Method and Apparatus for Controlling a Vending Machine

• US 20100198400A1
• Filed: 07/06/2007
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Christian Felique, Pascal Felique
• Original Assignee: Christian Felique, Pascal Felique
• Inventors: Christian, Felique, Pascal, Felique
• Granted Patent: US 8,433,440 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/232
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/02 Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus alarms or warning devices indicating the interruption of flow to be metered G07F15/10
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/025 'Virtual' control panels, e.g. Graphical User Interface [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/027 Remotely controlled remote control systems in general G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/08 by using devices external to the driving mechanisms, e.g. coin-freed switch coin actuated mechanisms G07F5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/002 Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing; transfer of record carriers from magazine G11B15/68, G11B17/10; G11B17/22
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 31/00 Arrangements for the associated working of recording or reproducing apparatus with related apparatus with cameras or projectors G03B31/00 ; recording/reproducing of music for electrophonic musical instruments G10H1/0033; automatic arrangements for answering calls or for recording messages for absent subscribers H04M1/64; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with dictation recording and playback systems H04M11/10; connection of TV recorder with other related apparatus, e.g. TV camera or receiver, in which the TV signal is significantly involved H04N, e.g. H04N23/00, H04N5/765; combination of radio or TV with other apparatus, e.g. with vehicles H05K11/00

Abstract

A solution comprising cost-effective methods and techniques for converting a traditional vending machine into a vending machine with a graphical user interface, multimedia advertising and info kiosk capabilities. A key aspect of this invention is the integration of a consumer DVD player in a vending machine, in which the graphical user interface is implemented as DVD Menu structures stored on a DVD disc that also contains the video clips. Another aspect of this invention, is the changed logic of a traditional vending machine to delay item dispense until a video clip has been played. The present invention provides interfacing methods between a DVD player, a Vending Machine Controller and an optional microcontroller. These methods can be used to implement a communication protocol between a DVD player and a microcontroller. The methods and techniques of the invention can be integrated in an MDB peripheral device of a vending machine.

Claims

1. A vending machine characterized in that the graphical user interface for operating said vending machine is implemented as DVD Menu structures on a DVD disc medium placed in a DVD player or implemented as DVD-like Menu structures on a DVD-like medium in a DVD-like player, whereby said DVD-like player supports at least a level of user interactivity, comparable to the navigation features available in the current DVD platform technology.

2. The vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said graphical user interface is not implemented by a computer program, set of instruction code or similar running on a central processing unit other than the central processing unit in said DVD player playing said DVD disc medium or in said DVD-like player playing said DVD-like medium.

3. The vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that a specially mastered DVD disc or DVD-like medium contains the DVD Menus or DVD-like Menus used for implementing a graphical user interface on the vending machine and optionally contains one or more video clips that can be used for at least advertising and/or info kiosk purposes.

4. The vending machine according to claim 3, whereby the audio visual content is not updated from a remote location over a network connection, but is updated by replacing the DVD disc medium in said DVD player or by replacing the DVD-like medium in said DVD-like player of said vending machine at anytime.

5. The vending machine according to claim 4, whereby the DVD disc medium or DVD-like medium is replaced simultaneously with the replacement of beverages/candies/other items with minor extra effort for the vending operator.

6. The vending machine according to claim 1, said vending machine comprising:

Elements available in a vending machine in accordance with prior art;

a selection panel;

a keyboard decoder;

a Vending Machine Controller (VMC);

an item dispenser for dispensing said product;

a coin changer and/or bill validator;

one or more sold out leds;

whereby said selection panel is disconnected from (said keyboard decoder of) said Vending Machine Controller in said vending machine;

Additional elements that can be provided as a kit for retrofitting an existing vending machine;

a stand-alone consumer DVD player;

a display device for displaying video images connected to the video output of said DVD player;

optional speakers connected to one or more audio outputs of said DVD player;

a remote control unit for said DVD player (RCU);

electronics associated with said selection panel and said RCU;

7. The vending machine according to claim 6, further comprising:

a DTMF decoder circuit connected to an audio output of said DVD player;

electronics associated with said DTMF decoder circuit and said keyboard decoder;

8. The vending machine according to claim 6, further comprising:

an optical sensor unit sensing a specific region on said display device;

electronics associated with said optical sensor unit and said keyboard decoder;

9. The vending machine according to claim 1, said vending machine comprising:

Elements available in a vending machine in accordance with prior art;

a selection panel;

a keyboard decoder;

a Vending Machine Controller (VMC);

an item dispenser for dispensing said product;

a coin changer and/or bill validator;

one or more sold out leds;

whereby said selection panel is disconnected from (said keyboard decoder of) said Vending Machine Controller in said vending machine;

Additional elements that can be provided as a kit for retrofitting an existing vending machine;

a stand-alone consumer DVD player;

a display device for displaying video images connected to the video output of said DVD player;

optional speakers connected to one or more audio outputs of said DVD player;

a microcontroller;

an IR sender;

electronics associated with said microcontroller and said IR sender;

electronics associated with said microcontroller and said keyboard decoder;

electronics associated with said selection panel and said microcontroller;

electronics associated with said coin changer and said vending machine controller to monitor coin insertions on said microcontroller;

electronics associated with said bill validator and said vending machine controller to monitor accepted bills on said microcontroller;

electronics associated with said sold out leds and microcontroller to monitor the sold out status of items;

10. The vending machine according to claim 9, further comprising:

a DTMF decoder circuit connected to an audio output of said DVD player;

electronics associated with said DTMF decoder circuit and said microcontroller;

11. The vending machine according to claim 9, further comprising:

an optical sensor unit sensing a specific region on said display device;

electronics associated with said optical sensor unit and said microcontroller;

12. A method for dispensing a product to a customer in a vending machine according to claim 6, said method comprising the steps of:

the customer inserts credit in said coin changer and/or said bill validator;

the customer navigates a graphical user interface by navigating DVD Menus in said DVD player;

the customer selects a desired item in a graphical user interface by selecting a menu item in said DVD Menus;

a random or sequential clip is played by said DVD player on said display device;

a Control Movie is played by said DVD player on said display device after the end of the clip to signal said selected item to said keyboard decoder simulating a button press for said selected item;

the item is dispensed when item is available and the inserted credit is higher or equal to the item price;

the remaining coins are returned after a successful vend;

13. A method for dispensing a product to a customer in a vending machine according to claim 9, said method comprising the steps of:

the customer inserts credit in said coin changer and/or said bill validator;

the customer navigates a graphical user interface by navigating DVD Menus in said DVD player;

the customer selects a desired item in a graphical user interface by selecting a menu item in said DVD Menus;

a Control Movie is played by said DVD player on said display device to inform said microcontroller which item is selected by the customer;

said microcontroller checks if the selected item is available;

said microcontroller checks if the inserted credit is higher than or equal to the item price;

said microcontroller instructs said DVD player to play a video information message or a clip on said display device;

a “

Sold Out”

video information message is played by said DVD player on said display device when the selected item is not available;

a “

Low Funds”

video information message is played by said DVD player on said display device when the customer did not insert enough credit to purchase the selected item;

a random or sequential clip is played by said DVD player on said display device when the selected item is available and the customer did insert enough credit to purchase the selected item;

a Control Movie is played by said DVD player on said display device to signal the end of the information message or clip to said microcontroller;

the microcontroller instructs said Vending Machine Controller to dispense the initial selected item when the selected item is available and the customer did insert enough credit to purchase the selected item by signaling said selected item to said keyboard decoder;

the item is dispensed when item is available and the inserted credit is higher or equal to the item price;

the remaining coins are returned after a successful vend;

14. A method for selecting an item in a graphical user interface in a vending machine according to any one of claims 6 and 9, characterized in that the item selections are menu items in a Selections DVD Menu stored on a DVD disc medium, played by said DVD player.

15. The method according to claim 14 for selecting an item in a graphical user interface in a vending machine according to claim 6, by navigating in a Selections DVD Menu, through the use of a plurality of selection buttons comprising electronics associated with said selection panel and adapted to map button presses on said selection panel to button presses on said remote control unit for said DVD player.

16. The method for selecting an item in a graphical user interface in a vending machine according to claim 15, characterized in that either the front panel buttons of said selection panel are mapped to absolute numerical keys of said remote control unit for said DVD player, or either that the front panel buttons of said selection panel are mapped to navigation keys comprising arrow keys and enter key of said remote control unit for said DVD player, or either a combination of both.

17. The method according to claim 14, for selecting an item in a graphical user interface in a vending machine as claimed in claim 9, by navigating in a Selections DVD Menu, through the use of a plurality of selection buttons comprising electronics associated with said selection panel and adapted such that said microcontroller monitors button presses on said selection panel, and forwards these button presses to said DVD player through said IR sender.

18. The method for selecting an item in a graphical user interface in a vending machine according to claim 17, characterized in that the front panel buttons of said selection panel are forwarded to said DVD player through said IR sender if said microcontroller is in input mode, and further characterized in that the front panel buttons of said selection panel are not forwarded to said DVD player through said IR sender if said microcontroller is in decision mode or in credit insertion mode.

19. A method for signaling an item selection made in a graphical user interface according to claim 15 to the Vending Machine Controller in the vending machine according to claim 6, characterized in that said DVD player plays a Control Movie of which the audio/video signal is decoded by associated electronics with said DVD player into the proper signals for said keyboard decoder of said Vending Machine Controller to instruct said Vending Machine Controller to dispense the selected item.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that associated electronics with said DVD player decode video signals produced by a Video Control Movie into the proper signals for said keyboard decoder of said Vending Machine Controller.

