RESIDENT DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD
20220391974 · 2022-12-08
Inventors
- Wemimo Abbey (Los Angeles, CA, US)
- Samir Goel (New York, NY, US)
- Robert Henning (New York, NY, US)
- Albert Owusu-Asare (New York, NY, US)
- Ameer Shujjah (Islamabad, PK)
- Meghashree Manjunath (Dallas, TX, US)
- Ben Braunstein (Great Neck, NY, US)
- Alan James (Sandford, FL, US)
- Nqobile Chitimbire (Kew Gardens, NY, US)
- Carmela Peroff (Chanhassen, MN, US)
Cpc classification
International classification
Abstract
A method, system, and computing capabilities are presented for improving visibility to resident payment trends, resident credit score trends, and anticipated rent income trends. A rent payment risk level of individual residents is evaluated based upon credit scores and historic rent payment information of residents. Resident risk evaluations are aggregated, producing a property stability score. Resident rent payment information may be provided to credit bureaus for incorporating into individual credit scores. High risk residents may be advised of financing options that are suitable for their needs.
Claims
1. A computer network implemented method for resident data management comprising the steps of: periodically executing a scheduled retrieval of resident activity information for a plurality of residents over the internet from at least one property management software platform; storing the resident activity information in at least a first digital database; periodically executing a scheduled retrieval over the internet of resident credit score information for the plurality of residents; storing the resident credit score information in a second digital database; calculating resident credit score trend information based upon the resident credit score information; calculating a resident risk score for each of the plurality of residents based upon the resident activity information and the resident credit score information; aggregating the resident risk score information to generate a property stability score; providing a browser-based client user interface; in response to a first client user query requesting the property stability score, transmitting to the client user interface for display the property stability score; in response to a second client user query requesting the resident credit score trend information, transmitting to the client user interface for display the resident credit score trend information; compiling a plurality of resident credit score updates for each of the plurality of residents based upon the resident activity information; periodically executing a scheduled transmission of the plurality of resident credit score updates to a credit bureau; and transmitting to a respective one of the plurality of residents, in response to a respective resident credit score request, the respective resident credit score information.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: providing a browser-based administrator application, the administrator application served by a content distribution network (CDN), and manually inputting resident activity information through the browser-based administrator application.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the resident activity information comprises a lease start date, a monthly rental amount, resident names, billing dates, and payment dates.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of storing the resident activity information in at least the first digital database comprises storing the resident activity information in an accounts database and in a transactions database and in a persons database.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the resident activity information stored in the transactions database comprises billing date information, payment date information, and payment amount information.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: transmitting to a first resident an opt-in opt-out message; receiving from the first resident an opt-out election; and in response to receiving the opt-out election, removing the first resident from a list of credit score retrieval residents.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the property stability score comprises a letter grade, and wherein the step of transmitting to the client user interface further comprises transmitting for display a percentage of residents falling within each of a plurality of risk level tiers, and transmitting for display an average credit score of property opt-in residents.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting loan availability information to selected residents.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating the resident risk score comprises categorizing the plurality of residents into four risk level tiers.
10. A computer network implemented method for resident data management comprising the steps of: retrieving resident activity information for a plurality of residents over the internet from at least one property management software platform; storing the resident activity information in at least a first digital database; retrieving over the internet resident credit score information for the plurality of residents; storing the resident credit score information in a second digital database; calculating resident credit score trend information based upon the resident credit score information; calculating a resident risk score for each of the plurality of residents based upon the resident activity information and the resident credit score information; aggregating the resident risk score information to generate a property stability score; providing a browser-based client user interface; in response to a first client user query requesting the property stability score, transmitting to the client user interface for display the property stability score; and in response to a second client user query requesting the resident credit score trend information, transmitting to the client user interface for display the resident credit score trend information.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of: providing a browser-based administrator application, the administrator application served by a content distribution network (CDN), and manually inputting resident activity information through the browser-based administrator application.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of: compiling a plurality of resident credit score updates for each of the plurality of residents based upon the resident activity information; and transmitting the plurality of credit score updates to a credit bureau.
13. The system of claim 12, further comprising transmitting to respective ones of the plurality of residents, in response to a respective resident credit score request, the respective resident credit score information.
14. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of: transmitting to a first resident an opt-in opt-out message; receiving from the first resident an opt-out election; and in response to receiving the opt-out election, removing the first resident from a list of credit score retrieval residents.
15. The method of claim 10, wherein the property stability score comprises a letter grade, and wherein the step of transmitting to the client user interface further comprises transmitting for display a percentage of residents falling within each of a plurality of risk level tiers, and transmitting for display an average credit score of property opt-in residents.
16. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of transmitting loan availability information to selected residents.
17. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program that, when executed by a computer system comprising one or more processors, causes the computer system to perform a method for resident data management comprising the steps of: retrieving resident activity information for a plurality of residents over the internet from at least one property management software platform; storing the resident activity information in at least a first digital database; retrieving over the internet resident credit score information for the plurality of residents; storing the resident credit score information in a second digital database; calculating resident credit score trend information based upon the resident credit score information; calculating a resident risk score for each of the plurality of residents based upon the resident activity information and the resident credit score information; aggregating the resident risk score information to generate a property stability score; providing a browser-based client user interface; in response to a first client user query requesting the property stability score, transmitting to the client user interface for display the property stability score; and in response to a second client user query requesting the resident credit score trend information, transmitting to the client user interface for display the resident credit score trend information.
18. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing the program of claim 17, wherein the program, when executed by the computer system comprising the one or more processors, further causes the computer system to: compile a plurality of resident credit score updates for each of the plurality of residents based upon the resident activity information; and transmit the plurality of credit score updates to a credit bureau.
19. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing the program of claim 17, wherein the property stability score comprises a letter grade, and wherein transmitting to the client user interface further comprises transmitting for display a percentage of residents falling within each of a plurality of risk level tiers, and transmitting for display an average credit score of property opt-in residents.
20. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing the program of claim 17 wherein the program, when executed by the computer system comprising the one or more processors, further causes the computer system to transmit loan availability information to selected residents.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0020] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following descriptions, claims, and accompanying drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only several embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the invention's scope as it can admit to other equally effective embodiments.
[0021]
[0022]
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[0030]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] So that the manner in which the features and advantages of embodiments of methods and systems of the present invention may be understood in more detail, a more particular description of the present invention briefly summarized above may be had by reference to certain embodiments thereof that are illustrated in the appended drawings, which form a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate only certain embodiments of the present invention and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of the scope of the present invention which includes other useful and effective embodiments as well.
[0032]
[0033] System 105 collects resident credit score information by way of credit score extraction software module 115. In the exemplary embodiment, the credit score information is the traditional credit score that is available from credit bureaus such as Equifax, represented by credit bureau 120. Credit scores and associated resident information are stored in credit scores digital database 117.
[0034] In the exemplary embodiment, a resident risk score is calculated for each resident based upon the resident's activity data and history and the resident's credit score. Note that, as described in more detail below, any resident can opt out of having her or his data collected and used for making calculations.
[0035] The resident risk scores are aggregated by processing and reporting software module 125, generating a property stability score. In certain embodiments, the property stability score and associated data are transmitted for display to client dashboard software module 130. In certain embodiments, client dashboard software module 130 is tailored to display information most useful to the property managers and property owners. An exemplary property owner dashboard is illustrated by
[0036] In other embodiments client dashboard software module 130 may be tailored to include information most useful to lenders that have provided or are considering extending credit and capital investments to property owners. An exemplary lender dashboard is illustrated by
[0037] In an exemplary embodiment, the resident risk scores are categorized into four risk level tiers, referred to as low risk, low_moderate risk, moderate_high risk, and high risk. In an exemplary embodiment, the respective risk levels are calculated based upon the factors of (i) past due balance, if any, (ii) outstanding not-past-due balance, if any, (iii) monthly rent amount, and (iv) resident's credit score. Thresholds for these values, and combinations of these values, may be set so as to categorize residents into four different risk levels, according to the risk tolerance of the system designer and/or system user.
[0038] In an exemplary embodiment, the property stability score is reflected in a letter grade, A, B, C, D, or F. Additionally, in an exemplary embodiment the applicable letter grade may be assigned based upon what percentage of building residents fall into the high-risk category.
[0039] Additional functionality of the inventive system relates to credit reporting software module 140. Specifically, an advantage of particular embodiments of the present invention is that the system can report a resident's rent payment activity to the traditional credit bureaus. This allows the resident's credit score to be impacted positively as the resident establishes a history of on-time and in-full payments. In particular, as will be described in more detail with reference to
[0040]
[0041]
[0042] In some instances, resident activity information data is input manually. This occurs when a property is not active with a property management software platform that can be automatically interacted with by system 105.
[0043] Resident information software module 112 includes the raw resident activity data which may, for example, be provided as a comma separated value (.csv) file 215. The admin manually inputs the .csv file into system 105 by, for example, dragging and dropping file 215 into the admin app executing through admin browser user interface 205. This initiates file 215 being input into application programming interface (API) gateway 225.
