VENDING MACHINE SERVICE SCHEDULING

• US 20110060458A1
• Filed: 11/11/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cantaloupe, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Cantaloupe Systems Incorporated (Cantaloupe, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chu, Eric Matthew, Cheng, Fred, Arora, Mandeep Singh, Beaudoin, Amedee Louis, Agrawal, Anant
• Granted Patent: US 8,571,705 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/244
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

Techniques are provided for calculating vending machines'"'"' service priorities and scheduling the vending machines for service taking into account a number of factors and thresholds (520). In some embodiments, the machines (110) are subdivided into subroutes (320). Each subroute has one or more machines, and at least one subroute has a plurality of machines. The vending machine service schedule is generated by selecting the highest priority subroute (410) and selecting the machines in that subroute (420). Other subroutes can be selected (430, 440) if there is time left in the Service Period.

Claims

1. A system-implemented method for generating an estimate E1 defining an estimated time until a “

need-service time”

which is a time when the vending machine will need-service, wherein the vending machine comprises one or more product containers, the method comprising generating, by the system, the estimate E1 by using one or more predefined service threshold parameters which define one or more of;

(a) a threshold Th1 for a number of the product containers satisfying a condition C1 which is a condition that an amount of a product in the container is at most a predefined alert level for the container;

(b) a threshold Th2 for a number of the products vended by the vending machine that satisfy a condition C2 which is a condition that an amount of the product in the vending machine is at most a predefined alert level for the product;

(c) a required service interval which is maximum time that the machine is to be allowed to operate without service;

(d) a threshold for an amount of money in the vending machine.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more service threshold parameters comprise a first service threshold parameter which defines the threshold for the number of the machine'"'"'s product containers satisfying the condition C1, wherein if a group of containers carries the same product, then only one container in the group is taken into account in generating the estimate E1.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said one container in the group is a container that carries a maximum amount of the product among the containers in the group.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more service threshold parameters comprise a first service threshold parameter which defines the threshold Th1 or the threshold Th2;

and

wherein generating the estimate E1 comprises;

(1) determining, for each of a first plurality of the product containers or products, a corresponding value t1 which defines an estimated time until (i) the container will satisfy the condition C1 for the container'"'"'s alert level or (ii) the product will satisfy the condition C2 for the product'"'"'s alert level; and

(2) for said first plurality of the containers or products, determining a container or product which has an order corresponding to the threshold Th1 or Th2 in an ordering in which the containers or products are ordered by their increasing values t1;

wherein the estimate E1 is generated as the value t1 corresponding to the container or product determined in operation (2).

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said first plurality of containers or products is a plurality of containers which comprises, for each group of the containers that carry the same product, only a container that carries the maximum amount of said product.

19. A system operable to perform the method of claim 1.

20. A manufacture comprising a computer readable data medium comprising one or more computer instructions operable to cause a computer system to perform the method of claim 1.

21. A network transmission method comprising transmitting, over a network, a computer program operable to cause a computer system to perform the method of claim 1.

6. A system-implemented method for determining service priority of one or more vending machines, the method comprising generating, for at least one or the vending machines, the vending machine'"'"'s service priority indicator, wherein generating the vending machine'"'"'s service priority indicator comprises generating, by the system, an estimate E1 defining an estimated time until a “

need-service time”

which is a time when the vending machine will need-service, the service priority indicator being a function of the estimate E1.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the estimate E1 is generated by using one or more predefined service threshold parameters which define one or more of:

(a) a threshold Th1 for a number of the product containers satisfying a condition C1 which is a condition that an amount of a product in the container is at most a predefined alert level for the container;

(b) a threshold Th2 for a number of the products vended by the vending machine that satisfy a condition C2 which is a condition that an amount of the product in the vending machine is at most a predefined alert level for the product;

wherein the method further comprises generating, for each vending machine, a corresponding estimate E2 with reference to (i) a number of the vending machine'"'"'s containers that will satisfy the condition C1 at the need-service time defined by the corresponding estimate E1, or (ii) a number of the vending machine'"'"'s products that will satisfy the condition C2 at the need-service time defined by the corresponding estimate E1;

wherein for each vending machine, its service priority indicator is also a function of the corresponding estimate E2.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the estimate E2 is an estimate of the number of the vending machine'"'"'s containers that will satisfy the condition C1 at the need-service time defined by the corresponding estimate E1, wherein if a group of containers carries the same product, then only one container in the group is taken into account in calculating the estimate E2.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the service priority indicator is generated as a function which increases in E1 and decreases in E2, or decreases in E1 and increases in E2.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the service priority indicator is a ratio F1/F2, wherein one of F1 and F2 is a predefined linear function of E2^P, wherein the other one of F1 and F2 is a predefined linear function of E1^Q, and P is less than Q.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein P=0.5 and Q=1.75.

12. The method of claim 6 further comprising selecting one or more vending machines for being serviced in a predefined service period, wherein the vending machine selection is based on the service priority indicators and on whether or not a vending machine satisfies a condition Cond1 which is a condition that the service period precedes the vending machine'"'"'s need-service time defined by the corresponding estimate E1 by more than a predefined amount;

wherein any vending machine have a lower priority for being selected if the vending machine satisfies the condition Cond1.

22. A system operable to perform the method of claim 6.

23. A manufacture comprising a computer readable data medium comprising one or more computer instructions operable to cause a computer system to perform the method of claim 6.

24. A network transmission method comprising transmitting, over a network, a computer program operable to cause a computer system to perform the method of claim 6.

13. A system-implemented method for selecting one or more vending machines for being serviced in a predefined service period, the method comprising:

generating, by the system, an estimate E1 defining an estimated time until a “

need-service time”

which is a time when the vending machine will need-service; and

estimating, by the system, whether or not a vending machine satisfies a condition Cond1 which is a condition that the service period precedes the vending machine'"'"'s need-service time by more than a predefined amount, the vending machine having a lower priority for being selected if the vending machine satisfies the condition Cond1.

25. A system operable to perform the method of claim 13.

26. A manufacture comprising a computer readable data medium comprising one or more computer instructions operable to cause a computer system to perform the method of claim 13.

27. A network transmission method comprising transmitting, over a network, a computer program operable to cause a computer system to perform the method of claim 13.

14. A system-implemented method for selecting one or more vending machines for being serviced in a predefined service period SP1, wherein the vending machines are located at a plurality of locations, and at least one location has more than one vending machines, the method comprising:

selecting, by the system, vending machines according to one or more first selection rules for selecting and deselecting the vending machines;

for at least one location L1 comprising a vending machine VM1 selected according to the one or more selection rules and also comprising a vending machine VM2 deselected according to the one or more selection rules, determining by the system if one or more second selection rules apply to the machine VM2, and selecting the machine VM2 if the one or more second selection rules apply.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein determining if the one or more second selection rules apply comprises generating an estimate defining a time until an earliest time LT1 when any one of the vending machines at the location L1 will need service if all of the vending machines at the location L1 are serviced in the period SP1;

wherein the one or more second selection rules comprise a rule that the estimated need-service time of the vending machine VM2 be earlier than the time LT1.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more second selection rules comprise a rule that an amount of cash in the vending machine be at least a predefined threshold.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the one or more second selection rules comprise a rule that a predefined required-service-interval for the machine expire on or before the period SP1.

28. A system operable to perform the method of claim 14.

29. A manufacture comprising a computer readable data medium comprising one or more computer instructions operable to cause a computer system to perform the method of claim 14.

30. A network transmission method comprising transmitting, over a network, a computer program operable to cause a computer system to perform the method of claim 14.

18. A method for providing vending machine information for a vending machine which comprises one or more product containers, the method comprising providing, with an output device, an estimate of a number of the product containers satisfying a condition C1 which is a condition that an amount of a product in the container will be at most a predefined alert level at an estimated time when the vending machine will need service.