. 
         [0041]    Method  300  may begin at stage  302  wherein the consumer  110  enrolls a target account with target account provider  180  by providing enrollment data  206 , as defined in  FIG. 2A  above. Then, in stage  306  the consumer  110  enrolls a user account with server  102  by providing enrollment data  202 , as defined in  FIG. 2A  above. In stage  308 , the consumer  110  initiates a consumer spending transaction at POS terminal  120  (such as purchasing an item at a retail store) and subsequently sends unique identifier  214  to the server  102  via the network  106 , as defined in  FIG. 2B . In this step, the POS terminal  120  may read a spending amount corresponding to the product or serviced purchased at the terminal. 
         [0042]    Next, in stage  310 , the program logic of server  102  accesses the consumer record associated with the consumer  110 . The program logic of server  102  may find the consumer record associated with the consumer  110  in database  104  using the unique identifier  214 . Then, in stage  312 , the program logic of server  102  reads the user record associated with the consumer  110 . Particularly, the program logic of server  102  may read a prepayment determinant from the user record, and optionally an extra dollars amount. In another embodiment, the program logic of server  102  may also read machine readable instructions for calculating a prepayment amount from the user record. Further in step  312 , the server  102  transmits the prepayment determinant  216  from the user record, and optionally an extra dollars amount, to the POS terminal  120  via network  106 . 
         [0043]    In stage  314 , based on the data that was received in step  312 , the POS terminal  120  calculates a prepayment amount based on the prepayment determinant (and optionally the extra dollars amount) and the spending amount (as defined in greater detail below with reference to  FIG. 5 ). Alternatively, in step  314 , the consumer may select a different prepayment determinant at the POS terminal. In this alternative, the POS terminal  120  calculates a prepayment amount based on the user-selected prepayment determinant (and optionally the extra dollars amount) and the spending amount. Also in this step  314 , the POS terminal  120  transmits the prepayment amount  218  to the server  102  via network  106 . 
         [0044]    In step  316 , the current monetary value in the consumer record of consumer  110  is incremented to include the prepayment amount. In step  318 , the program logic of server  102  determines whether it has received a request from consumer  110 , such as via network  106 , to use his prepaid funds. If not, then control flows back to stage  308 . If the request has been received, then in stage  320 , the program logic of server  102  generates a message that includes a request to transfer the current value, or portion thereof to the target account. In step  324 , the current value in the consumer record of consumer  110  is reduced by the amount that was transferred to reflect the transfer. In one embodiment, the current value in the consumer record of consumer  110  is reduced to zero to reflect the transfer of the entire current value to the target account. 
         [0045]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart of a method  400  for setting up the process of providing automatic accumulation of prepaid funds in a target account, according to an example embodiment. Method  400  depicts the process by which the consumer  110  sets up or initializes a user account with server  102 . Method  400  starts with stage  402  wherein the user enters personal and contact information into server  102 , such as any of the enrollment data  202  defined above. The data entered by the consumer  110  in stage  402  is stored in one or more consumer records associated with the consumer  110  in database  104 . Next, in stages  404  and  406 , the consumer  110  uploads source account data and target account data, respectively, into the database  104  of server  102 , which data is stored in the consumer record(s) associated with the consumer  110 . In stage  408 , the consumer  110  uploads prepayment scheme information (as defined above) into the database  104  of server  102 , which information is stored in the consumer record(s) of consumer  110 . 
         [0046]    Finally, in stage  410 , the program logic of server  102  may provide the consumer  110  with secure credentials that allows the consumer to log securely into server  102  in the future. Alternatively, the program logic of server  102  may provide the consumer  110  with a secure interface that allows the consumer to interface securely with server  102  using, for example, an encrypted connection. 
         [0047]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart of a method  500  for calculating a prepayment amount, according to an example embodiment. Note that method  500  provides greater detail about the processes  314  of  FIG. 3 . Method  500  may be implemented using a computing device  600  as described in more detail below with respect to  FIG. 6 . An example implementation of the stages of method  500  will be described in greater detail below. 
         [0048]    In stage  502 , the POS terminal  120  reads the spending amount of the consumer  110  of step  308  of method  300 . By way of example, the spending amount may be given as $1.50. In stage  504 , the POS terminal  120  receives the prepayment determinant and the extra dollars amount from server  102  over network  106 , which the server read from the consumer record of consumer  110 . In the given example, the prepayment determinant indicates rounding to the next whole dollar amount and the extra dollar amount is defined as $1.00. Finally, in step  506 , the POS terminal  120  calculates the prepayment amount based on the prepayment determinant, the extra dollars amount and the spending amount. In the ongoing example, the spending amount of $1.50 is rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount of $2.00, and the extra dollars amount of $1.00 is added to the $2.00, such that the total amount charged to the consumer is $3.00 and such that the prepayment amount is calculated to be $1.50. 
