Vending machine having a game of chance
First Claim
1. A vending machine for dispensing food or beverage items comprising storage and vend actuation means for a plurality of food or beverage items, currency validation means for authenticating a patron'"'"'s payment to provide credit value toward the purchase of a food or beverage item, token validation means for authenticating a fractional vend token having at least one distinguishable security feature identifiable with the token'"'"'s sponsor, game of chance means enabled by validation of a fractional vend token for producing a substantially random outcome used for determining which of at least two credit values, having a range from zero to one full vend to assign to a fractional vend token, display means for providing game of chance status information to the patron and for displaying the value assigned to the fractional vend token as determined by the outcome of the game of chance, item selection means for selecting an item from among offered food or beverage items, change making means for returning surplus credit remaining after vending a food or beverage item, token management means for rejecting a fractional vend token if a portion of the accumulated credit value was provided by validation of a prior fractional vend token and for limiting the change making means to providing change only for the portion of accumulated credit value not provided by a fractional vend token, and vending machine control means for receiving currency and token validation information, for receiving item selection information, for producing a vend control signal for the corresponding vend actuation means if sufficient credit value has been accumulated to enable vending of the selected item, and for determining how much change to return to the patron after the selected item has been vended.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A machine for vending snacks, product samples, customer appreciation prizes, or time-metered services which offers a patron a game of chance. A patron receives a free fractional vend with a previously purchased product for use in a vending machine having products produced by the same manufacturer, wherein the token activates a game of chance used to determine the value of the token toward the purchase of one of the products. Alternatively, a patron receives a free token within, as part of, or attached to the package of a manufacturer'"'"'s product to activate a game of chance in a sample vending machine sponsored by the product'"'"'s manufacturer to determine which free product sample, or other higher value prize, the patron may vend from the machine. As another alternative, a patron uses a purchase receipt having barcoded information summarizing the transaction at a customer appreciation vending machine to activate a game of chance to determine which of a plurality of prizes a patron may vend from the machine. Finally, a patron uses a promotional token to activate a game of chance in a time-metered service vending machine to determine an amount of bonus service time to grant to the patron.
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Citations
85 Claims
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1. A vending machine for dispensing food or beverage items comprising
storage and vend actuation means for a plurality of food or beverage items, currency validation means for authenticating a patron'"'"'s payment to provide credit value toward the purchase of a food or beverage item, token validation means for authenticating a fractional vend token having at least one distinguishable security feature identifiable with the token'"'"'s sponsor, game of chance means enabled by validation of a fractional vend token for producing a substantially random outcome used for determining which of at least two credit values, having a range from zero to one full vend to assign to a fractional vend token, display means for providing game of chance status information to the patron and for displaying the value assigned to the fractional vend token as determined by the outcome of the game of chance, item selection means for selecting an item from among offered food or beverage items, change making means for returning surplus credit remaining after vending a food or beverage item, token management means for rejecting a fractional vend token if a portion of the accumulated credit value was provided by validation of a prior fractional vend token and for limiting the change making means to providing change only for the portion of accumulated credit value not provided by a fractional vend token, and vending machine control means for receiving currency and token validation information, for receiving item selection information, for producing a vend control signal for the corresponding vend actuation means if sufficient credit value has been accumulated to enable vending of the selected item, and for determining how much change to return to the patron after the selected item has been vended.
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6. A vending machine for dispensing food or beverage items comprising
storage and vend actuation means for a plurality of food or beverage items, currency validation means for authenticating a patron'"'"'s payment to provide credit value toward the purchase of a food or beverage item, token validation means for authenticating a fractional vend token having at least one distinguishable security feature identifiable with the token'"'"'s sponsor, game of chance means enabled by validation of a fractional vend token for producing a substantially random outcome used for determining which of at least two credit values having a range from zero to one full vend to assign to the fractional vend token, display means for providing game of chance status information to the patron, and for displaying the value assigned to the fractional vend token as determined by the outcome of the game of chance, item selection means for selecting an item from among offered food or beverage items, average credit value setting means for controlling the probability distribution function of credit values that can be assigned to fractional vend tokens such that the average value of a large population of assigned credit values closely approximates the set average credit value, and vending machine control means for receiving currency and token validation information, for receiving item selection information, and for producing a vend control signal for the corresponding vend actuation means if sufficient credit value has been accumulated to enable vending of the selected item.
