VENDING AND RECORDING APPARATUS

• US 3,656,145 A
• Filed: 03/10/1969
• Issued: 04/11/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sydney E. Proops
• Original Assignee: Sydney E. Proops
• Inventors: Proops, Sydney E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Habecker, Thomas B.
• Application Number:
  US04/805,688
• Time in Patent Office: 1,128 Days
• Field of Search: 340/310,203
• US Class Current: 340/12.33
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/18 specially adapted for controlling several coin-freed apparatus from one place
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines

Abstract

The invention relates to vending and recording apparatus in which an signal generator is actuated when an article is dispensed from the vending machine to transmit modulated carrier frequency signals over a physical line, having a receiving station having a signal receiving and recording apparatus for receiving, demodulating and amplifying carrier frequency signals and for recording cost unit signals representative of the value of the dispensed article.

Claims

1. Vending and sales recording apparatus useable in multiroom transient housing, including hotels, comprising in combination:

a power line;

a plurality of vending machines energizable from said power line, each vending machine having a plurality of vending units, each vending unit being actuable on demand for dispensing items of goods or the like;

means in each vending unit responsive to such dispensing for then providing pulses as a signal representing the cost of the item of goods dispensed by said vending unit, there being in a one of such vending machines plural ones of said means providing different signals representing different costs;

a low frequency modulator means for each vending machine and connected to the vending units thereof, said low frequency modulator means including an audio-frequency source and means for modulating the output of said audio-frequency source with said pulse signal to produce a pulse modulated audio signal;

a high frequency modulator means connected to said low frequency modulator means and including a carrier frequency source and means for modulating the output of said carrier frequency source with said pulse modulated audio signal to produce a modulated carrier signal;

means coupling said modulated carrier signal to said power line;

a central control unit having a receiver means coupled to said power line and including carrier frequency demodulating means for separating said audio frequencies from said carrier frequency and means for demodulating a selected one of said audio signals to provide a cost signal;

a counter responsive to the cost signal output from a given receiver and audio demodulating means thereof for summing the cost of articles dispensed by a given vending machine as they are dispensed;

vending machine enabling means for controlling energization of the vending machines.

2. Vending and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said receiver means further includes a radio frequency tuning means and filtering means for selecting the required carrier frequency signals.

3. Vending and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including a radio frequency transformer coupling said receiver means to said power line.

4. Vending and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said plurality of vending machines includes at least one group of machines, each said group including a least one said machine, said receiver means including a remote signal receiver for each said group of machines, said means coupling said modulated carrier signal being a capacitive coupling.

5. Vending and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said power line is part of a power distribution circuit also connected to domestic consumer equipment.

6. Vending and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said audio frequency source includes a transistor multivibrator developing an audio-frequency signal, the frequency of which is adjustable.

7. Vending and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 6 in which said carrier frequency source comprises a radio frequency oscillator, and said means for modulating the output of said carrier frequency source comprises a modulator transformer and a modulator drive amplifier receiving said pulse modulated audio signal, the output of said modulator drive amplifier being coupled to said modulator transformer, the output of said modulator transformer being coupled to said radio frequency oscillator, said radio frequency oscillator having a resonant circuit producing the modulated carrier signal.

8. Vending and recording apparatus as claimed in claim 7, in which said radio frequency oscillator includes an oscillator transistor and said resonant circuit includes a radio frequency oscillaTor transformer and including radio frequency adjusting means associated with said radio frequency oscillator transformer, a winding of which supplies a feedback signal to said oscillator transistor.