Vending machine for change round-up

• US 8,755,934 B1
• Filed: 06/07/2011
• Issued: 06/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ipDone, LLC
• Original Assignee: Michael Dershem
• Inventors: Dershem, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): ZARE, SCOTT A
• Application Number:
  US13/134,411
• Time in Patent Office: 1,106 Days
• Field of Search: 700/232, 700/238, 705/30
• US Class Current: 700/238
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/10 Tax strategies
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/00 Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/24 with change-giving
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/023 Arrangements for display, data presentation or advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/04 Means for returning surplus or unused coins

Abstract

Vending machines for rounding-up donations for charities. The machines allow consumers to donate change from transactions, or other amounts, to a charity through a purchase of goods or services from the machines.

Claims

1. A vending machine, comprising:

a plurality of vending locations from which a product or service may be vended to a consumer from the vending machine, the product or service having associated therewith a price which the consumer will pay for the product in order to allow the product or service to be vended to the consumer, the plurality of vending locations configured in rows and columns, wherein at least a row or a column is designated to allow for a donation to a charity in conjunction with the purchase of the product or service in an amount designated, and at least one other row or one other column does not allow for a donation to a charity in conjunction with the purchase of the product or service;

a computer processor associated with the vending machine which allows the consumer to contribute money to the charity in conjunction with the purchase of the product or service from the vending machine, wherein the product or service is located in the row or the column designated to allow for a donation, wherein the charitable donation in the amount designated will be made to the charity after the product or service in the row and the column has been chosen by the consumer, the computer processor further comprising a module for engaging in multiple accounting to allow for more than one un-linked entities to receive payments in connection with payment for the product and the donation to a charity, the un-linked entities being the charity and at least one of a group comprising an owner of the vending machine and a third party; and

a module for allocating the payments between the charity and the un-linked entities and to reconcile the amounts that were for the product or service purchase from the vending machine, the donation to the charity and the payments to the third party.

2. The vending machine of claim 1, wherein the computer processor associated with the vending machine comprises a message center which asks the consumer whether the consumer wishes to contribute to the charity.

3. The vending machine of claim 2, wherein the message center comprises an electronic readout.

4. The vending machine of claim 1 wherein the computer processor associated with the vending machine comprises a credit/debit card input device.

5. The vending machine of claim 1, wherein the computer processor associated with the vending machine comprises a keypad for allowing a consumer to specify an amount of money which the consumer desires to be donated to the charity in association with the purchase.

6. The vending machine of claim 1, wherein the computer processor associated with the vending machine comprises a processor for allowing the vending machine to round-up the purchase price to the nearest monetary amount, wherein said nearest monetary may be designated for the charity.

7. The vending machine of claim 1, wherein a set of locations is provided for product and wherein the set of locations are designated as locations from which products or services will be vended and a charitable contribution will be made.

8. The vending machine of claim 1, further comprising an identifier which alerts a consumer that a particular product or service is available from the machine and that a charity may benefit from the vend of the product or service.

9. The vending machine of claim 8, wherein the identifier is a visual identifier.

10. The vending machine recited in claim 1, further comprising a wireless access point in electronic communication with the computer processor for wireless communications concerning the purchase or charitable contribution.