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11. A method of dispensing food or beverage items from a vending machine comprising the steps of
providing a vending machine with storage and vend actuation means for a plurality of food or beverage items, providing to a patron a free fractional vend token having at least a first distinguishable security feature identifiable with the token'"'"'s sponsor, machine-validating the patron'"'"'s fractional vend token to enable a game of chance on the vending machine, producing a random outcome from the game of chance to determine which of at least two credit values, having a range from zero to one full vend to assign to the fractional vend token, displaying game of chance status information to the patron, displaying the value assigned to the fractional vend token as determined by the game of chance, machine-validating a patron'"'"'s currency to provide additional credit value toward the purchase of a food or beverage item, rejecting a fractional vend token if a portion of the accumulated credit value was provided by validation of a prior fractional vend token, providing change only for the portion of accumulated credit value not provided by a fractional vend token and not otherwise committed to a vend, selecting an item from among the offered food or beverage items, and producing a vend control signal for the corresponding vend actuation means if sufficient credit value has been accumulated to enable vending of the selected item.
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16. A method of dispensing food or beverage items from a vending machine comprising the steps of
providing a vending machine with storage and vend actuation means for a plurality of food or beverage items, providing to a patron a free fractional vend token having at least a first distinguishable security feature identifiable with the token'"'"'s sponsor, machine-validating the patron'"'"'s fractional vend token to enable a game of chance on the vending machine, producing a random outcome from the game of chance to determine which of at least two credit values having a range from zero to one full vend to assign to the fractional vend token, displaying game of chance status information to the patron, displaying the value assigned to the fractional vend token as determined by the game of chance, machine-validating a patron'"'"'s currency to provide additional credit value toward the purchase of a food or beverage item, setting the probability distribution function of credit values that can be assigned to fractional vend tokens such that the average value of a large population of assigned credit values closely approximates a predetermined average credit value, selecting an item from among the offered food or beverage items, and producing a vend control signal for the corresponding vend actuation means if sufficient credit value has been accumulated to enable vending of the selected item.
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21. A method of dispensing food or beverage items from a vending machine comprising the steps of
providing a vending machine with a storage and vend actuation means for means for the food or beverage items, providing a storage and vend actuation means for prize vouchers redeemable for a grand prize which cannot be dispensed by the machine, providing to a patron a free token having at least a first distinguishable security feature identifiable with the token'"'"'s sponsor, machine-validating the patron'"'"'s fractional vend token to enable a game of chance on the vending machine, setting the probability distribution function of credit values that can be assigned to fractional vend tokens such that the average value of a large population of assigned credit values closely approximates a predetermined average credit value, producing a random outcome from the game of chance to determine which of at least two credit values having a range from zero to one full vend to assign to the free token, or to determine if the patron has won a grand prize, displaying game of chance status information to the patron, displaying the value assigned to the fractional vend token as determined by the game of chance, and dispensing a prize voucher to the patron if he has won a grand prize.
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23. A vending machine for dispensing product samples and prize items to a patron comprising
storage and vend actuation means for multiple samples of at least two different products, each produced by the same manufacturer, storage and vend actuation means for prize vouchers redeemable for one or more prize items having value at least 10 times higher than the product samples, but which cannot be dispensed by the machine, win probability setting means for predetermining the win probability of each of the different product samples and prize items, token validation means for authenticating a free token provided to a patron within, as part of, or attached to the package of a manufacturer'"'"'s product, the token validation means including a single use limitation means for each free token, and further including means to authenticate the patron'"'"'s free token only if the manufacturer providing the free token is also the manufacturer of the product samples, game of chance means enabled by authentication of the patron'"'"'s free token for producing a random outcome used in combination with the predetermined win probability for each of the different product samples and prize items to determine which subset of them will be offered to the patron for selection and for ensuring that the offered subset will always have at least one member, display means for displaying the subset of product samples and prize items offered to the patron for selection, and item selection means for selecting from among the offered product samples and prize items, and for producing a vend control signal for the corresponding vend actuation means to deliver the patron'"'"'s selection.
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29. A method of dispensing product samples and redeemable prize vouchers from a vending machine to a patron comprising the steps of
providing a vending machine with multiple vendible free samples of at least two different products, providing means to vend redeemable prize vouchers for at least one prize item having a cost at least 10 times higher than any of the free product samples, but which cannot be dispensed by the machine, providing a free token to a patron within, as part of, or attached to a package of a manufacturer'"'"'s product, machine-validating a patron'"'"'s free token to enable a game of chance on the vending machine only once for each free token and only if the manufacturer providing the free token is the same as the manufacturer of free product samples available to be dispensed from the vending machine, associating a predetermined probability of winning with each of the different product samples and prize items, executing a game of chance to produce a random outcome used in conjunction with the predetermined probability of winning for each of the different product samples and prize items to determine which subset of them will be offered to the patron for selection, ensuring that there is at least one member in the offered subset, displaying the offered subset to the patron for selection, and dispensing a free product sample or redeemable prize voucher corresponding to a selection made by the patron.
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38. A vending machine for dispensing customer appreciation prizes to patrons comprising
storage and vend actuation means for multiple units of at least one low value prize item, storage and vend actuation means for prize vouchers redeemable for at least one other prize item having at least 10 times higher value than the at least one low value prize item, but which cannot be dispensed by the machine, means for reading information from a barcode on a patron'"'"'s purchase receipt including means responsive to the read information to determine a patron'"'"'s purchase amount, means responsive to the read information to validate a patron'"'"'s purchase receipt for a single use only, and means responsive to the read information to validate a patron'"'"'s purchase receipt only if a predetermined test utilizing at least one of a) location information, b) time information, and c) transaction ID number information is satisfied, win probability setting means for predetermining the win probability of each prize item in response to a patron'"'"'s purchase amount and to the cost or value of each prize items, game of chance means enabled by validation of patron'"'"'s receipt for producing a random outcome used in combination with the predetermined win probability for each prize item to determine which subset of prize items will be offered to the patron for selection, display means for displaying the offered subset of prize items a patron may select from for vending, and selection means used by a patron for selecting from the offered subset of prize items and for producing a vend control signal for the corresponding vend actuation means to deliver to the patron his selection.
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45. A method of dispensing customer appreciation prizes from a vending machine comprising the steps of
providing a vending machine with a storage and vend actuation means for multiple units of at least one low value prize item and for redeemable prize vouchers for at least one other prize item having at least 10 times higher value than the at least one low value prize item, but which cannot be dispensed by the machine, providing a barcoded purchase receipt to a patron including a) a transaction ID number for communication with a remote database to retrieve at least the purchase amount, or b) the purchase amount and at least one of the purchase location and the purchase time, machine-validating the barcoded purchase receipt to enable a game of chance on the vending machine only once for each purchase receipt and only if a predetermined test utilizing at least one of a) location information, b) time information, and c) transaction ID number information is satisfied, setting a predetermined win probability for each prize item responsive to a patron'"'"'s purchase amount, and to the cost or value of each prize item, executing a game of chance to produce a random outcome used in conjunction with the predetermined win probability for each prize item to determine which subset of prize items will be offered to the patron for selection, displaying the offered subset of prize items a patron may select from for vending, and dispensing the prize item or redeemable prize voucher corresponding to the selection made by the patron.
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52. A vending machine for dispensing customer appreciation prizes to patrons comprising
storage and vend actuation means for multiple units of at least one low value prize item, storage and vend actuation means for prize vouchers redeemable for at least one other prize item having at least 10 times higher value than the at least one low value prize item, but which cannot be dispensed by the machine, token validation means for authenticating a free token provided to a patron by a proprietor at the point of sale, the token validation means being constructed and arranged for authenticating metal or plastic coin shaped tokens having at least one distinguishable security feature identifiable with the proprietor, win probability setting means for predetermining the win probability of each prize item in response to the cost or value of each prize item and to a predetermined mean budget for dispensing an item, game of chance means enabled by validation of at least one free token for producing a random outcome used in combination with the predetermined win probability for each prize item to determine which subset of prize items will be offered to the patron for selection, display means for displaying the offered subset of prize items a patron may select from for vending, and selection means used by a patron for selecting from the offered subset of prize items and for producing a vend control signal for the corresponding vend actuation means to deliver to the patron his selection.
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57. A method of dispensing customer appreciation prizes from a vending machine comprising the steps of
providing a vending machine with a storage and vend actuation means for multiple units of at least one low value prize item and for redeemable prize vouchers for at least one other prize item having at least 10 times higher value than the at least one low value prize item, but which cannot be dispensed by the machine, providing a free token to a patron by a proprietor at the point of sale wherein the free token is at least one of metal and plastic, coin shaped, and has at least one distinguishable security feature identifiable with the proprietor, machine-validating a patron'"'"'s free token to enable a game of chance on the vending machine only once for each free token and only if the token has the at least one distinguishable security feature identifiable with the proprietor, setting a predetermined win probability for each prize item responsive to the cost or value of each prize item and to a predetermined mean budget for dispensing an item, executing a game of chance to produce a random outcome used in conjunction with the predetermined win probability for each prize item to determine which subset of prize items will be offered to the patron, displaying the offered subset to the patron for selection, and dispensing the prize item or redeemable prize voucher corresponding to the selection made by the patron.
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63. A vending machine for dispensing customer appreciation prizes to patrons comprising
storage and vend actuation means for multiple units of at least one low value prize item and for prize vouchers redeemable for at least one other prize item having at least 10 times higher value than the at least one low value prize item, but which cannot be dispensed by the machine, customer ID validation means for machine reading a patron'"'"'s customer ID number from a customer ID carrier, the customer ID validation means including means for validating a patron'"'"'s customer ID only if the patron is a registered customer of the proprietor and only once during a predetermined period of time, win probability setting means for predetermining the win probability of each prize item in response to the cost or value of each prize item and to a predetermined mean budget for dispensing an item, game of chance means enabled by validation of a patron'"'"'s customer ID number for producing a random outcome used in combination with the predetermined win probability for each prize item to determine which subset of prize items will be offered to the patron for selection, display means for displaying the offered subset of prize items a patron may select from for vending, and selection means used by a patron for selecting from the offered subset of prize items and for producing a vend control signal for the corresponding vend actuation means to deliver to the patron his selection.
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70. A method of dispensing customer appreciation prizes from a vending machine comprising the steps of
providing a vending machine with a storage and vend actuation means for multiple units of at least one low value prize item and for redeemable prize vouchers for at least one other prize item having at least 10 times higher value than the at least one low value prize item, but which cannot be dispensed by the machine, providing a customer ID carrier to a patron from a proprietor with the customer ID carrier having a machine-readable customer ID number registered with the proprietor, machine-validating a customer ID number to enable a game of chance on the vending machine only once during a predetermined period of time, setting a predetermined win probability for each prize item responsive to the cost or value of each prize item and to a predetermined mean budget for dispensing an item, executing a game of chance to produce a random outcome used in conjunction with the predetermined win probability for each prize item to determine which subset of prize items will be offered to the patron for selection, displaying the offered subset to the patron for selection, and dispensing the prize item or redeemable prize voucher corresponding to the selection made by the patron.
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76. A vending machine for providing time-metered services to a patron comprising
display-timer means for providing a time-metered output signal to enable one of a plurality of services, currency validation means for providing credit value towards vending a service, token validation means for authenticating a promotional token having at least one security feature distinguishable by the token validation means for identifying it as an authentic promotional token, time/value computation means for providing a predetermined amount of service time per a predetermined amount of credit value, game of chance means enabled by validating a promotional token for producing a substantially random outcome, bonus time computation means responsive to the game of chance outcome means for determining a bonus time amount to assign to the promotional token from among a plurality of values between a predetermined minimum and predetermined maximum amount of time, wherein the plurality of values have a probability distribution function such that the average value of a large population of assigned bonus time values closely approximates a predetermined average bonus time value, service selection means for a patron to select from among the services, and display means for displaying the total time remaining for vending an enabled service, for displaying the bonus time amount assigned to the promotional token, and for providing game of chance status information to the patron wherein the game of chance status information includes displaying a rapid succession of different bonus time values prior to displaying the bonus time amount assigned to the promotional token.
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78. A vending machine for providing time-metered services to a patron comprising
display-timer means for providing a time-metered output signal to enable one of a plurality of services, currency validation means for providing credit value towards vending a service, time/value computation means for providing a predetermined amount of service time per a predetermined amount of credit value, game of chance means for producing a substantially random outcome enabled when the accumulated credit value meets or exceeds a predetermined bonus threshold value, bonus time computation means responsive to the game of chance outcome for determining a bonus time amount to grant from among a plurality of values between a predetermined minimum and predetermined maximum amount of time, and wherein the plurality of values has a probability distribution function such that the average value of a large population of granted bonus time values closely approximates a predetermined average bonus time value, service selection means for a patron to select from among the services, and display means for displaying the total time remaining for vending an enabled service, for displaying the granted bonus time amount, and for providing game of chance status information to the patron wherein the game of chance status information includes displaying a rapid succession of different bonus time values prior to displaying the bonus time amount granted.
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80. A method of vending time-metered services comprising the steps of
detecting that a patron has provided an amount of payment for vending time-metered services, providing a predetermined amount of service vending time per a predetermined amount of payment, setting the probability distribution function of bonus time values that can be granted such that the average value of a large population of granted bonus time values closely approximates a predetermined average bonus time value, enabling a game of chance for producing a substantially random outcome when the total payment for vending time-metered services meets or exceeds a predetermined bonus threshold value, determining a bonus time amount to grant from among a plurality of values wherein the game of chance outcome and the probability distribution function of bonus time values are two factors used in the determination, displaying a rapid succession of different values prior to displaying the bonus time amount granted, adding the granted bonus time amount to the service vending time provided by payment, and displaying the total time remaining for vending a service.
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83. A method of vending time-metered services comprising the steps of
detecting that a patron has provided an amount of payment for vending time-metered services, providing a predetermined amount of service vending time per a predetermined amount of payment, setting the probability distribution function of bonus time values that can be granted such that the average value of a large population of granted bonus time values closely approximates a predetermined average bonus time value, providing a patron with a promotional token having at least one machine readable security feature to identify it as an authentic promotional token, machine-validating a patron'"'"'s promotional token to enable a game of chance for producing a substantially random outcome, determining a bonus time amount to grant from among a plurality of values wherein the game of chance outcome and the probability distribution function of bonus time values are two factors used in the determination, displaying a rapid succession of different values prior to displaying the bonus time amount granted, adding the granted bonus time amount to the service vending time provided by payment, and displaying the total time remaining for vending a service.
Specification