Vending machine having a game of chance
First Claim
1. A vending machine for dispensing customer appreciation prizes to patrons comprisingstorage 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, andselection 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.
0 Assignments
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
38 Claims
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1. 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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8. 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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15. 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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20. 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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26. 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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33. 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.
Specification