[0044] API gateway 225 communicates with a plurality of software services that manipulate and store the resident activity information into the appropriate digital databases. More specifically, gateway 225 provides new lease and expiring lease information, as examples, to accounts software service 230, which stores information in accounts digital database 150. Similarly, gateway 225 provides billing and payment information, as examples, to transactions service 235, which stores information in transactions digital database 155. Additionally, gateway 225 provides new occupant information, as an example, to persons service 240, which stores information in persons digital database 160.
[0045] Resident activity information is also obtained in a more automated fashion by way of property management software module 114. More specifically, in certain cases, a property employs commercially available web and cloud-based software for managing the property. Example platforms include Entrata, Yardi, MRI, and RealPage. These platforms are represented in
[0046]
[0047] Credit processing module 305 has access to accounts, transactions, and persons databases 150, 155, and 160, respectively. According to predetermined algorithms, credit processing module 305 compiles a superset list of resident identities that may require credit score updates. The superset list is stored in credit processing queue 310. Credit processing queue 310 is accessible to credit score module 315. Credit score module 315 determines which residents in the superset list require a credit score update. More specifically, credit score module 315 checks credit score digital database 117 for information including whether a resident's score has been updated within the last 30 days and whether a resident still occupies the property, or alternatively has moved out and is no longer of interest. Based on this information, as examples, credit score module 315 establishes a final list of residents requiring score updates. That list is stored in credit score queue 320.
[0048] Bureau jobs exporter 325 has access to credit score queue 320. Bureau job exporter 325 engages bureau 307 requesting transmission of current credit scores for the residents requiring score updates. Bureau 307 provides the scores for those residents for whom it has a record to bureau jobs exporter 325. Bureau job exporter 325 provides that data to credit score module 315, which updates credit scores database 117 accordingly.
[0049]
[0050] More specifically, Metro 2 file (abbreviated M2F) module 405 has access to the databases 150, 155,160, 162, and 164 through respective services 230, 235, 240, 242, and 243. Either as initiated by an admin app served by CDN 250 and operating on browser admin user interface 205 or on an automated periodic basis, M2F module 405 compiles resident credit score update Metro 2 files. Module 405 obtains data customarily used for Metro 2 files and uses M2F database 410 as a working storage area for building the files. When the files are complete they are stored in M2F output storage 415. M2F sending module 420 accesses M2F storage 415 and transmits the files to respective credit bureaus 425-1 through 425-n. M2F module 410 and M2F sending module 420, and associated databases 410 and 415 are the sub-elements of credit score reporting software module 140 of
[0051]
[0052] In an exemplary embodiment, dashboard ETL 505 continuously or periodically monitors the data in databases 150, 155, 160, 162, and 164 and credit scores database 117 through their associated services 230, 235, 240, 242, 243, and 315 respectively, so that processing and reporting software module 125 can provide updated property stability scores and other information at any time upon request. Dashboard ETL 505 stores that data in dashboard raw storage digital database 510, which is accessible for processing by dashboard output service 525.
[0053] Dashboard output service 525 calculates individual resident risk tier levels. Additionally, dashboard output service 525 aggregates resident scores and calculates property stability scores, and the associated letter grade.
[0054] Browser-based client user interface 530 operates a client application that is available from and served by content delivery network (CDN) 535. Browser based client user interface 530 includes a dashboard screen that will be described in more detail with reference to
[0055] Dashboard output service 525 serves to provide data to client user interface 530. This data can be provided upon request from the client application or provided periodically on an automated basis.
[0056]
[0057] In an exemplary embodiment, resident communications service 535 communicates to residents via SMS messaging, illustrated by block 540, for a variety of purposes. As one example, when new occupants are admitted to the property, service 535 may generate an SMS message opt-in or opt-out query, allowing the occupant to opt out of rent reporting and credit score queries. As another example, in response to a resident request, service 535 may send by SMS message that resident's most recent credit score. As yet another example, at the request and scheduling of the property manager, service 535 may send promotional offers to multiple residents by SMS messaging. Additionally, for residents that are identified as high risk, information can be sent identifying lending sources that could support their financial needs.
[0058]
[0059] Screen 605 comprises graphical representations of property stability score information, as well as other data of interest to the property manager and property owner. In the exemplary embodiment of
[0060] In this example, graphical element 610 displays the letter score calculated for Portfolio A identified in drop-down section 615 of sidebar 620. Similarly, metrics displayed in the resident overview section 625 reflect the aggregate all three buildings A, B and C. Specifically, metric 630 is the total number of properties comprising Portfolio A. Metric 635 is the total number of rental units among those properties. Metric 640 is the percentage of those units that have opted-in to report rent activity. Metric 645 is the lowest credit score among reporting residents from the properties. Metric 650 is the average credit score among reporting residents. Metric 655 is the highest credit score among reporting residents. Metric 660 is the median credit score of reporting residents. Metric 665 is the number of residents who have, prior to enrolling in reporting, had no record of a credit score and since enrolling have established a credit score. And metric 670 is the percentage of reporting residents who have improved their credit score since participating in reporting rent payment activity.
[0061] Pie chart 675 provides a graphical representation of an x/100 property score that reflects the respective percentages of residents who fall into the various risk tiers described above.
[0062] Graphs occupying area 680 can selectively display trends over time of data including average resident credit score, total gross rent payments, and number of missed payments, selectable by drop-down menu 685. The data and graphical elements of screen 605 are a select number of examples that may be provided as part of dashboard 130 shown in
[0063]
[0064] Screen 705 comprises graphical representations of property stability score information, as well as other data of interest to an institutional lender. The dashboard tailored for a lender differs in part from that tailored for a property owner in that it includes and/or makes available information concerning more than one property owner portfolio as indicated by Portfolios A, B and C shown in sidebar 720. In this example, graphical element 710 displays the letter score calculated for the collection of properties comprising Portfolio A identified in drop-down section 715 of sidebar 720. Similarly, metrics displayed in the resident overview section 725 reflect the aggregate of all four property portfolios from different property owners. Specifically, metric 730 is the total number of properties comprising Portfolio A. Metric 735 is the total number of rental units among those properties. Metric 740 is the percentage of those units that have opted-in to report rent activity. Metric 745 is the lowest credit score among reporting residents from the properties. Metric 750 is the average credit score among reporting residents. Metric 755 is the highest credit score among reporting residents. Metric 760 is the median credit score of reporting residents. Metric 765 is the number of residents who have, prior to enrolling in reporting, had no record of a credit score and since enrolling have established a credit score. And metric 770 is the percentage of reporting residents who have improved their credit score since participating in reporting rent payment activity.
[0065] Pie chart 775 provides a graphical representation of an x/100 property score that reflects the respective percentages of residents who fall into the various risk tiers described above.
[0066] Graphs occupying area 780 can selectively display trends over time of data including average resident credit score, total gross rent payments, and number of missed payments, selectable by drop-down menu 785. The data and graphical elements of screen 705 are a select number of examples that may be provided as part of dashboard 130 shown in
[0067]
[0068]
[0069] Screen 805 comprises a variety of metrics of interest to a SMML. In this example, overview section 810 is presented. Metrics are shown calculated for the collection of the properties managed by Asset Manager 1 highlighted in
[0070] sidebar 820. Specifically, metric 825 is the total number of properties managed by Asset Manager 1. Metric 830 is the total number of rental units among those properties. Metric 835 is the percentage of those units that are enrolled to report rent activity. Metric 840 is the number of residents who have, prior to enrolling in reporting, had no record of a credit score and since enrolling have established a credit score. Metric 845 is the percentage of reporting residents whose credit scores have improved since being enrolled in reporting. Metric 850 is the number of properties for which residents must affirmatively opt-in to reporting when taking a lease. Metric 855 is the number of properties for which residents are opted-in to reporting by default and must affirmatively opt-out if they wish not to participate.
[0071] Display region 860 presents further detail regarding resident credit score trends. Line 865 displays the minimum, average, and maximum credit score changes for all residents who are enrolled in reporting. Line 870 displays the minimum, average, and maximum credit score changes for all residents who had an established credit score prior enrolling in reporting.
[0072] Display region 875 presents additional detail regarding resident credit score trends. Specifically, line 880 displays metrics for the movement across credit score tiers for residents who had credit scores prior to enrolling in reporting. The credit tiers are, in an exemplary embodiment, the industry recognized FICO® credit score tiers.
[0073] Graphs occupying area 885 can selectively display trends over time of the various metrics shown in overview section 810, including for example change in average credit score over time. The data and graphical elements of screen 805 are a select number of examples that may be provided as part of dashboard 130 shown in
[0074] Turning now to
[0075] At step 915, opt-in resident scores are obtained from at least one credit bureau, for example as described with reference to
[0076] At step 925, resident risk scores and property stability scores are calculated. At step 930 property stability scores and associated information are transmitted to a client dashboard. Additionally, information of interest to residents may be transmitted to respective resident user interfaces.
[0077] At step 935, Metro 2 credit score update files for opt-in residents are compiled and transmitted to one or more credit bureaus.
[0078] Turning to
[0079] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention processor 1005 may be one or more processors operating on cloud-based servers, and/or a device operating the above-described admin app, and/or a device operating the above-described client app. Computer instructions 1015 are the computer instructions that, when executed by processors, perform a method for resident data management consistent with above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
[0080] Computer instructions 1015 reside in memory 1010, which may be located on cloud-based servers, and/or a device operating the above-described admin app, and/or a device operating the above-described client app. Computer instructions 1015 may be read from computer readable storage medium 1020 and/or computer readable digital signal 1025 by processor 1005 and stored by processor 1005 permanently, semi-permanently, or temporarily, in memory 1010. In this exemplary embodiment, computer readable storage medium 1020 comprises solid state digital storage.
[0081] Consequently, what is provided by exemplary systems and methods according to the present invention is an efficient and effective system, methods, and computing capabilities that provide property managers, property owners, institutional lenders and SMMLs accurate, proactive visibility to, and reliable predictions of, rental income streams, as well as resident credit score metrics and trends. Moreover, the system, methods, and computing capabilities may integrate a resident's rent payment activities into that individual's credit bureau credit score. In this way, the resident is motivated to pay rent on time and in full, which benefits the resident, the property owner, institutional lenders and SMMLs. Additionally, the system, methods, and computing capabilities may identify residents at risk of not paying rent timely, and connect them with fair, low-interest lending sources to support their financial needs.
[0082] Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of the invention in terms of algorithms. These operations, while described functionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to be implemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits, micro-code, or the like. The described operations may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or any combinations thereof.
[0083] Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may be performed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules, alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, a software module is implemented with a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code, which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or all of the steps, operations, or processes described.
[0084] Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise a general-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus. Furthermore, any computing systems referred to herein may include a single processor or may be implemented with architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.
[0085] Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that is produced by a computing process described herein. Such a product may comprise information resulting from a computing process, where the information is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer program product or other data combination described herein.
[0086] The various embodiments can be further implemented in a wide variety of operating environments, which in some cases can include one or more user computers or computing devices which can be used to operate any of a number of applications. User or client devices can include any of a number of general purpose personal computers, such as desktop or laptop computers running a standard operating system, as well as cellular, wireless and handheld devices running mobile software and capable of supporting a number of networking and messaging protocols. Such a system can also include a number of workstations running any of a variety of commercially available operating systems and other known applications for purposes such as database management. These devices can also include other electronic devices, such as dummy terminals, virtual terminals, thin-clients, and other devices capable of communicating via a network.
[0087] Embodiments can utilize at least one network that would be familiar to those skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of a variety of commercially available protocols, such as TCP/IP, FTP, UPnP, NFS, and CIFS. The network can be, for example, a local area network, a wide-area network, a virtual private network, the internet, an intranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, a wireless network, or any combination thereof.
[0088] In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server can run any of a variety of server or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers and business application servers. The server(s) may also be capable of executing programs or scripts in response to requests from user devices, such as by executing one or more Web applications that may be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any programming language, such as Java®, C, C# or C++ or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, as well as combinations thereof. The server(s) may also include database servers, including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle®, Microsoft®, and IBM®.
[0089] The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memory and storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety of locations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computers across the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the information may reside in a storage-area network (SAN) familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functions attributed to the computers, servers or other network devices may be stored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includes computerized devices, each such device can include hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, for example, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one input device (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch-sensitive display element, or keypad) and at least one output device (e.g., a display screen, a display device, printer, or speaker). Such a system may also include one or more storage devices, such as disk drives, optical storage devices and solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), as well as removable media devices, memory cards, flash cards, etc.
[0090] Such devices can also include a computer-readable storage media reader, a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device) and working memory as described above. The computer-readable storage media reader can be connected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storage medium representing remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing, transmitting, and retrieving computer-readable information. The system and various devices also can include a number of software applications, modules, services, or other elements located within at least one working memory device, including an operating system and application programs such as a client application or Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments may have numerous variations from that described above. For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, APIs, scripts, and the like), or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.
[0091] Storage media and other non-transitory computer readable media for containing code, or portions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in the art, such as but not limited to volatile and non-volatile, 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, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (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 the desired information and which can be accessed by a system device. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the various embodiments and that many modifications and variations are possible.
[0092] The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. The description and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description and drawings, but rather by any claims that issue based on this application. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.