Vending machine for change round-up

• US 9,202,331 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2014
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Michael K. Dershem
• Original Assignee: Michael K. Dershem
• Inventors: Dershem, Michael K
• Primary Examiner(s): ZARE, SCOTT A
• Application Number:
  US14/120,234
• Publication Number:
  US 20140316563A1
• Time in Patent Office: 571 Days
• Field of Search: 700/232, 700/238, 705/30
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 having rows and columns comprising:

a plurality of vending locations from which a product or service will be vended, the locations further comprising at least a row or a column designated to give a consumer an option to contribute money to a charity in conjunction with purchase of a product or service and the locations still further comprising at least one other row or one other column that does not allow for a donation to a charity in conjunction with the purchase of a product or service, and wherein the product or service is located in the row or the column designated to allow for a donation;

a computer processor adapted to;

specify a row or column in which a charitable donation may be made in conjunction with the purchase of the product or service,

send a message which asks the consumer whether the consumer wishes to contribute to the charity in conjunction with the choice of a vending location from the designated rows and columns,

determine whether the consumer has chosen a product or service to be vended from a row or column that has been specified and that allows for donation to the charity in conjunction with the purchase,

upon determining that a row or column has been chosen by the consumer that allows purchase of a product or service that also allows contribution to the charity, process payment for the product or service to be vended by the vending machine and allow the consumer to make charitable contributions in an amount designated by the consumer to the charity after the purchase has been chosen by the consumer,

perform a 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 the 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,

allocate the payments between the charity and the un-linked entities and to reconcile the amounts that were for the product or service purchased from the vending machine, the donation to the charity and the payments to the third party, and

upon receipt of the payment from the consumer at the machine for the product or service chosen by the consumer which include the allocations between the charity and the un-linked entities, cause the vending machine to vend from the location in the machine without any prompting from the consumer the product or service chosen by the consumer from the specified row and column of the vending machine to complete the purchase; and

a wireless access point in communication with the computer which communicates concerning at least one of tthe purchase and the charitable contribution.

2. The computer processor of claim 1, wherein the message is communicated by an electronic readout.

3. The computer processor of claim 1 wherein the payment is received by the processor through a credit/debit card input device.

4. The computer processor of claim 1, wherein the processor is further adapted to receive input by the consumer through 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.

5. The computer processor of claim 1, wherein the processor is further adapted to round-up the purchase price to the nearest monetary amount, wherein said nearest monetary may be designated for the charity.

6. A vending machine having rows and columns comprising:

a plurality of vending locations from which a product or service will be vended, the locations further comprising at least a row or a column designated to give a consumer an option to contribute money to a charity in conjunction with purchase of a product or service, and wherein the product or service is located in the row or the column designated to allow for a donation to the charity;

a visual indicator that the product or service is eligible for providing the contribution to the charity in conjunction with the purchase of the product or service;

a computer processor adapted to;

specify a row or column in which a charitable donation may be made in conjunction with the purchase of the product or service,

send a message which asks the consumer whether the consumer wishes to contribute to the charity in conjunction with the choice of a vending location from the designated rows and columns,

determine whether the consumer has chosen a product or service to be vended from a row or column that has been specified and that allows for donation to the charity in conjunction with the purchase as visually indicated by the visual indicator,

determine that the product or service chosen by the consumer has been designated as a product or service that is eligible for providing the contribution to the charity in conjunction with the purchase of the product or service by the consumer,

upon determining that a row or column has been chosen by the consumer that allows purchase of a product or service and is designated as a product or service that allows for contribution to the charity, process payment for the product or service to be vended by the vending machine and allow the consumer to make charitable contributions in an amount designated by the consumer to the charity after the purchase has been chosen by the consumer,

perform a 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 the 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,

allocate the payments between the charity and the un-linked entities and reconcile the amounts that were for the product or service purchased from the vending machine, the donation to the charity and the payments to the third party,

upon receipt of the payment from the consumer at the machine for the product or service chosen by the consumer which include the allocations between the charity and the un-linked entities, cause the vending machine to vend from the location in the machine without any prompting from the consumer the product or service chosen by the consumer from the specified row and column of the vending machine to complete the purchase; and

a wireless access point in communication with the computer which communicates concerning at least one of the purchase and the charitable contribution.

7. The computer processor of claim 6, wherein the message is communicated by an electronic readout.

8. The computer processor of claim 6 wherein the payment is received by the processor through a credit/debit card input device.

9. The computer processor of claim 6, wherein the processor is further adapted to receive input by the consumer through 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.

10. The computer processor of claim 6, wherein the processor is further adapted to round-up the purchase price to the nearest monetary amount, wherein said nearest monetary may be designated for the charity.