         [0049]    In an alternative embodiment, in stage  504 , the POS terminal  120  receives from server  102  machine readable instructions from the consumer record of consumer  110 . The machine readable instructions define an algorithm that, when executed, calculate a prepayment amount based on spending transaction data. In stage  506 , the POS terminal  120  executes the machine readable instructions so as to calculate the prepayment amount based on the spending amount. 
         [0050]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a system including an example computing device  600  and other computing devices. Consistent with the embodiments described herein, the aforementioned actions performed by terminal  120 , by server  102  and the providers  170 ,  180  may be implemented in a computing device, such as the computing device  600  of  FIG. 6 . Any suitable combination of hardware, software, or firmware may be used to implement the computing device  600 . The aforementioned system, device, and processors are examples and other systems, devices, and processors may comprise the aforementioned computing device. Furthermore, computing device  600  may comprise an operating environment for methods  300 ,  400  and  500  as described above. Methods  300 ,  400  and  500  may operate in other environments and are not limited to computing device  600 . 
         [0051]    With reference to  FIG. 6 , a system consistent with an embodiment of the invention may include a plurality of computing devices, such as computing device  600 . In a basic configuration, computing device  600  may include at least one processing unit  602  and a system memory  604 . Depending on the configuration and type of computing device, system memory  604  may comprise, but is not limited to, volatile (e.g. random access memory (RAM)), non-volatile (e.g. read-only memory (ROM)), flash memory, or any combination or memory. System memory  604  may include operating system  605 , and one or more programming modules  606 . Operating system  605 , for example, may be suitable for controlling computing device  600 &#39;s operation. In one embodiment, programming modules  606  may include, for example, a program module  607  for executing the actions of program logic. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be practiced in conjunction with a graphics library, other operating systems, or any other application program and is not limited to any particular application or system. This basic configuration is illustrated in  FIG. 6  by those components within a dashed line  620 . 
         [0052]    Computing device  600  may have additional features or functionality. For example, computing device  600  may also include additional data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in  FIG. 6  by a removable storage  609  and a non-removable storage  610 . Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. System memory  604 , removable storage  609 , and non-removable storage  610  are all computer storage media examples (i.e. memory storage.) Computer storage media may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, electrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store information and which can be accessed by computing device  600 . Any such computer storage media may be part of device  600 . Computing device  600  may also have input device(s)  612  such as a keyboard, a mouse, a pen, a sound input device, a camera, a touch input device, etc. Output device(s)  614  such as a display, speakers, a printer, etc. may also be included. The aforementioned devices are only examples, and other devices may be added or substituted. 
         [0053]    Computing device  600  may also contain a communication connection  616  that may allow device  600  to communicate with other computing devices  618 , such as over a network in a distributed computing environment, for example, an intranet or the Internet. Communication connection  616  is one example of communication media. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that has one or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein may include both computer storage media and communication media. 
         [0054]    As stated above, a number of program modules and data files may be stored in system memory  604 , including operating system  605 . While executing on processing unit  602 , programming modules  606  (e.g. program module  607 ) may perform processes including, for example, one or more of method  300 &#39;s, method  400 &#39;s or method  500 &#39;s stages as described above. The aforementioned processes are examples, and processing unit  602  may perform other processes. Other programming modules that may be used in accordance with the embodiments may include electronic mail and contacts applications, word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, database applications, slide presentation applications, drawing or computer-aided application programs, etc. 
         [0055]    Generally, consistent with embodiments of the invention, program modules may include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that may perform particular tasks or that may implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, embodiments of the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. 
         [0056]    Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be practiced in an electrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing a microprocessor, or on a single chip (such as a System on Chip) containing electronic elements or microprocessors. Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced using other technologies capable of performing logical operations such as, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited to mechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition, embodiments of the invention may be practiced within a general purpose computer or in any other circuits or systems. 
         [0057]    Embodiments, for example, are described above with reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations of methods, systems, and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. 
         [0058]    While certain embodiments have been described, other embodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments have been described as being associated with data stored in memory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or read from other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosed methods&#39; stages may be modified in any manner, including by reordering stages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from the invention. 
         [0059]    Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.