Dispensing machine control method

• US 8,800,867 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2011
• Issued: 08/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tuttoespresso, Srl (Larene SRL)
• Original Assignee: Tuttoespresso, Srl (Larene SRL)
• Inventors: Majer, Luca Doglioni
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G
• Assistant Examiner(s): ELLIS, SUEZU Y
• Application Number:
  US13/064,999
• Publication Number:
  US 20120059511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,198 Days
• Field of Search: 235/381, 235/492, 235/451, 235/375, 235/385, 340/572.1, 340/572.8, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 221/2, 221/7, 700/221, 700/225, 700/231, 700/232, 700236-238, 700/241, 426431-433, 426/435, 426/436
• US Class Current: 235/381
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/18 specially adapted for controlling several coin-freed apparatus from one place
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

In order to control the status and the operation of a dispensing machine assembly comprising one or more modules or sub-assemblies, at least one of modules or sub-modules is provided with an electronic tag and the machine is provided with a tag controller device for interacting with said tag by reading, writing and transmitting information data comprising initialization data on or through said tag and operating said dispensing machine according to the information gathered from said tag or tags.

Claims

1. A dispensing machine assembly, comprising:

at least one module comprising an amount of replenishable consumables, said at least one module including a tag, said tag having a read-only memory portion and a writable memory portion; and

a controller device to interact with said tag, wherein said tag contains a re-writable memory portion containing consumable data concerning the amount of replenishable consumables, said controller device being configured to progressively re-write said data in said tag re-writable memory portion to indicate a depletion of the amount of replenishable consumables and to deny use of the at least one module after all the data have been altered and the amount of replenishable consumables have been depleted,

wherein the controller device is configured to re-write the consumable data to indicate a replenishment of consumables associated with the at least one module to allow use of the at least one module upon replenishment, wherein said at least one module is selected from a food container and a machine module, and said consumable data comprise a quantity of machine cycles.

2. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 1, wherein the consumable data include the life span of the machine module.

3. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 1, wherein said at least one module comprises a food product container, and wherein the tag provided to said food product container is detached from said container, and the consumable data concerns an amount of food.

4. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 1, wherein the tag contains identification data to identify the at least one module, and

wherein the read-only memory portion contains first data and the writable memory portion contains second data, said second data contains said first data modified through a coding algorithm, to provide at least part of said identification data.

5. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 1, wherein the at least one module is reusable, and

wherein the re-writable memory is re-written to allow reuse.

6. A method of controlling operation of a dispensing machine assembly, the method comprising:

providing at least one module;

providing a tag to the at least one module;

at least one of reading, writing, and transmitting information data on or through said tag by a controller device, characterized in that said at least one module comprises a re-writable memory portion initially containing data concerning an amount of replenishable consumables;

progressively re-writing said data with use of the at least one module;

denying use of the at least one module after all the data have been altered;

replenishing the amount of replenishable consumables in the at least one module;

re-writing the data concerning the amount of replenishable consumables replenished to allow use of the at least one module upon replenishment; and

selecting said data on consumables from at least one of a number of performable operations and a number of remaining cycles before exhaustion of a life-span of the at least one module,

wherein said at least one module comprises a food product container, and said data are an amount of food.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

providing said tag is provided with a read-only memory comprising first data and with a writable memory, wherein identification data are obtained by reading said first data, elaborating said first data through an algorithm and writing said data coded by the algorithm in a portion of the writable memory on said tag.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

reusing the at least one module; and

re-writing the re-writable memory to allow reuse of the at least one module.

9. A dispensing machine assembly, comprising:

at least one module, said at least one module including a tag, said tag containing a re-writable memory portion with data; and

a controller and tag reader configured to read and alter said data contained on the re-writable memory portion to indicate depletion of the at least one module, wherein the tag is configured to indicate to the controller and tag reader when the at least one module has been depleted and to deny use of the at least one module after all the data have been altered to prevent further use in the assembly, and further wherein the data is re-writable to indicate to the controller and tag reader that the at least one module has been replenished to allow use of the at least one module upon replenishment,

wherein the at least one module is adapted to contain contents to be dispensed by the assembly,

wherein the tag is adapted to indicate that the at least one module is depleted when the at least one module does not contain contents for dispensing, and

wherein the tag is adapted to indicate that the at least one module is replenished when refilled with contents.

10. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 9, wherein the data on the tag is adapted to be re-written to indicate a replenished amount of contents.

11. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 9, wherein the at least one module is a component that facilitates dispensing by the assembly.

12. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 11, wherein the tag is adapted to indicate that the at least one module is depleted when a predetermined life span or number of cycles of the component has been reached.

13. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 12, wherein the tag is adapted to indicate that the at least one module is replenished after maintenance work has been performed on the at least one module.

14. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 13, wherein the data on the tag is adapted to be re-written to indicate the predetermined life span or number of cycles.

15. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 9, wherein the tag contains a read-only memory portion and a write-once memory portion, said write-once memory portion written by the controller to indicate initialization data.

16. A method of controlling a dispensing machine assembly for dispensing consumables, comprising:

inserting a reusable module into the dispensing machine assembly, said module being provided with a tag having a re-writable memory portion, and said re-writable memory portion containing data;

incrementally dispensing consumables such that with each increment a controller and tag reader re-write the data to indicate use of the module, said controller and tag reader determining whether the module is authenticated to allow its use;

denying use of the module when the data contained on the tag indicates depletion of the module;

replenishing the module;

re-writing the data contained on the tag to allow use of the at least one module upon replenishment; and

dispensing consumables from the module.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

re-writing the data to indicate depletion when the module contains no consumables.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising:

replenishing the module by refilling the module with new consumables.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising:

re-writing the data to indicate an amount of new consumables replenished by refilling the module.

20. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

dispensing consumables at least partially through the module.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

re-writing the data to indicate depletion when a predetermined life span or number of cycles has been reached.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising:

replenishing the module by performing maintenance thereon.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising:

re-writing the data to indicate a replenished life span or number of cycles.

24. The method according to claim 16, wherein the tag contains a read-only memory portion and a write-once memory portion, and the method further comprises writing said write-once memory portion by the controller to indicate initialization data.

25. A dispensing machine assembly, comprising:

at least one module comprising an amount of replenishable consumables, a tag being provided to said at least one module, said tag having a read-only memory portion and a writable memory portion; and

a controller device to interact with said tag, wherein said tag contains a writable memory portion containing consumable data concerning the amount of replenishable consumables, said controller device being configured to progressively re-write said data in said tag to indicate a depletion of the amount of replenishable consumables and to deny use of the at least one module after all the data have been altered and the amount of replenishable consumables have been depleted,

wherein the controller device is configured to re-write the consumable data to indicate a replenishment of consumables associated with the at least one module to allow use of the at least one module upon replenishment,

wherein said at least one module comprises a food product container, and

wherein the tag provided to said food product container is detached from said container, and the consumable data concerns an amount of food.

26. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 25, wherein said data is altered on the controller device.

27. The dispensing machine assembly according to claim 25, wherein said writable memory portion is re-writable.

28. A dispensing machine assembly, comprising:

at least one module comprising an amount of replenishable consumables, a tag being provided to said at least one module, said tag having a read-only memory portion and a writable memory portion; and

a controller device to interact with said tag, wherein said tag contains a re-writable memory portion containing consumable data concerning the amount of replenishable consumables, said controller device being configured to progressively re-write said data in said tag re-writable memory portion to indicate a depletion of the amount of replenishable consumables and to deny use of the at least one module after all the data have been altered and the amount of replenishable consumables have been depleted,

wherein the controller device is configured to re-write the consumable data to indicate a replenishment of consumables associated with the at least one module to allow use of the at least one module upon replenishment,

wherein the tag contains identification data to identify the at least one module, and

wherein the read-only memory portion contains first data and the writable memory portion contains second data, said second data contains said first data modified through a coding algorithm, to provide at least part of said identification data.

29. A method of controlling operation of a dispensing machine assembly, the method comprising:

providing at least one module;

providing a tag to the at least one module;

at least one of reading, writing, and transmitting information data on or through said tag by a controller device, characterized in that said at least one module comprises a re-writable memory portion initially containing data concerning an amount of replenishable consumables;

progressively re-writing said data with use of the at least one module;

denying use of the at least one module after all the data have been altered;

replenishing the amount of replenishable consumables in the at least one module;

re-writing the data concerning the amount of replenishable consumables replenished to allow use of the at least one module upon replenishment; and

providing said tag is provided with a read-only memory comprising first data and with a writable memory,

wherein identification data are obtained by reading said first data, elaborating said first data through an algorithm and writing said data coded by the algorithm in a portion of the writable memory on said tag.

30. A method of controlling a dispensing machine assembly for dispensing consumables, comprising:

inserting a reusable module into the dispensing machine assembly, said module being provided with a tag having a re-writable memory portion, and said re-writable memory portion containing data;

incrementally dispensing consumables such that with each increment a controller and tag reader re-write the data to indicate use of the module, said controller and tag reader determining whether the module is authenticated to allow its use;

denying use of the module when the data contained on the tag indicates depletion of the module;

replenishing the module;

re-writing the data contained on the tag to allow use of the at least one module upon replenishment; and

dispensing consumables at least partially through the module.

31. A method of controlling a dispensing machine assembly for dispensing consumables, comprising:

providing a reusable module into the dispensing machine assembly, said module being associated with a tag detached from said reusable module, the tag having a readable memory portion and a re-writable memory portion, and said readable memory portion containing data;

reading the data from the readable memory portion with a tag reader in communication with a controller and writing the data to the re-writable memory portion;

incrementally dispensing consumables such that with each increment the controller and the tag reader re-write the data on the re-writable memory portion to indicate use of the module, said controller and tag reader determining whether the module is authenticated to allow use of the module based on the data on the re-writable memory portion;

denying use of the module when the data contained on the re-writable memory portion indicates depletion of the module;

replenishing the module; and

dispensing consumables at least partially through the module.