21. The method according to claim 20 in a vending machine according to claim 8, characterized in that said Video Control Movie contains special video content representing a combination of N rectangular areas where 1 rectangle is white (rectangular area corresponding with the selected item) and the other N−

1 rectangles are black, and further characterized in that said decoding of video signals comprises the following steps;

said optical sensor unit senses a specific region of the display device;

said optical sensor unit is associated with electronics adapted to translate a sensor signal corresponding to a selected item on the DVD player into a button press signal on the keyboard decoder;

said keyboard decoder instructs the VMC to dispense the initial selected item;

22. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that associated electronics with said DVD player decode audio signals produced by an Audio Control Movie into the proper signals for said keyboard decoder of said Vending Machine Controller.

23. The method according to claim 22 in a vending machine according to claim 7, characterized in that said Audio Control Movie contains special audio content with multiplexed DTMF tone representing the selected item, and further characterized in that

said decoding of audio signals comprises the following steps:

said DTMF decoder senses the audio output of the DVD player;

said DTMF decoder is associated with electronics adapted to translate a DTMF tone corresponding to a selected item on the DVD player into a button press signal on the keyboard decoder;

said keyboard decoder instructs the VMC to dispense the initial selected item;

24. A method for signaling an item selection made in a graphical user interface according to claim 17 to the microcontroller in the vending machine according to claim 9, characterized in that said DVD player plays a Control Movie to signal the selected item to said microcontroller when said microcontroller is in input mode, and further characterized in that said microcontroller monitors signals produced by said Control Movie.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that associated electronics with said DVD player decode video signals produced by a Video Control Movie into the proper signals for said microcontroller.

26. The method according to claim 25 in a vending machine according to claim 11, characterized in that said Video Control Movie contains special video content representing a combination of M rectangular areas where each rectangular area can be either black or white. The color white means logical value “

1”

, and the color black means logical value “

0”

. The combination of white and black rectangles represent a binary encoded value between 1 and 2̂

M, and further characterized in that said decoding of video signals comprises the following steps;

said optical sensor unit senses a specific region of the display device;

said optical sensor unit is associated with electronics adapted to translate a sensor signal corresponding to a selected item on the DVD player into the proper signals for said microcontroller;

said microcontroller gets informed about the item selection;

27. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that associated electronics with said DVD player decode audio signals produced by an Audio Control Movie into the proper signals for said microcontroller.

28. The method according to claim 27 in a vending machine according to claim 10, characterized in that said Audio Control Movie contains special audio content with multiplexed DTMF tone representing the selected item, and further characterized in that

said decoding of audio signals comprises the following steps:

said DTMF decoder senses the audio output of the DVD player;

said DTMF decoder is associated with electronics adapted to translate a DTMF tone corresponding to a selected item on the DVD player into the proper signals for said microcontroller;

said microcontroller gets informed about the item selection;

29. A method for signaling a vend decision made by a microcontroller to the DVD player in the vending machine according to claim 9, after an item selection was made by a method according to claim 14 and characterized in that said DVD player will jump to a Decision DVD Menu and will wait for a decision made by said microcontroller which will send the proper IR command to said DVD player through said IR sender to select a menu item in said Decision DVD Menu and characterized in that said Decision DVD Menu comprises at least the following menu items:

“

sold out”

button to play a “

Sold Out”

video movie;

“

low funds”

button to play a “

Low Funds”

video movie;

“

vend success”

button to play a random/sequential clip before dispensing the item;

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that said microcontroller will select menu item “

sold out”

in said Decision DVD Menu on said DVD player when the selected item is not available anymore, or will select menu item “

low funds”

in said Decision DVD Menu on said DVD player when not enough credit was inserted for the selected item, or will select menu item “

vend success”

in said Decision DVD Menu on said DVD player when the selected item is available and enough credit was inserted. And further characterized in that said DVD player will jump from said Decision DVD Menu to a Selections DVD Menu to allow a new vend scenario by a method according to claim 14 after said video information message or clip finished playing.

31. A method for signaling the end of a video information message or clip played on a DVD player to a microcontroller in the vending machine according to claim 9, characterized in that said DVD player plays a Control Movie after said video information message or said clip is finished playing and further characterized in that said microcontroller monitors signals produced by said Control Movie.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that associated electronics with said DVD player decode video signals produced by a Video Control Movie into the proper signals for said microcontroller.

33. The method according to claim 32 in a vending machine according to claim 11, characterized in that said Video Control Movie contains special video content representing a combination of M rectangular areas where each rectangular area can be either black or white. The color white means logical value “

1”

, and the color black means logical value “

0”

. The combination of white and black rectangles represent a binary encoded value between 1 and 2̂

M, and further characterized in that said decoding of video signals comprises the following steps;

said optical sensor unit senses a specific region of the display device;

said optical sensor unit is associated with electronics adapted to translate a sensor signal corresponding to a selected item on the DVD player into the proper signals for said microcontroller;

said microcontroller gets informed about the end of the video message or clip;

34. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that associated electronics with said DVD player decode audio signals produced by an Audio Control Movie into the proper signals for said microcontroller.

35. The method according to claim 34 in a vending machine according to claim 10, characterized in that said Audio Control Movie contains special audio content with a multiplexed DTMF tone representing the selected item and further characterized in that

said decoding of audio signals comprises the following steps:

said DTMF decoder senses the audio output of the DVD player;

said DTMF decoder is associated with electronics adapted to translate a DTMF tone corresponding to a selected item on the DVD player into the proper signals for said microcontroller;

said microcontroller gets informed about the end of the video message or clip;

36. A method for dispensing an item from a vending machine as claimed in claim 9, through a microcontroller program, characterized in that a microcontroller program sends an item number to an output port that is connected to the keyboard decoder of the vending machine using appropriate electronics associated with said keyboard decoder and said microcontroller.

37. A method for monitoring credit activity on a vending machine as claimed in claim 9, through a microcontroller program, characterized in that a microcontroller input port monitors the communication between the Vending Machine Controller of said vending machine, and the coin changer or bill validator, of said vending machine using appropriate electronics associated with said microcontroller, said Vending Machine Controller and said coin changer or bill validator.

38. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that a microcontroller program monitors credit activity on the vending machine and updates the total inserted amount of credit in an internal register.

39. A method for monitoring item availability on a vending machine as claimed in claim 9, through a microcontroller program, characterized in that a microcontroller input port monitors the status of the SOLD OUT LEDs of said vending machine using appropriate electronics associated with said microcontroller and said SOLD OUT LEDs.

40. A method for signaling coin credit activity detected by a microcontroller to the DVD player in the vending machine according to claim 9, after a coin credit activity was detected by a method according to claim 37, and characterized in that said microcontroller will send the proper IR command to said DVD player to select the hidden “

coin insertion”

menu item in a Selections DVD Menu on said DVD player, resulting in a jump from a Selections DVD Menu to a Coin Insertion DVD Menu on said DVD player, and further characterized in that said Coin Insertion DVD Menu comprises one menu item for each coin type that is supported by said coin changer and one menu item to return all coins.

41. A method for signaling bill credit activity detected by a microcontroller to the DVD player in the vending machine according to claim 9, after a bill credit activity was detected by a method according to claim 37, and characterized in that said microcontroller will send the proper IR command to said DVD player to select the hidden “

bill insertion”

menu item in a Selections DVD Menu on said DVD player, resulting in a jump from a Selections DVD Menu to a Bill Insertion DVD Menu on said DVD player, and further characterized in that said Bill Insertion DVD Menu comprises one menu item for each bill type that is supported by said bill validator.

42. The method according to claim 40, characterized in that said microcontroller will signal the inserted coin type—

detected using the method according to claim 37—

to said DVD player by sending the proper IR command to said DVD player to select the proper menu item for the proper coin type in said Coin Insertion DVD Menu on said DVD player, and further characterized in that said DVD player will jump from said Coin Insertion DVD Menu to a Selections DVD Menu to allow a vend scenario using a method according to claim 14 or to allow monitoring credit activity using a method according to claim 37.

43. The method according to claim 41, characterized in that said microcontroller will signal the inserted bill type—

detected using the method according to claim 37—

to said DVD player by sending the proper IR command to said DVD player to select the proper menu item for the proper bill type in said Bill Insertion DVD Menu on said DVD player, and further characterized in that said DVD player will jump from said Bill Insertion DVD Menu to a Selections DVD Menu to allow a vend scenario using a method according to claim 14 or to allow monitoring credit activity using a method according to claim 37.

44. The method according to claim 40, characterized in that said microcontroller will signal the return all coins operations—

detected using the method according to claim 37—

to said DVD player by sending the proper IR command to said DVD player to select the proper menu item for the return all coins operation in said Coin Insertion DVD Menu on said DVD player, and further characterized in that said DVD player will jump from said Coin Insertion DVD Menu to a Selections DVD Menu to allow a vend scenario using a method according to claim 14 or to allow monitoring credit activity using a method according to claim 37.

45. The method according to claim 40 and claim 41, characterized in that said DVD player will update the credit amount in a GPRM register by increasing the value stored in said GPRM register with the inserted credit value after one of the menu items were activated in said Coin Insertion DVD Menu or said Bill Insertion DVD Menu.

46. A method for displaying the current credit amount on the display device of a vending machine as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the background image of a Selections DVD Menu used for item selection according to claim 14 shows the credit amount.

47. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that the background image of a Selections DVD Menu indicates a credit amount of 0, before any credit activity is detected on said vending machine according to the method as claimed in claim 37.

48. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that a Selections DVD Menu is duplicated N times where each Selections DVD Menu has a unique background image representing a currency amount equal to one value out of N discrete currency values, and further characterized in that the background image of each Selections DVD Menu (i+1) represents a currency amount that is equal to the currency amount represented in the background image of Selections DVD Menu (I) plus the lowest possible insertable credit value in said vending machine, so that the amount shown in Selections DVD Menu (i+1)=the amount shown in Selections DVD Menu (i)+lowest possible insertable credit value.

49. The method according to claim 48, characterized in that the DVD player will jump from the current Selections DVD Menu—

indicating credit value (X) in the background image—

to another Selections DVD Menu—

indicating credit value (X+value of inserted credit) in the background image when a menu item in the Coin Insertion DVD Menu or Bill Insertion DVD Menu was selected by a method according to claim 42 or claim 43.

50. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that the DVD player will jump from the current Selections DVD Menu—

indicating credit value (X) in the background image—

to another Selections DVD Menu indicating credit value 0 in the background image when the “

return all coins”

menu item in the Coin Insertion DVD Menu was selected by a method according to claim 44.

51. A DVD disc medium placed in the DVD player of a vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said DVD disc medium contains DVD Menus for operating said vending machine, comprising one or more Selections DVD Menus for selecting an item to be dispensed.

52. The DVD disc medium according to claim 51, further characterized in that said DVD disc medium contains clips that are played on said DVD player during a vend transaction on said vending machine or while said vending machine is in unattended mode.

53. The DVD disc medium according to claim 51, further comprising:

one or more hidden menu items in said Selections DVD Menus to process events on said vending machine;

one or more hidden menu items in one or more hidden DVD Menus to implement methods according to any one of claims 30, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44;

54. A method for playing back a clip using a method according to any one of claims 63, 66, 69 on the display device of a vending machine according to any one of claims 6 and 9, characterized in that said clip is stored on a DVD disc medium, and further characterized in that said DVD disc medium is placed in the DVD player of said vending machine to play said clip.

55. The method according to claim 54, characterized in that said clip is played after an item is selected according to a method in claim 14 and before the item is dispensed on said vending machine according to a method in claim 19 or claim 36 to implement a delayed vending scenario.

56. The method according to claim 55, characterized in that said clip is a sequential clip, played in sequential order by said DVD player,

whereby in a sequence of N vend transactions on a vending machine according to claim 6, a sequence of N clips are played so that for every vend transaction a different clip is played, and so that the order of the clips is sequential,

and whereby in a sequence of N successful vend transactions on a vending machine according to claim 9, a sequence of N clips are played so that for every successful vend transaction a different clip is played, and so that the order of the clips is sequential,

57. The method according to claim 55, characterized in that said clip is a random clip, played in random order by said DVD player,

whereby a random clip is played for every vend transaction on a vending machine according to claim 6,

and whereby a random clip is only played for every successful vend transaction on a vending machine according to claim 9.

58. The method according to claim 55, characterized in that said clip is a commercial clip, and thus converts said vending machine from an item dispenser into a media channel for effective local commercials.

59. A method for playing back a clip sequence on the display device of a vending machine according to any one of claims 6 and 9, when the vending machine is unattended for a specific period of time.

60. The method according to claim 59, characterized in that the Selections DVD Menu according to claim 14 incorporates a timeout feature that is implemented according to the DVD standard and further characterized in that the Selections DVD Menu is set to expire after a defined interval if the customer does not press any button on the selection panel in time, and that said DVD player will jump from said Selections DVD Menu to said clip sequence when said Selections DVD Menu expires, and further characterized in that said DVD player will loop said clip sequence until the customer presses a button on the selection panel of said vending machine.

61. The method according to claim 59, characterized in that said clip sequence is a sequence of one or more sequential or random information kiosk movies, and thus converts said vending machine from an item dispenser into an information kiosk channel.

62. The method according to claim 59, characterized in that said clip sequence is a sequence of one or more sequential or random commercial clips, and thus converts said vending machine from an item dispenser into a media channel for effective local commercials.

64. The method according to claim 63 where said DVD player with said DVD disc medium, plays back

N clips over a sequence of N vend transactions such that each clip is played out just one time over a sequence of N vend transactions in a vending machine according to claim 6;

N clips over a sequence of N successful vend transactions such that each clip is played out just one time over a sequence of N successful vend transactions in a vending machine according to claim 9;

65. The method according to claim 64, characterized in that said clip is a commercial clip, and thus converts said vending machine from an item dispenser into a media channel for effective local commercials.

67. The method according to claim 66 where said DVD player with said DVD disc medium, plays back

N clips over a sequence of N vend transactions such that each clip is played out just one time over a sequence of N vend transactions in a vending machine according to claim 6;

N clips over a sequence of N successful vend transactions such that each clip is played out just one time over a sequence of N successful vend transactions in a vending machine according to claim 9;

68. The method according to claim 67, characterized in that said clip is a commercial clip, and thus converts said vending machine from an item dispenser into a media channel for effective local commercials.

98. The Master-slave arrangement according to the arrangement in claim 96, where program instruction code on said Master controller is modified to integrate said peripheral device in the operation of the vending machine where

said peripheral device provides user interface means for said vending machine according to a method in claim 14,

said DVD player integrated in said peripheral device will jump to a Decision DVD Menu after a selection has been made in the user interface, waiting for input from said microcontroller according to a method in claim 29.

and where said peripheral device plays back video information messages and clips according to a method in any one of claims 63, 66, and 69.

99. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that said Master controller polling said peripheral device, will receive an IDLE response from said peripheral device, when no selection was made yet in the graphical user interface using a method according to claim 14 and said microcontroller is in input mode, according to a method in claim 18.

100. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that said Master controller polling said peripheral device, will receive a response from said peripheral device, comprising the peripheral activity (being item selection) and the actual selected item number, when a selection was made in the graphical user interface using a method according to claim 14 and said microcontroller is in decision mode, according to a method in claim 18.

101. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that said Master controller will check item availability for said selected item number, and will check if inserted credit is sufficient for said selected item or if vend can be approved using other payment methods comprising payment by cashless devices by using prior art methods.

102. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that after said Master controller checked if vend can be approved, said Master controller will send one of the following commands to said peripheral device and further characterized in that the microcontroller in said peripheral device interprets the received command and signals the DVD player using a method according to claim 30.

A SOLD OUT command when said Master controller identified that the item is unavailable;

A LOW FUNDS command when said Master controller identified that the inserted credit was not sufficient or vend can not be approved using other payment methods;

A VEND APPROVED command when said Master controller identified that the item is available and that the inserted credit was sufficient;

104. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that said Master controller polling said peripheral device, will receive a response from said peripheral device, comprising the peripheral activity (being DISPENSE NOW), when the DVD player in said peripheral device finished playing the clip, after the microcontroller made a decision according to the method in claim 30 and the microcontroller inside said peripheral device is notified about the end of the clip according to a method in claim 31 when the vend was successful.

105. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that said Master controller will instruct the vending machine to dispense the selected item according to a method in claim 36 after receiving said response DISPENSE NOW and where said peripheral device changes from peripheral activity DISPENSE NOW to peripheral activity IDLE after said Master controller acknowledged said response from said peripheral device.

106. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that said Master controller will send the COIN INSERT or BILL INSERT command to said peripheral device, when the customer inserts a coin in the Coin Acceptor (COIN INSERT) or when the customer inserts a bill in the Bill Validator (BILL INSERT).

107. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that said Master controller will send the COIN DISPENSE command to said peripheral device, when a coin is dispensed from the vending machine.

108. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that the microcontroller in said peripheral device responds to said COIN INSERT command according to a method in claim 40, by signaling the proper IR command to the DVD player.

109. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that the microcontroller in said peripheral device responds to said BILL INSERT command according to a method in claim 41, by signaling the proper IR command to the DVD player.

110. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that said Master controller polling said peripheral device, will receive a response from said peripheral device, comprising the peripheral activity (being READY TO RECEIVE COIN TYPE), when the microcontroller inside said peripheral device is in coin insertion mode according to a method in claim 40.

111. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 109, characterized in that said Master controller polling said peripheral device, will receive a response from said peripheral device, comprising the peripheral activity (being READY TO RECEIVE BILL TYPE), when the microcontroller inside said peripheral device is in bill insertion mode according to a method in claim 41.

112. The Master-slave arrangement according to any one of claims 110 and 111, characterized in that said Master controller will send the COIN TYPE or BILL TYPE to said peripheral device and where the microcontroller in said peripheral device signals the coin type or bill type to the DVD player using methods according to claim 42 and claim

113. A method to provide a graphical user interface to an existing vending machine by retrofitting said vending machine, comprising:

disconnecting the selection panel of said vending machine from (the keyboard decoder of) the Vending Machine Controller in said vending machine;

adding additional elements as claimed in claim 6;

implementing one or more methods according to any one of claims 12, 14, 15, and 19;

114. A method to provide a graphical user interface to an existing vending machine by retrofitting said vending machine, comprising:

disconnecting the selection panel of said vending machine from (the keyboard decoder of) the Vending Machine Controller in said vending machine;

adding additional elements as claimed in claim 9;

implementing one or more methods according to any one of claims 13, 14, 17, 24, 29, 31, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46;

116. The method according to claim 113 further characterized in that clips can be played back on the display device used by said graphical user interface using methods according to claim 54.

117. The method according to claim 114 further characterized in that clips can be played back on the display device used by said graphical user interface using methods according to claim 54.

63. A method for playing back a random clip without possible repeats on a DVD player, said method using a scratch card algorithm characterized in that said algorithm

plays back clips on a DVD disc medium placed in said DVD player;

is implemented by setting and resetting bits in a number of GPRM registers on said DVD player;

is implemented using instructions in the pre statements and/or post statements section of PGC title objects stored on said DVD disc medium;

can be split over several PGC title objects to overcome the maximum amount of possible consecutive instructions in one pre statements or post statements section if necessary, and if this is the case instructions are used to jump in the post statements section of one PGC title object to the pre statements section of another PGC title object with the next block of instructions;

comprises the steps of;

checking if all movies have been played by checking if all the bits in a number of GPRM registers are set to 1;

clearing the scratch card if all movies have been played by clearing all the bits in a number of GPRM registers to 0;

drawing a random number using a pseudo-random number generator by calling an instruction that returns a random number and stores this number in a GPRM register;

checking if the movie with index number equal to the drawn random number was already played by checking the scratch card by checking if the proper bit value in the proper GPRM register is set to 1;

redrawing a random number if the movie was already played, whereby this process of redrawing continues until a random number is found for which the corresponding movie with the index number equal to the drawn random number is not played yet;

scratching the movie index in a scratch card register by setting the proper bit value in the proper GPRM register to 1;

playing the random movie on said DVD player by jumping to the proper PGC title object;

103. The Master-slave arrangement according to claim 98, characterized in that said Master controller polling said peripheral device, will receive a response from said peripheral device, comprising the peripheral activity (being BUSY PLAYING), while the DVD player in said peripheral device is playing either an information video message or clip, using methods according to any one of claims 63, 66, and 69.

66. A method for playing back a clip out of a sequence of clips in sequential order on a DVD player, said method comprising the steps of:

checking if a counter reaches a maximum value by checking the current counter value stored in a GPRM register on said DVD player with a defined maximum value in another GPRM register on said DVD player;

resetting a counter to 0 when it reaches a maximum value by setting the counter value stored in a GPRM register on said DVD player to 0;

increasing the counter value with 1 by increasing the counter value stored in a GPRM register on said DVD player with 1;

playing a movie with index number equal to the counter value stored in a GPRM register on the DVD player by jumping to the proper PGC title object;

69. A method for playing back clips on a DVD player selected from a microcontroller equipped with an IR sender, said method using a clip selection algorithm implemented by sending a sequence of IR commands from said microcontroller through said IR sender to said DVD player.

70. The method according to claim 69, characterized in that said clips are stored on a specially authored DVD disc medium, where said DVD disc is organized in such a way, that all movies can be accessed by sending a sequence of IR commands for RCU buttons 1 to 9 of the DVD Remote Control Unit.

71. The method according to claim 70, characterized in that, said DVD disc has a number of Movie List DVD Menus where each Movie List DVD Menu is a DVD Menu organized in such a way that IR commands for RCU buttons 1 to 8 play a PGC title object stored on said DVD disc, and that IR command for RCU button 9 jumps to the next Movie List DVD Menu.

72. The method according to claim 69 where said DVD player with said DVD disc medium organized according to claim 70, in a vending machine according to claim 9, plays back a clip selected on the microcontroller for each vend transaction.

73. The method according to claim 72, characterized in that the microcontroller program selects clips from a play list.

74. The method according to claim 72, characterized in that the microcontroller program selects clips in sequential order.

75. The method according to claim 72, characterized in that the microcontroller program selects clips in random order.

76. The method according to claim 75, characterized in that the microcontroller uses a scratch card algorithm to select clips in random order without possible repeats.

77. A communication method between a stand-alone consumer DVD player and a microcontroller, characterized in that said microcontroller associated with proper electronics monitors signals on the video and/or audio outputs of said DVD player, when said DVD player plays a PGC title object (“

Control Movie”

), providing a means to send a signal from said DVD player to said microcontroller.

78. The method according to claim 77, characterized in that said DVD player is able to send a byte to said microcontroller by playing a Control Movie.

79. The method according to claim 77, characterized in that associated electronics with the video outputs of said DVD player, decode video signals into the proper signals for said microcontroller when said DVD player plays a PGC title object (“

Video Control Movie”

).

80. The method according to claim 79, characterized in that said Video Control Movie contains special video content in which a byte is represented by a combination of 8 rectangular areas where each rectangle represents a bit, and where a rectangle represents a logical “

1”

if it has a solid white fill color, and where a rectangle represents a logical “

0”

if it has a solid black fill color, and further characterized in that associated electronics comprise an optical sensor unit sensing a specific region of a display device connected to a video output of said DVD player, and that said optical sensor unit is associated with electronics adapted to translate a sensor signal into the proper signals for said microcontroller.

81. The method according to claim 77, characterized in that associated electronics with the audio outputs of said DVD player, decode audio signals into the proper signals for said microcontroller when said DVD player plays a PGC title object (“

Audio Control Movie”

).

82. The method according to claim 81, characterized in that said Audio Control Movie contains special audio content in which a byte is represented by a combination of 2 consecutive DTMF tones where each DTMF tone represents 4 bits, and further characterized in that associated electronics comprise a DTMF decoder circuit of which the input is connected to an audio output of said DVD player, and that the output of said DTMF decoder is associated with electronics adapted to translate the output signal into the proper signals for said microcontroller.

83. A communication method between a stand-alone consumer DVD player and a microcontroller, characterized in that said microcontroller associated with proper electronics monitors signals on any other output of said DVD player than the outputs specified in claim 77, when said DVD player plays a PGC title object (“

Control Movie”

), providing a means to send a signal from said DVD player to said microcontroller.

89. A method to implement a two-way communication protocol between a stand-alone consumer DVD player and a microcontroller, characterized in that:

one or more bytes can be sent from said DVD player to said microcontroller using a method according to any one of claims 78, 80, and 82;

one or more bytes can be read on said microcontroller using a method according to any one of claims 78, 80, and 82;

one or more bytes can be sent from said microcontroller to said DVD player using a method according to claim 88;

one or more bytes can be read on said DVD player using a method according to claim 88;

95. The vending machine peripheral device according to any one of claims 93 and 94, characterized in that said DVD player and said microcontroller communicate using a protocol according to the method in claim 89.

84. A communication method between a microcontroller and a stand-alone consumer DVD player, characterized in that said microcontroller is associated with an IR sender providing a means to send a signal from said microcontroller to said DVD player.

85. The method according to claim 84, characterized in that said microcontroller can access a menu item on a DVD disc medium in said DVD player by sending out a series of IR commands to access this menu item, and further characterized in that among said menu items, a number of menu items jump to a PGC title object having a pre statements and/or post statements section containing DVD instructions.

86. The method according to claim 85, further characterized in that said DVD disc medium is authored with a number of menu items, and that each of these menu items can be accessed on said DVD player by sending out a consecutive series of IR commands for RCU button 1 to 9, to navigate through the menus on the DVD disc, and to select the proper menu item.

87. The method according to claim 86, where the execution of instruction code on said microcontroller instructs the IR sender to send out a sequence of IR commands resulting in the execution of DVD instruction code on said DVD player.

88. A method to exchange a byte between a microcontroller and a DVD player, characterized in that a microcontroller program splits a byte in a series of N bit patterns and that these bit patterns can be passed on to the DVD player one by one by sending a sequence of IR commands to the DVD player using a method according to claim 87, where each IR command selects one of N menu items, executing DVD instructions that store the bits of the bit pattern on the proper position, and to reconstruct the byte in the lower or higher part of a GPRM register.

90. A communication method between a microcontroller and a stand-alone consumer DVD player, characterized in that an output port of said microcontroller is associated with electronics connected to any future input port on said DVD player providing a means to send a signal from said microcontroller to said DVD player.

91. A vending machine peripheral device that communicates with a Vending Machine Controller in a vending machine, characterized in that said peripheral device provides a graphical user interface for operating said vending machine, and that said graphical user interface is implemented as DVD Menu structures on a DVD disc medium placed in a DVD player or implemented as DVD-like Menu structures on a DVD-like medium in a DVD-like player, whereby said DVD-like player supports at least a level of user interactivity, comparable to the navigation features available in the current DVD platform technology.

92. The vending machine peripheral device according to claim 91, said peripheral device comprising:

a stand-alone consumer DVD player;

a display device for displaying video images connected to the video output of said DVD player;

optional speakers connected to one or more audio outputs of said DVD player;

a microcontroller;

an IR sender;

electronics associated with said microcontroller and the Master Vending Machine Controller in said vending machine;

electronics associated with said microcontroller and said IR sender;

electronics associated with the selection panel of said vending machine and said microcontroller;

93. The vending machine peripheral device according to claim 92, further comprising:

a DTMF decoder circuit connected to the audio outputs of said DVD player;

electronics associated with said DTMF decoder circuit and said microcontroller;

94. The vending machine peripheral device according to claim 92, further comprising:

an optical sensor unit sensing a specific region on said display device;

electronics associated with said optical sensor unit and said microcontroller;

96. The vending machine peripheral device according to any one of claims 92, 93, and 94, characterized in that said peripheral device is configured in a Master-Slave arrangement, wherein said peripheral device is a slave to a Master controller of said vending machine, and further characterized in that said Master controller polls said peripheral device to detect activity on said peripheral device and check the current status of said peripheral device.

97. A Master-slave arrangement according to the arrangement in claim 96, further characterized in that said Master controller communicates to said peripheral device using the Multi-Drop Bus/Internal Communication Protocol defined by the NAMA association.

115. A method to provide a graphical user interface to an existing vending machine by retrofitting said vending machine, comprising:

disconnecting the selection panel of said vending machine from (the keyboard decoder of) the Vending Machine Controller in said vending machine;

adding a vending machine peripheral device according to claim 92.

118. The method according to claim 115 further characterized in that clips can be played back on the display device used by said graphical user interface using methods according to claim 54.

119. The method according to claim 115 further characterized in that promotional features or jukebox functionality can be implemented in said vending machine.