Vending machines with large area transparent touch electrode technology, and/or associated methods
First Claim
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1. A vending machine, comprising:
- a cabinet including a plurality of product placement areas;
a window to the product placement areas, the window being connected to the cabinet;
a first transparent multi-layer low-emissivity (low-E) coating supported by the window and patterned into a first set of electrodes, the first set of electrodes being configured to enable all or part of the window to be used as a touch panel configured to accept touch-related inputs to the vending machine; and
processing resources including at least one processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed, are configured to;
receive touch-related operation information corresponding to accepted touch-related inputs, the touch-related operation information being indicative of touch positions and touch types, the touch types including touches of the window, non-touch proximity detections, and gestures; and
control the vending machine to operate in one of a plurality of different operating modes and respond to received touch-related operation information, the different operating modes including product-vending and game-playing modes.
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Abstract
Certain example embodiments relate to vending machines with large area transparent touch electrode (LATTE) technology, and/or associated methods. By using the low-E Ag-based coatings described herein, it is possible to create new vending machine user interfaces that are more interesting and interactive than conventional interfaces. Touch-based user interfaces may be useful in vending, attract, and game-playing modes into which example vending machines may be placed and under which they may be operated.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A vending machine, comprising:
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a cabinet including a plurality of product placement areas; a window to the product placement areas, the window being connected to the cabinet; a first transparent multi-layer low-emissivity (low-E) coating supported by the window and patterned into a first set of electrodes, the first set of electrodes being configured to enable all or part of the window to be used as a touch panel configured to accept touch-related inputs to the vending machine; and processing resources including at least one processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed, are configured to; receive touch-related operation information corresponding to accepted touch-related inputs, the touch-related operation information being indicative of touch positions and touch types, the touch types including touches of the window, non-touch proximity detections, and gestures; and control the vending machine to operate in one of a plurality of different operating modes and respond to received touch-related operation information, the different operating modes including product-vending and game-playing modes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 25)
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18. A vending machine, comprising:
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a cabinet including a plurality of product placement areas; a capacitive touch panel configured to accept touch-related inputs to the vending machine; a first glass substrate arranged as a window to the product placement areas, the first glass substrate being connected to the cabinet and forming part of the touch panel; a first transparent multi-layer low-emissivity (low-E) coating supported by the first glass substrate and being patterned into a first set of electrodes, the first low-E coating including a layer comprising Ag, a layer comprising zinc oxide directly below and in contact with the layer comprising Ag, a layer comprising Ni and/or Cr directly above and in contact with the layer comprising Ag, and at least one silicon-inclusive layer above and at least one silicon-inclusive layer below the layer comprising Ag; and processing resources including at least one processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed, are configured to control the vending machine to operate in one of a plurality of different operating modes and, in connection therewith, respond to touch-related operation signals received from the touch panel, the different operating modes including product-vending and game-playing modes. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of making a vending machine, comprising:
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connecting to a cabinet that includes a plurality of product placement areas a capacitive touch panel that is configured to accept touch-related inputs to the vending machine, wherein the touch panel includes a first glass substrate that is arranged as a window to the product placement areas, a first transparent multi-layer low-emissivity (low-E) coating supported by the first glass substrate and being patterned into a first set of electrodes, the first low-E coating including a layer comprising Ag, a layer comprising zinc oxide directly below and in contact with the layer comprising Ag, a layer comprising Ni and/or Cr directly above and in contact with the layer comprising Ag, and at least one silicon-inclusive layer above and at least one silicon-inclusive layer below the layer comprising Ag; and configuring processing resources including at least one processor and a memory to interface with the touch panel and to control the vending machine to operate in one of a plurality of different operating modes and, in connection therewith, respond to touch-related operation signals received from the touch panel, the different operating modes including product-vending and game-playing modes. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification