Networked vendor for workplace or controlled environment

[0001] The invention relates to vending machines connected to a network. In particular, the invention relates to vending machines that can operate in a controlled network environment, wherein consumer accounts and purchases and vending machine supplements can be managed in one place via the network.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] Vending machines have been used for many years to sell perishable and durable food and drink products as well as other small items. Typically, the vending machine is placed at the point of sale by the distributor or confectioner and the vending machine inventory is managed by the distributor or confectioner on a regular schedule. When the consumer makes a purchase from such a vending machine, the consumer usually pays cash for the goods (s) bought at the place of purchase.

[0003] However, in the typical management scenario described above, a sales location, such as an office, school or store, often has no effect on the types and quantities of products that are placed in the machine. What's more, because the distributor or confectioner is not able to monitor inventory in the vending machine, the manufacturer or confectioner must replenish the inventory in the vending machine according to regularly scheduled visits, regardless of whether stocking is necessary.

[0004] There is a need in the art for a managed vending machine in which inventory in a vending machine can be managed at the point of sale and adapted to the consumer target group.

[0005] Furthermore, there is a need in the art for a vending machine that supports the cashless sale option.

[0006] FR 2317712 A1 discloses a vending machine comprising: a frame, one cartridge sensor configured to read readable identification data, one basket sensor coupled to a basket configured to determine the weight data for the cartridge; consumer input device configured to receive consumer information data and processor. WO 2007/128572 A1 discloses a method of monitoring inventory.

[0007] WO 03/040914 A2 discloses a controlled storage device and a method of using a pressure transducer.

SUMMARY [0008] The following is a general summary of some aspects of the invention. The summary is intended to provide an overall picture and is not intended to describe the full scope of the invention.

[0009] Embodiments of the invention described herein relate to vending machines that can operate in a networked environment. According to at least one embodiment, the vending machine may be provided by a distributor, manufacturer or confectioner, the products being

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EP 2 577 624 B1 sold in a vending machine can be available and bought by consumers using non-cash network accounts.

[0010] Consumer accounts for the vending machine can be managed by an external management device (and related software) in communication with the vending machine computing device. Consumers can have access to personal accounts over the network, for example an intranet (internal network), for adding credits to a personal account. In alternative embodiments, the management software may deduct payment from a payday or student account, or use any other appropriate form of deduction. After creating a personal account, the consumer can access and buy products from a connected vending machine. The consumer may access the vending machine using an RFID tag, keyboard or other appropriate means known in the art.

[0011] Stocks of the vending machine can be contained in individual product cartridges, which can be loaded and unloaded as needed to manage the workplace. After loading, the vending machine can recognize the type and quantity of product sold in each cartridge by reading the identification data shown on the cartridge (s) and use such identification data when determining stocks. The vending machine can recognize, by using weight sensors arranged in the vending machine, the weight for each cartridge and can use weight data to determine the type of product being sold that is being bought by the consumer.

[0012] A more detailed description of the invention and illustrative embodiments can be found in the detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0013] The present invention is shown in the following figures by way of example and is not limited by the attached figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows an exemplary networked vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded view of an exemplary interior connected to the network of the vending machine of Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a view of some internal components according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 shows a rear view of a sales cartridge according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary network environment suitable for use and interconnecting the exemplary components described herein, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 shows an exemplary computational system suitable for carrying out embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 7 illustrates the use of an exemplary ID card and exemplary sensor for access to a vending machine, according to an embodiment of the invention; and

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Figure 8 shows an exemplary output screen of a vending machine after a consumer purchase, with a keyboard, according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0014] In the following description of various illustrative embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form part thereof and in which are illustrated by way of example various devices, systems and environments in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented in practice. It should be understood that without departing from the scope of the present invention, other specific arrangements of parts, examples of devices, systems and environments can be utilized, and structural and functional modifications can be made.

