Single Cigarrette Vending Machine
First Claim
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1. A cigarette vending machine for dispensing a single cigarette at a time, the cigarette vending machine comprising:
- a) a housing;
b) a touchscreen disposed on the housing and adapted to accept a selection of a particular cigarette brand from a user wherein the touchscreen generates a signal indicative of a selected cigarette brand;
c) a payment processor disposed on the housing and adapted to accept payment from a user wherein the payment processor generates a signal indicative of the amount of payment received;
d) a plurality of dispensing trays vertically disposed within the housing wherein each of said plurality of dispensing trays holds a plurality of cigarettes of a single brand and wherein each dispensing tray includes a cigarette dispensing mechanism; and
e) a microcontroller coupled to the touchscreen, the payment processor, and the plurality of dispensing trays;
f) wherein the microcontroller
1) receives the signal indicative of a selected cigarette brand and the signal indicative of the amount of payment received,
2) receives the signal indicative of the amount of payment received, and
3) selectively activates a particular cigarette dispensing mechanism based on the signal indicative of a selected cigarette brand and the signal indicative of the amount of payment received.
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Abstract
A cigarette vending machine that dispenses a single cigarette at a time. The cigarette vending machine includes a touchscreen that allows a user to select a particular brand of cigarettes. In addition, the vending machine includes a camera and an identification reader so that the user'"'"'s age can be verified, and so that the user can be verified to be the same person as the identification holder.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. A cigarette vending machine for dispensing a single cigarette at a time, the cigarette vending machine comprising:
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a) a housing; b) a touchscreen disposed on the housing and adapted to accept a selection of a particular cigarette brand from a user wherein the touchscreen generates a signal indicative of a selected cigarette brand; c) a payment processor disposed on the housing and adapted to accept payment from a user wherein the payment processor generates a signal indicative of the amount of payment received; d) a plurality of dispensing trays vertically disposed within the housing wherein each of said plurality of dispensing trays holds a plurality of cigarettes of a single brand and wherein each dispensing tray includes a cigarette dispensing mechanism; and e) a microcontroller coupled to the touchscreen, the payment processor, and the plurality of dispensing trays; f) wherein the microcontroller
1) receives the signal indicative of a selected cigarette brand and the signal indicative of the amount of payment received,
2) receives the signal indicative of the amount of payment received, and
3) selectively activates a particular cigarette dispensing mechanism based on the signal indicative of a selected cigarette brand and the signal indicative of the amount of payment received. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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Specification