Publication-dispensing apparatus

• US 6,678,579 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2002
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Butikofer, Chet M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford, Gene O
• Application Number:
  US10/154,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20030220712A1
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: 700/231, 700/232, 700/233, 700/235, 705/17
• US Class Current: 700/235
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like

Abstract

A publication-dispensing apparatus that permits a user to select from among the publications in memory to which the user has a subscription, and to print at least a portion of a selected publication. The publication-dispensing apparatus permits travelers having a subscription to a newspaper, magazine, or other publication to obtain a copy of the subscribed publication, or a copy of an individual article from the subscribed publication, without paying the full cost of a new copy.

Claims

1. A method of printing a publication at a kiosk, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a user to print a publication;

determining whether the user has a subscription to the requested publication;

upon determining that the user does have a subscription to the requested publication, receiving payment from the user, retrieving the requested publication from memory and printing the requested publication; and

upon determining that the user does not have a subscription, receiving a payment from the user retrieving the requested publication from memory, and printing the requested publication, wherein payment required from a subscribing user is less than a corresponding payment required from a non-subscribing user.