Method and system for accomplishing product detection

• US 7,980,418 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2007
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crane Merchandising Systems Incorporated (Crane Company)
• Original Assignee: Crane Merchandising Systems Incorporated (Crane Company)
• Inventors: Griner, Paul Kevin, Duncan, Brian Lee, Whitten, David B., Booth, William Edwin
• Primary Examiner(s): COLLINS, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US11/977,099
• Publication Number:
  US 20080054009A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• Field of Search: 221 1-312 C, 700243-244
• US Class Current: 221/21
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/36 in which the magazines are of helical or spiral form
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

The present invention provides for a vending system wherein a monitoring system verifies that a product ordered by a vending customer is actually delivered through a delivery area to the customer. If the product ordered is unavailable either because of an out of stock situation or a blockage of the delivery path for that product, the present invention allows the customer to request a refund or order a second product. Additionally, the present invention helps to prevent theft of product from the vending system.

Claims

1. An apparatus for facilitating delivery of a product from a vending machine, the vending machine having a delivery mechanism and a delivery path, the delivery mechanism configured to move from and return to a home position, the apparatus comprising:

a monitoring system configured to determine if the product passes along the delivery path; and

circuitry communicatively coupled to the monitoring system, the circuitry configured to determine a failure if the product does not pass along the delivery path in response to a customer order, the circuitry configured to instruct the delivery mechanism to move from the home position in response to the failure and to subsequently stop in response to the product passing along the delivery path,

wherein the monitoring system comprises a set of signal emitters and a set of signal detectors, and

wherein at least one signal detector of the set of signal detectors and at least one adjacent signal detector receive a signal from a corresponding signal emitter of the set of signal emitters, the corresponding signal emitter being aligned with the at least one signal detector.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to determine the passing of the product through the delivery path when the at least one signal detector or the at least one adjacent signal detector is not illuminated when the corresponding signal emitter is activated.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the monitoring system comprises a set of signal emitters and a set of signal detectors.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one signal detector of the set of signal detectors and at least one adjacent signal detector receive a signal from a corresponding signal emitter of the set of signal emitters, the corresponding signal emitter being aligned with the at least one signal detector.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the monitorin system is further configured to return the delivery mechanism to the home position in response to the product passing along the delivery path.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the monitoring system wherein, upon the monitoring system failing to detect the passage of the product along the delivery path following an attempt by the delivery mechanism to deliver the product, a number of delivery attempts is incremented.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein, in response to the number of delivery attempts equaling or exceeding a predetermined number of attempts, no further attempts are made to deliver the product in response to the customer order.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein, in response to the number of delivery attempts equaling or exceeding the predetermined number of attempts, the customer is offered a choice between receiving a refund and placing another order.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the monitoring system is positioned around the delivery path.

10. An apparatus for facilitating delivery of a product from a vending machine, the vending machine having a delivery mechanism and a delivery path, the apparatus comprising:

a monitoring system configured to determine if the product passes along the delivery path, the monitoring system configured to operate in either (i) a calibration mode in which the monitoring system is at least periodically calibrated or (ii) a scanning mode in which the monitoring system monitors for passage of the product along the delivery path during delivery of the product in response to a customer order, wherein the monitoring system is configured to initiate movement of the delivery mechanism in response to a failure to detect the passage of the product along the delivery path while in the scanning mode,

wherein the monitoring system is configured to operate in the calibration mode during a period prior to the customer order and, in response to the customer order, to enter the scanning mode until the customer order is completed.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the customer order is determined to be completed upon one of:

passage of the product along the delivery path; and

failure, after a predetermined number of attempts, to deliver the product along the delivery path.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein, upon the monitoring system failing to detect the passage of the product along the delivery path following an attempt by the delivery mechanism to deliver the product, a number of delivery attempts is incremented.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein, in response to the number of delivery attempts equaling or exceeding the predetermined number of attempts, no further attempts are made to deliver the product in response to the customer order.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein, in response to the number of delivery attempts equaling or exceeding the predetermined number of attempts, the customer is offered a choice between receiving a refund and placing another order.

15. An apparatus for facilitating delivery of a product from a vending machine, the apparatus comprising:

a monitoring system comprising a set of signal emitters and a set of signal detectors located about a delivery path within the vending machine, the monitoring system configured to determine whether the product passes along the delivery path,

wherein, in at least a calibration mode of operation for the monitoring system, each emitter within the set of emitters is separately activated at a first output power and one or more detectors within the set of detectors monitor for a signal from the activated emitter,

wherein, upon failure of the one or more detectors to detect the signal from an activated one of the emitters, the activated one of the emitters is subsequently activated at a second output power higher than the first output power.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein, upon the activated one of the emitters being activated at a maximum output power and failure of the one or more detectors to detect the signal from the activated one of the emitters, the vending machine is selectively switched to operation using a home switch and without utilizing the monitoring system, the home switch configured to detect when a delivery mechanism moves from and returns to a home position.

17. An apparatus for facilitating delivery of a product from a vending machine, the vending machine having a delivery mechanism and a delivery path, the apparatus comprising:

a home switch configured to detect when the delivery mechanism moves from and returns to a home position; and

a monitoring system configured to determine whether the product passes along the delivery path and to determine if a failure has occurred in the delivery of the product,

wherein the monitoring system is configured to monitor for passage of the product while the delivery mechanism moves from and returns to the home position after the determination that the failure has occurred in the delivery of the product.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein, in response to the failure of the monitoring system to detect the passage of the product while the delivery mechanism moves from and returns to the home position, the delivery mechanism is gradually moved while the monitoring system monitors for passage of the product.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein, upon the delivery mechanism moving from and returning to the home position a predetermined number of times without the monitoring system detecting the passage of the product, the delivery mechanism is temporarily disabled.

20. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the monitoring system is positioned around the delivery path.