Collectibles dispensing apparatus and method
First Claim
1. An apparatus for dispensing one or more collectibles to a user comprising:
- a housing;
a user interface coupled to said housing and adapted to accept user inputs and provide audio visual information to the user;
a plurality of hoppers adapted to hold the one or more collectibles;
a dispensing mechanism coupled to said plurality of hoppers;
a controller coupled to said user interface and said dispensing mechanism;
wherein based upon the user designating the one or more collectibles through said user interface, said controller causes said user interface to display information related to the one or more collectibles and causes said dispensing mechanism to release the designated one or more collectibles from corresponding one or more of said plurality of hoppers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is an apparatus and method for dispensing collectibles to a user comprising a housing with a user interface, such as displays, speakers, touch screens, push buttons, joy sticks, track balls, mouse(s), spinning dials, wheels, microphone and/or pull actuators. The user interface provides audio visual information related to one or more collectibles. A plurality of hoppers are coupled to a dispensing mechanism and are adapted to hold the collectibles. A controller is coupled to the user interface and the dispensing mechanism. The user may designate one or more collectibles through the user interface. The dispensing mechanism releases the designated collectibles from the appropriate hoppers. The apparatus and method may incorporate one or more games that may be configured to allow a user to affect the collectible being dispensed. Tracking the inventory of available collectibles may also affect the availability of specific collectibles.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for dispensing one or more collectibles to a user comprising:
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a housing; a user interface coupled to said housing and adapted to accept user inputs and provide audio visual information to the user; a plurality of hoppers adapted to hold the one or more collectibles; a dispensing mechanism coupled to said plurality of hoppers; a controller coupled to said user interface and said dispensing mechanism; wherein based upon the user designating the one or more collectibles through said user interface, said controller causes said user interface to display information related to the one or more collectibles and causes said dispensing mechanism to release the designated one or more collectibles from corresponding one or more of said plurality of hoppers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for dispensing one or more collectibles to a user comprising:
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a housing; a user interface coupled to said housing and adapted to accept user inputs and provide audio visual information to the user; a plurality of hoppers adapted to hold the one or more collectibles; a dispensing mechanism coupled to said plurality of hoppers; a controller coupled to said user interface and said dispensing mechanism, said controller programmed to operate a game; wherein based upon an outcome of said game, said controller causes said user interface to display information related to the one or more collectibles and causes said dispensing mechanism to release the one or more collectibles from corresponding one or more of said plurality of hoppers. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for dispensing one or more collectibles to a user comprising:
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providing a dispensing apparatus adapted to hold the one or more collectibles; operating a game event; displaying audio visual information regarding the one or more collectibles based upon said game event; selecting the one or more collectibles based upon said game event; and dispensing the one or more collectibles from the selecting step. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification