TOKENLESS VENDING SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A method of tokenless vending, comprising the steps of:
- providing a plurality of points of sale available to the general public;
providing a central server, the points of sale being capable of communicating with the server;
establishing accounts for potential purchasers;
establishing credit limits for such accounts;
establishing at least one identifying code associated with each such account;
storing details of the accounts, including the said at least one identifying code for each account, at the server;
receiving from a potential purchaser at one of the points of sale at least one input code, without receiving any such code from a token, and an indication of at least one desired good or service;
transmitting the said at least one input code to the server;
determining whether the said at least one input code agrees with the at least one identifying code associated with an active said account;
if so, confirming that the price of the at least one good or service does not exceed the credit limit on the account;
if confirmed, providing the at least one good or service at the point of sale, and reducing the credit limit on the account accordingly.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of and apparatus for tokenless vending, and tokenless shopping enable an account holder to buy goods and services without having to be in possession of cash, cards, or any other physical token of value or identity. To make a purchase, the purchaser simply inputs his account number and password on a keypad at a vending machine or other point of sale. The point of sale equipment transmits the account code and password to a central server. The server determines whether the said at least one code input by the purchaser agrees with the at least one identifying code associated with an active account. The vendor system confirms, either at the server or at the point of sale, that the price of the desired goods or services does not exceed the available credit on the purchaser'"'"'s account. If all is in order, the goods or services are provided to the purchaser at the point of sale, and the server reduces the available credit on the account accordingly.
56 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of tokenless vending, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of points of sale available to the general public;
providing a central server, the points of sale being capable of communicating with the server;
establishing accounts for potential purchasers;
establishing credit limits for such accounts;
establishing at least one identifying code associated with each such account;
storing details of the accounts, including the said at least one identifying code for each account, at the server;
receiving from a potential purchaser at one of the points of sale at least one input code, without receiving any such code from a token, and an indication of at least one desired good or service;
transmitting the said at least one input code to the server;
determining whether the said at least one input code agrees with the at least one identifying code associated with an active said account;
if so, confirming that the price of the at least one good or service does not exceed the credit limit on the account;
if confirmed, providing the at least one good or service at the point of sale, and reducing the credit limit on the account accordingly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of tokenless shopping, comprising the steps of:
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establishing an account with an operator who provides a plurality of points of sale and a central server, the points of sale being available for the use of the general public and capable of communicating with the server;
establishing a credit limit for the account;
establishing at least one identifying code associated with each such account;
inputting at one of the points of sale the said at least one identifying code, without providing a token bearing such code, and an indication of at least one desired good or service;
waiting while the point of sale transmits the input code to the server, the server confirms that the input code agrees with the at least one identifying code associated with the said account, the account is active, and the price of the at least one good or service does not exceed the credit limit on the account; and
receiving the at least one good or service at the point of sale. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. Apparatus for tokenless vending, comprising:
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a central server arranged to store details of accounts for potential purchasers, including credit limits for such accounts and at least one identifying code associated with each such account; and
a plurality of points of sale available for the use of the general public and capable of communicating with the server, the points of sale being arranged to receive from a potential purchaser at least one input code, without receiving any such code from a token, and an indication of at least one desired good or service, and to transmit the said at least one input code to the server;
the server being arranged to determine whether the said at least one input code agrees with the at least one identifying code associated with a said account, if so, to confirm that the account in question is active;
the apparatus further being arranged to confirm that the price of the at least one good or service does not exceed the credit limit on the account in question;
the point of sale being arranged to provide the at least one good or service; and
the server being arranged to reduce the credit limit on the account in question according. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 16, 17)
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15. A tokenless vending machine accessible to the general public and comprising:
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a stock of goods for sale to members of the public;
a data input device for receiving from a potential purchaser at least one input code, without receiving any such code from a token, and an indication of at least one desired good or service;
a communications device capable of communicating with the server, and arranged to transmit the said at least one input code to a remote server, and to receive messages from the server; and
a dispensing mechanism arranged to provide the desired goods to the purchaser upon receipt of an appropriate message from the server.
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Specification