Method and apparatus for managing vending machine offers
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- determining a promotion redeemable at a vending machine, the promotion comprising an offer distinct from a general offer to sell products from the vending machine at posted prices; and
causing the promotion to be output.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In accordance with one or more embodiments, a promotion redeemable at a vending machine is determined. The promotion comprises an offer distinct from a general offer to sell products from the vending machine at posted prices. The promotion is output (e.g., via an output device of a vending machine, an output device of a peripheral device of a vending machine, an output device of a customer device, or a combination thereof). In some embodiments, the promotion may be determined such that it satisfies the goal of increasing the profitability of the vending machine and/or the goal of conserving an inventory of coins in the vending machine. In some embodiments, determining a promotion may comprise constructing a promotion instance by populating a parameter of a promotion type with a value selected based on one or more rules.
139 Citations
68 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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determining a promotion redeemable at a vending machine, the promotion comprising an offer distinct from a general offer to sell products from the vending machine at posted prices; and
causing the promotion to be output. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A method, comprising:
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determining an occurrence of a predetermined event;
constructing, in response to the occurrence of the predetermined event, an instance of a promotion, the instance of the promotion being distinct from a general offer to sell products from the vending machine at posted prices, wherein the instance of the promotion is constructed based on (i) at least one of data associated with transactions completed at the vending machine and data associated with a transaction currently initiated at the vending machine; and
(ii) a predetermined goal stored in a memory of the vending machine; and
outputting, via an output device associated with the vending machine, the instance of the promotion. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
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Specification