Systems and methods for vending machine customer account management
First Claim
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1. A method, comprising:
- providing an offer for a subscription to products offered for sale by a vending machine;
receiving an indication of an acceptance of the offer; and
registering the subscription, wherein the registering comprises;
determining a customer associated with the subscription;
determining a third party associated with the subscription; and
determining a subscription identifier associated with the subscription.
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Abstract
Some embodiments are associated with providing, establishing, registering, administering, and/or managing vending machine subscription accounts. In some embodiments, third parties may administer and/or manage subscription-vending accounts associated with customers.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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providing an offer for a subscription to products offered for sale by a vending machine;
receiving an indication of an acceptance of the offer; and
registering the subscription, wherein the registering comprises;
determining a customer associated with the subscription;
determining a third party associated with the subscription; and
determining a subscription identifier associated with the subscription. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method, comprising:
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receiving, by a vending machine, an indication of a subscription identifier;
receiving an indication of a product selection;
determining a parameter governing a subscription associated with the identifier, wherein the parameter is defined by a third party;
determining whether the product selection is in conformance with the third-party parameter governing the subscription; and
dispensing, in the case that the product selection is determined to be in conformance with the third-party parameter governing the subscription, the selected product. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method, comprising:
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receiving funds from a third party;
establishing, based on the receipt of the funds from the third party, a subscription account for a customer, wherein the subscription account entitles the customer to redeem units of products offered for sale by a vending machine;
receiving, from the third party, an indication of a definition of a parameter associated with the subscription account for the customer;
receiving, after the establishment of the subscription account for the customer, an indication of a product selection made by the customer at the vending machine;
determining whether the product selection satisfies the parameter defined by the third party; and
dispensing, in the case that the product selection is determined to satisfy the parameter defined by the third party, the selected product to the customer.
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Specification