SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING UTILIZATION OF INVENTORY SPACE FOR DISPENSABLE ARTICLES
First Claim
1. A method of optimizing utilization of inventory space for a plurality of articles in an article dispensing machine, the article dispensing machine comprising a user interface, a processor, and a non-removable storage unit for holding the plurality of articles in a plurality of receiving slots, the method comprising:
- receiving a list identifying a subset of the plurality of articles, the subset targeted for removal from the article dispensing machine, wherein the subset of the plurality of articles targeted for removal comprises one or more of a thinned article, a damaged article, a fraudulent article, a wrong title article, or a do not rent (DNR) article;
moving the subset of the plurality of articles to one or more of a merchandising zone of the storage unit and an article removal bin from a non-merchandising zone of the storage unit, wherein moving the subset of the plurality of articles makes one or more of the plurality of receiving slots available for a new article that is eligible for a customer transaction;
receiving a command through the user interface for initiating inventory management of the article dispensing machine;
receiving a load confirmation through the user interface indicating that the new article has been loaded into the merchandising zone; and
moving the new article from the merchandising zone to the non-merchandising zone of the storage unit.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for optimizing the utilization of inventory space for articles dispensable from an article dispensing machine is provided. A subset of articles in the article dispensing machine may be targeted for removal. Based on a list of the subset of articles, the article dispensing machine may move the subset of articles from a storage unit to a predetermined area. The subset of articles may be removed from the predetermined area, followed by loading of new articles to the predetermined area. Quicker and more efficient removal and loading of articles from and to the article dispensing machine may result.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of optimizing utilization of inventory space for a plurality of articles in an article dispensing machine, the article dispensing machine comprising a user interface, a processor, and a non-removable storage unit for holding the plurality of articles in a plurality of receiving slots, the method comprising:
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receiving a list identifying a subset of the plurality of articles, the subset targeted for removal from the article dispensing machine, wherein the subset of the plurality of articles targeted for removal comprises one or more of a thinned article, a damaged article, a fraudulent article, a wrong title article, or a do not rent (DNR) article; moving the subset of the plurality of articles to one or more of a merchandising zone of the storage unit and an article removal bin from a non-merchandising zone of the storage unit, wherein moving the subset of the plurality of articles makes one or more of the plurality of receiving slots available for a new article that is eligible for a customer transaction; receiving a command through the user interface for initiating inventory management of the article dispensing machine; receiving a load confirmation through the user interface indicating that the new article has been loaded into the merchandising zone; and moving the new article from the merchandising zone to the non-merchandising zone of the storage unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of optimizing utilization of inventory space for a plurality of articles in an article dispensing machine, the article dispensing machine comprising a user interface, a processor, and a non-removable storage unit for holding the plurality of articles in a plurality of storage racks, the plurality of storage racks comprising a plurality of receiving slots, the method comprising:
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moving a subset of the plurality of articles from the storage unit to a predetermined area of the article dispensing machine, the subset targeted for removal from the article dispensing machine, the predetermined area comprising one or more of a merchandising zone of the storage unit or an article removal bin; receiving a removal confirmation through the user interface indicating that the subset of the plurality of articles has been removed from the predetermined area; receiving a load confirmation through the user interface indicating that a new article has been loaded into the merchandising zone; and moving the new article from the merchandising zone to an optimized storage rack of the storage unit, the optimized storage rack selected from the plurality of storage racks such that the optimized storage rack is nearest to a picker device of the article dispensing machine. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of retrofitting an article dispensing machine for optimizing utilization of inventory space for a plurality of articles in the article dispensing machine, the article dispensing machine comprising a non-removable storage unit, the storage unit comprising one or more storage racks for holding the plurality of articles in a plurality of receiving slots, the method comprising:
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adding an additional storage rack to the storage unit, wherein the additional storage rack is for holding a first subset of the plurality of articles; installing an article removal bin to the article dispensing machine, wherein the article removal bin is for holding a second subset of the plurality of articles, the second subset targeted for removal from the article dispensing machine; and updating software of the article dispensing machine, the software for allowing the first subset to be held in the additional storage rack and the second subset to be placed in the article removal bin. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification