Electronic Acknowledgement of Receipt of Inventory
AssigneeThe Western Union Company
InventorsEARNEY E. STOUTENBURG, DAVID R. BAUMGARTNER, THERESA L. ANUSZEWSKI, ROSS G. KINNEY, DAVID A. OWEN
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for tracking status of an inventory shipment sent to a recipient includes monitoring whether the recipient has transmitted an electronic acknowledgment of the status of the shipment; and automatically transmitting a message to the recipient requesting acknowledgment of receipt of inventory if the electronic acknowledgment is not transmitted by the recipient within a first predetermined amount of time.
Claims18
1-24. (canceled)
A method for tracking status of an inventory shipment sent to a recipient, the method comprising:
- transmitting, by a host computer, a message to a transaction terminal of the recipient requesting acknowledgment of receipt of inventory if an electronic acknowledgment is not transmitted by the transaction terminal of the recipient within a first predetermined amount of time, and
- inhibiting operation of the transaction terminal if the transaction terminal does not print the message or the recipient does not respond to the message within a second, predetermined amount of time.
A method for tracking status of an inventory shipment sent to a recipient, the method comprising:
- transmitting a message by a host computer to a terminal requesting acknowledgment of receipt of inventory if the recipient does not transmit an electronic acknowledgment within a first predetermined amount of time;
- inhibiting operation of the terminal through the host computer if the terminal does not print the message within a second, predetermined amount of time;
- automatically restoring operation of the terminal after the terminal prints the message if operation of the terminal has previously been inhibited for failure to print the message;
- and
- automatically disabling the terminal through the host computer if the recipient does not respond to the message within a third, predetermined amount of time.
A system for tracking status of an inventory shipment sent to a recipient, the system comprising:
- a host computer configured to automatically transmit a message to the recipient requesting acknowledgement of receipt of inventory if the electronic acknowledgement is not received within a first predetermined amount of time;
- a terminal in communication with the host computer, the terminal being configured to transmit the electronic acknowledgement to the host computer;
- wherein the terminal is configured to receive the message from the host computer, and then inhibit operation of the terminal if the terminal does not print the message or send a response to the message within a second, predetermined amount of time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.