Apparatus and method for improved vending machine inventory maintenance

• US 20020161475A1
• Filed: 10/31/2001
• Published: 10/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vending Management Services Limited
• Original Assignee: SkyWire, L.P.
• Inventors: Varga, Steve, Hall, John, Desmarais, Richard, Eagle, Bryan III, Lemieux, Michael D., Cowling, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 6,980,887 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/18 specially adapted for controlling several coin-freed apparatus from one place
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

Inventory maintenance is improved for a system of one or more vending machines by providing one or more vending machines with unique identifiers, and means for collecting and transmitting information concerning goods dispensed and other status to a remote location where processing means provide an efficient service schedule.

Claims

1. A vending machine system, comprising:

a vending machine, comprising;

a compartment comprising a plurality of supply columns that stores a plurality of different types of goods to be dispensed;

a dispenser that dispenses selected goods from said different types of goods;

a CPU that counts said selected goods dispensed by said dispenser to generate a total number of said selected goods dispensed for each of said plurality of supply columns;

a machine identifier that identifies said vending machine; and

a transmitter that communicates a signal comprising said machine identifier and said total number of said selected goods dispensed for each of said plurality of supply columns to a remote processing center; and

said remote processing center receives said signal and calculates the capacity and velocity of each of said different types of goods based on said total number of said selected goods dispensed to determine an optimal configuration of said different types of goods in said plurality of supply columns that would maximize time efficiency between service periods for restocking of said different types of goods.