[0015] Aspects of the invention described herein provide a networked vending machine for use in an office or other controlled environment such as a school. Figure 1 shows an exemplary networked vending machine 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Vending machine 100 includes an outer cabinet 102 that contains and defines an inner area (indicated in figure 2 as 200). Cabinet 102 can be made of many elements (such as side panels, back panel, front panel, top panel or bottom panel) or it can be built using any method known in the art without departing from the invention. Access to sold products 110, stored in the vending machine 100, can be obtained by hinged door 104 with handle 105. Door 104 may have a front viewing surface 106 of glass or plastic for viewing sold products 110 contained in vending machine 100. According to embodiments of the invention, the vending machine 100 may have a plurality of racks or shelves (indicated in Figure 2 as 202) for holding a plurality of sales cartridges 112. Sales cartridges 112 can be adapted to hold sold products 110 and can be shaped in many ways to comply with the size and shape of the interior of the cabinet. For example, vending machine box 102 may have dimensions smaller for use in a limited consumer environment, such as a small office, or larger for use in a multi-consumer environment, such as a university campus. Sales cartridges 112 can have smaller dimensions for a smaller vending machine cabinet and larger for a larger cabinet. Cabinet 102 may also contain other elements, such as drawer 108 with a logo area 109.

[0016] The vending machine 100 may have a consumer input device 114 and a display 116 located outside the cabinet 102. Input device 114 and display 116 may also be located on sales door 106 or as needed in another area, as is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Consumer input device 114 may include a sensor configured to read an electronic input signal such as from an RFID tag. The consumer input device may also include a keyboard where the consumer may enter an ID code or other identifier to identify the consumer account and gain access to the vending machine 100. Exemplary input device 114 and display 116 are coupled to a sales computing device (marked in Figure 2 as 212 and described further below) containing a processor for further operation of the device.

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[0017] As described, figure 1 is an illustrative embodiment of a vending machine 100 according to the embodiments described herein. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the vending machine 100, and in particular the cabinet 102, may be formed according to techniques known in the art without departing from the present invention. Furthermore, it should be understood that many of the components of the vending machine 100 identified in Figure 1 may vary in size, shape and location without departing from the techniques described herein.

[0018] Figure 2 is an exploded view of certain interior components 200 of an exemplary networked vending machine 100 of Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen in figure 2, the sales insert 112 (it should be noted that the reference numbers in the individual figures correspond to each other) rests on the rack or shelf 204. Figure 2 shows three racks 202, 204, 206, although in practice the vending machine 100 may have more or fewer racks depending on the size of the vending machine cabinet 102. Racks 202, 204, 206 are shown in figure 2 as uniform surfaces, although shelves or racks may be implemented in various ways suitable for holding the cartridges 112. As indicated on the exemplary rack 204, each of the racks 202, 204, 206 includes a plurality of weight sensors 208, at least one for each insert 112. The weight sensors 208 can be configured to determine the exact weight of the insert 112 (with included products sold 110) and to send weight data to the sales computing device 212. Racks 202, 204 and 206 may further include sensors 210 configured to read identification data contained on cartridge 112 and to transmit identification data to vending machine computing device 212. The mass sensors 208 may include any device suitable for determining the exact mass value and transmitting the measurement to the calculation device 212. Similarly, sensors 210 may include any device suitable for reading electronic data (such as data on a conductive ink label). Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that additional devices may be used to determine the weight of the cartridge (s) 112 or to read electronic data as described above, and to transfer such data to computing device 212. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that the components described herein can be implemented in a variety of ways, e.g. sensors 210 can be located on any inner surface of box 102.

[0019] Figure 3 shows a front view of a rack (or shelf) 202 with an insert 112 according to the illustrative embodiment described herein. The insert 112 may have a front end 302 where the product 110 sold may be visible through the viewing area 106 of the vending machine 100 and may have a rear end 304. As previously described, rack 202 may include mass sensors 208 for determining the mass of the cartridge 112 and for transmitting the specified mass to the calculation device 212. The stand 202 may also include sensors 210. Figure 4 shows a rear view of an exemplary insert 112 that can be used in the practice of the invention described herein. As can be seen in Figure 4, the rear end 304 of the cartridge 112 may include electronic data 402 to provide identification data about the cartridge 112 and the particular sold product 110 contained therein. According to one embodiment of the invention, electronic data 402 may be included on a conductive ink label that is configured to be read by electronic data sensors 210 and may be sent to computing device 212. The data may contain information such as the type of product sold in the cartridge, the amount of product sold in the cartridge, the weight of the cartridge, the expiry date of the cartridge and other

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Relevant information that can be used by the vending machine 100 as described below. The invention is not limited to methods and systems for transferring electronic data as described, and it is contemplated that other suitable methods of transferring such data that are known in the art can be used with successful results, such as the use of a bar code and bar code reader.

[0020] Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary network environment suitable for use in the aspects described herein and interconnecting the exemplary components described herein. As shown, vending machine 100 is connected to network 502 via internal or external computing device 212, further described below with reference to exemplary network device 600. The network 502 may be implemented in accordance with any suitable network environment known in the art, such as a wired or wireless environment. In an illustrative embodiment, the network 502 may be an Ethernet network. A management device 503 can be coupled to the network 502 and configured to communicate with the computing device 212 of the vending machine 100. The 503 management device can be configured to manage consumer accounts, vending machine inventory, as well as to process orders. The 502 network can also be connected to a wide area network (WAN) 505, such as a public Internet or private intranet, via a 504 network access device. The network access device 504 may be any suitable access device for connecting via a wireless or broadband network, such as a router, wireless router, modem, and other appropriate means. In accordance with the techniques described herein, the management device 503 may also be configured to communicate via WAN 505 with the manufacturer or packaging distributor 506 to order inventory for the vending machine 100.

[0021] Aspects of the invention including computing device 212 and management device 503 can be implemented by various conventional networked computer devices, such as networked device 600 shown in figure 6. The device 600 includes at least ports 602 and 604 of the network interface for receiving and sending data traffic, central processor 606, system memory 608 and system bus 610 which interfaces with various system components, including ports 602 and 604, central processor 606 and memory system 608. The system bus 610 may be any of many types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The design of 608 system memory is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and may include a basic input / output system (BIOS) stored in read-only memory (ROM) and one or more program modules such as operating systems, application programs, and program data stored in memory random access (RAM). Interfaces 602 and 604 may be a network interface of any type well known to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, the device 600 may include drivers for cooperation with other types of computer readable media.

[0022] A method of managing and maintaining a networked vending machine, such as a vending machine 100, according to embodiments of the invention, may be implemented as follows. The vending machine 100 may be shipped to a work location from a local dealer or confectioner. A vending machine 100 can be shipped with the software used by the 503 management device to a work location, such as a work place, school, or store. Manager

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A vending machine, such as an office manager, can use related software to manage one or more consumer accounts, to manage inventory of vending machine 100, and to place orders through a 505 network with a local confectioner or distributor 506.

[0023] The software for use by the management device 503 may be recorded in any form of a computer readable medium, such as system memory (RAM) 608, in an external memory medium, on a diskette, CD, pendrive etc. The work location manager may use such associated software to set up consumer accounts or to manage accounts, so that consumers can buy sold products 110 from the vending machine 100. According to some embodiments, the consumer may have access to management software for adding value to the associated account. In alternative embodiments, the vending machine manager may have full account privileges and may simply deduct the payment from the consumer's payment or school account.

[0024] Figure 7 illustrates the use of an exemplary ID 704 card and an exemplary sensor 114 for reading an ID 704 card. According to the techniques described herein, consumer 702 can access the vending machine 100 using the ID 704 card that is associated with the consumer account 702. The ID card 704 may include a well-known RFID tag, or other known technique for transmitting electronic information by using a sensor that detects electronic information upon proximity. Alternative embodiments may include a vending machine keyboard coupled to computing device 212 within the vending machine, where the consumer 702 can enter account information directly via the keyboard.

[0025] Figure 8 shows an exemplary display 116 for vending machine 100 including an output screen 802 and a keyboard 812. As shown in Figure 8, the output screen 802 may display consumer purchase information, such as the cost and types of products sold, which were purchased 804 ("$ 1.25 Pepsi" and "$ 1.25 Mountain Dew"), account debited amount 806 ("$ 2.50 Charge"; "$ 2.50 Billed"), account number 808 ("12345") and the name of the consumer associated with the account 810 ("Joe Smith"). It should be noted that the display elements may include all elements exemplified in figure 8 or only some elements. Furthermore, the display screen 802 can be used to display other information, such as messages indicating that the vending machine 100 is "inactive" or "empty". An 812 keyboard can be used as an alternative consumer input device. For example, the consumer may enter on the keyboard 812 an account number to access the vending machine 100 and purchase the product (s) 110 sold. As shown in figure 2, the display 116 is connected to computing device 212.

[0026] According to aspects of the invention, a consumer may purchase one or more of the products 110 sold from the vending machine 100 by unlocking the door using a detected and valid ID 704 card or using a valid account code entered on the keyboard 812 on display 116. After the input device 114 reads the consumer ID card 704, the keyboard 812 records the entered consumer account information and sends the associated account information to sales computing device 212 or external management device 503, and consumer 702 can remove the desired sold product 110 from the vending machine 100. After

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After removing the purchased product 110, mass sensors 208 may determine and send mass data to computing device 212 and / or management device 503 to determine the withdrawal of product (s) sold by consumer 702. Calculation device 212 may make this determination by updating one or more reports on computing device 212. For example, a particular insert 112 may have a mass of "X" prior to a consumer purchase and a mass of "X minus Y" after a consumer purchase. Using data containing the exact change in weight from the time before the purchase made by the consumer to the time after the purchase made by the consumer, the computing device can determine the exact product sold 110 taken out by the consumer 702, based on inventory information registered by the computing device 212 based on previously registered identification data 402.

[0027] It is understood that the computing device 212 of the vending machine 100 may send such purchase data to the management device 503 at a regularly scheduled time, so that the vending machine manager can deduct a value appropriate for the purchased product sold 110 from the consumer's account. Transferring such data allows the vending machine manager to track the inventory of the product being sold in the vending machine 100 and ordering additional products.

[0028] In accordance with the embodiments described herein, stocks can be replenished at the vending machine 100 by communicating with a local confectioner, distributor or manufacturer 506 or another entity that supplies the vending machine 100. According to the embodiments described herein, the vending machine manager may select a product mix for the vending machine 100 by selecting the cartridge (s) 112 filled with the specific product sold 110. The vending machine manager can order additional 112 cartridges from your local 506 distributor or distributor through the 505 network. It is also contemplated that the vending machine manager may order cartridges 112 by facsimile order, telephone, or by any other appropriate means. The vending machine manager, when ordering, can select a mix of products using the special identification data 402 contained in the insert 112, which can identify the mix of products sold in a particular insert 112. At the working location, the ordered 110 sold product pre-packed with the insert (s) 112 can be picked up directly into the vending machine 100. Upon entry, the vending machine 100 may register one or more new cartridges 112 using sensors 210 to read identification data 402 on the cartridge (s) 112 and transfer such data to computing device 212.

[0029] While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments and currently preferred modes for carrying out the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that there are many changes to the systems and methods described above that may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the above techniques can be implemented in a variety of bus-based network systems and the use of different transmission media. The present invention can be used with wired, fiber optic, wireless and other transmission media networks. It should further be noted that certain embodiments of the invention are described herein, but the invention is not limited to the embodiments described. The scope of the invention is demonstrated by the following claims.

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