PREMIUM ALLOCATION DEVICE

• US 3,852,576 A
• Filed: 03/29/1973
• Issued: 12/03/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kenneth Norman Rudd
• Original Assignee: Kenneth Norman Rudd
• Inventors: Rudd, Kenneth Norman
• Primary Examiner(s): Morrison, Malcolm A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dildine, Jr., R. Stephen
• Application Number:
  US05/346,193
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: 194/1R,3,5,13,96,DIG.11 222/23,40,59,575 235/92CP,92FL,92GA,92MS,132R,132A,132E,151.34 273/1R,1E,138A,139 340/168B,239R,421 417/63,572
• US Class Current: 377/5
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/222 involving digital counting
• CPC Class Codes: G06M 3/00 Counters with additional facilities generating electric pulses at random intervals H03K3/84
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 15/006 electronically
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/145 PLU-management

Abstract

Apparatus for determining the allocation of a bonus to give for example in a gasoline station or self service store, comprising means for registering and totalling a plurality of sales transactions, means responsive when the total reaches a predetermined amount to condition the apparatus in readiness to allocate a bonus, and means for delaying the allocation of the bonus so that any customer making a sales transaction and the time that the predetermined amount is reached is prevented from receiving the bonus.

Claims

1. Apparatus for determining the allocation of a bonus comrising:

means for registering a plurality of individual sales transactions and for providing a total indicative of the sum value of the individual transactions added together, means responsive when the total reaches a predetermined amount to condition the apparatus in readiness to allocate said bonus, and means for delaying the allocation of said bonus so that any customer making a sales transaction at the time that said predetermined amount is reached is prevented from receiving said bonus.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said sales transactions are sales transactions involving the dispensing and sale of a liquid such as gasoline and said apparatus includes an electrically operable pump for dispensing said liquid, said pump having a pump motor.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said registering means includes counting means for counting the total volume dispensed by said pump during a plurality of individual liquid dispensing operations, said volume dispensed and therefore a count from said counter means being equivalent to a value according to cost per unit volume and wherein said means for delaying the allocation for a bonus includes a pump lockout module electrically connected to said pump motor so as to receive an imput signal each time said pump motor is actuated, said module having a logic circuit operable in response to an input signal from said pump motor when next actuated after said apparatus is in its conditioned state to allocate said bonus.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein a switching module and switch means actuable by a customer are provided and wherein means are provided to electrically connect said switching module and said switch means to said means responsive when said total reaches a predetermined amount, said switching module being operable in response to the first actuation of said switch means after said apparatus is conditioned to send an enabling signal to said pump lockout module.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said switch means is so positioned in the concourse area of a gasoline station that a vehicle entering said gasoline station by any entrance to said gasoline station and passing therethrough will actuate said switcH means.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said switch means is non-responsive to vehicles leaving said gasoline station.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein a display panel for displaying to a customer said bonus is provided, said display panel being electrically connected to said switching module so that display panel displays said bonus in response to the first actuation of said switch means after a bonus signal is received by said switching module.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said display panel is electrically connected to said pump lockout module to enable said display panel to display to said customer the specific pump that is actuated just after said bonus signal is produced.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said sales transactions are sales transactions involving the dispensing and sale of a liquid such as gasoline and said apparatus includes a plurality of electrically operable pumps for dispensing said liquid, each said pump having a pump motor.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said registering means includes counter means for counting the total volume dispensed by said plurality of pumps during a plurality of individual liquid dispensing operations, said volume dispensed and therefore a count from said counting means being equivalent to a value according to cost per unit volume, and said delaying means includes a pump lockout module electrically connected to each said motor so as to receive an input signal each time a pump motor is actuated, said module having a logic circuit operable in response to an input signal from the first pump motor actuated after said apparatus is in its conditioned state to allocate said bonus, said logic circuit being non-responsive to input signals received after said input signal from said first pump motor actuated after said apparatus is in its conditioned state to allocate said bonus.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein a display panel for displaying said bonus has been allocated is provided.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the amount of said bonus is randomly selected.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus is operable to pay out said bonus and delay paying out the next said bonus until the indebtedness represented by the previously paid bonus is cancelled by said counter means reaching a total corresponding to the value of said previously paid bonus.