Electronic funds acceptor for vending machines
First Claim
1. An electronic funds acceptor for use with a vending machine, comprising:
- an electronic reader for reading and writing data to a portable electronic funds data recording medium;
a memory for storing incomplete transaction records including an identification number for a predetermined said medium and associated electronic funds data;
means for reading and storing an identification number from said medium;
means for determining whether said identification number read matches an identification number of said records; and
means for updating a monetary amount of electronic funds held by said medium based on said associated data and for updating said records, if a match of said identification number is determined, whereby when one of said portable electronic funds data recording mediums is removed from said reader before completing a transaction, said acceptor can update said monetary amount at a later time while being able to handle further purchase transactions using different said mediums in the interim.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The electronic funds acceptor has a memory for storing the maximum value of a vending machine product to reduce the number of coin or bill received signals to be generated and sent to the electronics in the vending machine which authorize purchase of goods from the vending machine. The acceptor also has a memory for recording incomplete transaction records so that a purchase transaction can be completed later in the case that the user removes the medium from the vending machine once the transaction is in progress. The acceptor also has a memory for storing the total amount of goods purchased using electronic funds so that the total purchase amount from all vending machines can be compared to the total amount of funds loaded onto the electronic funds recording medium to check for fraud or abuse of the system. As a further measure of security, the acceptor has a memory for storing an incrementable use marker in association with each identification number of all electronic funds data recording media which carry a copy of the use marker. If the use marker is determined by the acceptor to precede the marker recorded in memory in the acceptor, the transaction is prevented since the given medium would necessarily be a copy. The vending machine using the funds acceptor has a product price memory for determining a product price as a function of time of day and the recording medium identification number.
191 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An electronic funds acceptor for use with a vending machine, comprising:
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an electronic reader for reading and writing data to a portable electronic funds data recording medium; a memory for storing incomplete transaction records including an identification number for a predetermined said medium and associated electronic funds data; means for reading and storing an identification number from said medium; means for determining whether said identification number read matches an identification number of said records; and means for updating a monetary amount of electronic funds held by said medium based on said associated data and for updating said records, if a match of said identification number is determined, whereby when one of said portable electronic funds data recording mediums is removed from said reader before completing a transaction, said acceptor can update said monetary amount at a later time while being able to handle further purchase transactions using different said mediums in the interim. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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16. An electronic funds acceptor system for use with at least one vending machine, comprising:
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at least one electronic reader associated with said vending machine for reading and writing data to a portable electronic funds data recording medium; means for controlling a purchase transaction using funds stored on said medium, and for maintaining a count of total product purchased; loader means for transferring electronic funds to said medium and for storing a count of total funds transferred to said medium; and means for comparing said total product purchased count with said total funds transferred count to generate a warning signal if said medium has been used to purchase more than has been transferred to it, wherein said means for controlling a purchase transaction comprises; a memory for storing incomplete transaction records including an identification number for a predetermined said medium and associated electronic funds data; means for reading and storing an identification number from said medium; means for determining whether said identification number read matches an identification number of said records; and means for updating a monetary amount of electronic funds held by said medium based on said associated data and for updating said records, if a match of said identification number is determined, whereby when one of said portable electronic funds data recording mediums is removed from said reader before completing a transaction, said acceptor can update said monetary amount at a later time while being able to handle further purchase transactions using different said mediums in the interim. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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25. A vending machine comprising:
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a funds acceptor for receiving a user identification number and funds, and for producing an amount signal; a time clock; product dispensing means for controllably dispensing product in response to a product dispense signal; product select means for receiving a user command to dispense product, obtaining from a product price memory a value of a product selected by said user, confirming that said amount of funds is sufficient to purchase said product selected and generating said dispense signal to dispense said product selected in the case of sufficient funds; and timer control means for adjusting the contents of said memory as a function of time of day and said identification number, whereby said product to be purchased from said vending machine may be made less expensive at certain times of day to encourage consumption in the case of certain users, while prices may be increased at other times to either discourage consumption or increase profit, wherein said funds acceptor comprises; an electronic reader for reading and writing data to a portable electronic funds data recording medium; a memory for storing incomplete transaction records including an identification number for a predetermined said medium and associated electronic funds data; means for reading and storing an identification number from said medium; means for determining whether said identification number read matches an identification number of said records; and means for updating a monetary amount of electronic funds held by said medium based on said associated data and for updating said records, if a match of said identification number is determined, whereby when one of said portable electronic funds data recording mediums is removed from said reader before completing a transaction, said acceptor can update said monetary amount at a later time while being able to handle further purchase transactions using different said mediums in the interim.
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26. An electronic funds acceptor system for use with at least one vending machine, comprising:
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a plurality of portable electronic funds data recording mediums each containing an identification number; an electronic reader associated with said at least one vending machine for reading data from said recording medium; means for controlling a purchase transaction using said medium and for maintaining a count of total product purchase in a memory record for each said medium including said identification number; means for transferring said count of total product purchase for said mediums identified by said identification number from said at least one vending machine to an accounting computer; and said accounting computer comprising means for determining a total amount of product purchased from said at least one vending machine using each said recording medium identified by said identification number since the time of last billing to produce a billing amount for each said recording medium, wherein said means for controlling a purchase transaction comprises; a memory for storing incomplete transaction records including an identification number for a predetermined said medium and associated electronic funds data; means for reading and storing an identification number from said medium; means for determining whether said identification number read matches an identification number of said incomplete transaction records; and means for updating a monetary amount of electronic funds held by said medium based on said associated data and for updating said incomplete transaction records, if a match of said identification number is determined, whereby when one of said portable electronic funds data recording mediums is removed from said reader before completing a transaction, said acceptor can update said monetary amount at a later time while being able to handle further purchase transactions using different said mediums in the interim. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification