Method and system for accomplishing product detection
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides for a vending system wherein a monitoring system verifies that a product ordered by a vending customer is actually delivered through a delivery area to the customer. If the product ordered is unavailable either because of an out of stock situation or a blockage of the delivery path for that product, the present invention allows the customer to request a refund or order a second product. Additionally, the present invention helps to prevent theft of product from the vending system.
35 Citations
30 Claims
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1-7. -7. (canceled)
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8. An apparatus for facilitating delivery of a product from a vending machine, the vending machine having an ordering system for accepting a customer order of the product, at least one delivery mechanism associated with the product and a delivery path for delivering the product, the delivery mechanism moving from and returning to a home position in response to the customer order, the apparatus comprising:
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a monitoring system located about the delivery path, the monitoring system determining if a product passed along the delivery path; and
a circuitry communicatively coupled to the monitoring system, the circuitry determining a failure if the product does not pass along the delivery path in response to a customer order, the circuitry instructing the at least one delivery mechanism to move from the home position in response to the failure and to subsequently stop in response to the product passing along the delivery path, wherein the monitoring system comprises a set of signal emitters and a set of signal detectors, and wherein at least one signal detector of the set of signal detector and at least one adjacent signal detector receive a signal from a corresponding signal emitter of the set of signal emitters, the corresponding signal emitter being aligned with the at least one signal detector. - View Dependent Claims (14, 20)
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9-13. -13. (canceled)
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15-19. -19. (canceled)
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21. An apparatus for facilitating delivery of a product from a vending machine, the vending machine having an ordering system for accepting a customer order of the product, at least one delivery mechanism associated with the product and a delivery path for delivering the product, the apparatus comprising:
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a monitoring system located about the delivery path, the monitoring system determining if a product passed along the delivery path, the monitoring system operating in either a calibration mode in which the monitoring system is at least periodically calibrated or a scanning mode in which the monitoring system monitors for passage of the product along the delivery path, wherein the monitoring system operates in the calibration mode during a period prior to the customer order and, in response to the customer order, enters the scanning mode until the customer order is completed. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus for facilitating delivery of a product from a vending machine, the apparatus comprising:
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a monitoring system comprising a set of signal emitters and a set of signal detectors located about a delivery path within the vending machine, the monitoring system determining whether a product passes along the delivery path, wherein, in at least a calibration mode of operation for the monitoring system, each emitter within the set of emitters is separately activated at a first output power and one or more detectors within the set of detectors monitor for a signal from the activated emitter, wherein, upon failure of the one or more detectors to detect a signal from an activated one of the emitters, the activated one emitter is subsequently activated at a second output power higher than the first output power. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. An apparatus for facilitating delivery of a product from a vending machine, the vending machine having an ordering system for accepting a customer order of the product and at least one delivery mechanism associated with the product and a delivery path for delivering the product, the apparatus comprising:
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a home switch coupled to the at least one delivery mechanism, the home switch detecting when the at least one delivery mechanism moves from and returns to a home position; and
a monitoring system located about a delivery path within the vending machine, the monitoring system determining whether a product passes along the delivery path, wherein, in response to the customer order, the at least one delivery mechanism is activated until the home switch detects that the at least one delivery mechanism has moved from and returned to the home position, wherein the monitoring system monitors for passage of the product while the at least one delivery mechanism moves from and returns to the home position. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification