Article Vending Machine And Method for Auditing Inventory While Article Vending Machine Remains Operational
First Claim
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1. A method of performing an inventory audit of a plurality of articles contained in an article dispensing machine, each article having a unique identifier and unique location, while permitting a user to transact with the article dispensing machine comprising the steps of:
- initiating an inventory auditing process wherein the unique identifier and location of each article are determined;
permitting a user to initiate a transaction for at least one of a return, rental, or purchase of an article;
automatically pausing the inventory auditing process in response to the user transaction request;
performing the transaction requested by the user; and
resuming the inventory auditing process when the user transaction is complete.
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Abstract
An article vending machine capable of performing an inventory audit and automatically pausing the inventory audit in response to a customer transaction request and method for performing the same are shown. After completing the customer request, the article vending machine resumes the inventory auditing process. The article vending machine thereby remains available for customer use during the inventory auditing process.
151 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of performing an inventory audit of a plurality of articles contained in an article dispensing machine, each article having a unique identifier and unique location, while permitting a user to transact with the article dispensing machine comprising the steps of:
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initiating an inventory auditing process wherein the unique identifier and location of each article are determined; permitting a user to initiate a transaction for at least one of a return, rental, or purchase of an article; automatically pausing the inventory auditing process in response to the user transaction request; performing the transaction requested by the user; and resuming the inventory auditing process when the user transaction is complete. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of performing an inventory audit of a plurality of articles contained in an article dispensing machine while permitting a user to transact with the article dispensing machine comprising the steps of:
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initiating an inventory auditing process wherein the inventory auditing process comprises using a first sensor attached to a selector arm to detect the presence of an article housed in the article dispensing machine and using a second sensor to read information from the plurality of articles housed in the article dispensing machine; permitting a user to initiate a transaction that uses at least one of the sensor or the selector arm; automatically pausing the inventory auditing process in response to the user transaction request; performing the transaction requested by the user; and resuming the inventory auditing process and using the second sensor, reading information from the articles that were not read prior to pausing the inventory auditing process. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An article vending machine having an inventory of articles comprising:
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a user interface; a plurality of articles housed in the article vending machine; means for auditing the inventory of articles comprising an inventory auditing program; means for automatically pausing the inventory auditing program in response to a customer input to the user interface wherein the customer input is a request to perform a transaction during execution of the inventory auditing program. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification