Vending kit and method

• US 9,349,238 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2014
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Byte Technology LLC
• Original Assignee: Pantry Retail, Inc. (Garten,Inc.)
• Inventors: Tkachenko, Artem, Yancher, Alexander, Chen, Zhongning, Ah New, Christopher Alika
• Primary Examiner(s): Gokhale, Prasad
• Application Number:
  US14/201,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20140316561A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2700/08 Sensors using Radio Frequency Identification [RFID]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0223 based on inventory
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0237 at kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/02 from non-movable magazines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/38 in which the magazines are horizontal
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/009 the reader being an RFID reader

Abstract

One variation of a method for controlling access to products from a vending machine includes: locking a door of the vending machine; recording an initial inventory of products arranged within the vending machine based on signals received by a radio antenna arranged within the vending machine and read by a radio frequency identification reader; initiating a transaction in response to receiving a cashless payment mechanism from a patron; unlocking the door in response to authentication of the cashless payment mechanism; in response to closure of the door, recording a final inventory of products within the vending machine based on signals received by the radio antenna and read by the radio frequency identification reader; and initiating a payment with the cashless payment mechanism for a difference between the initial inventory and the final inventory to complete the transaction.

Claims

1. A vending kit for controlling access to products from a vending machine, the vending kit comprising:

a locking mechanism configured to be installed between a door of a kiosk and a casing of the kiosk;

a door sensor;

a housing configured to be installed on an external surface of the door of the kiosk;

a display arranged within the housing and displaying pricing information for products within the kiosk;

a payment collection module coupled to the housing;

a radio antenna configured to be installed over a shelf within the kiosk and to broadcast a signal toward radio frequency identification tags arranged on products within the kiosk;

a radio frequency identification reader arranged within the housing and configured to read identification signals received from radio frequency identification tags at the radio antenna via a cable routed through a frame of the door to the housing; and

a processor arranged within the housing, recording an initial inventory of products within the kiosk based on signals read by the radio frequency identification reader, authenticating a cashless payment mechanism received at the payment collection module, triggering the locking mechanism to unlock the door in response to authentication of the cashless payment mechanism, recording a final inventory of products within the kiosk based on signals read by the radio frequency identification reader in response to closure of the door detected at the door sensor, and initiating a payment with the cashless payment mechanism for a difference between the initial inventory and the final inventory.

2. The vending kit of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism comprises an electromagnetic lock comprising an armature plate and an electromagnet, the armature plate configured to be installed mechanically onto the case of the kiosk, and the electromagnet configured to be installed mechanically onto the door and to release the armature plate in response to receiving an unlock command from the processor.

3. The vending kit of claim 2, wherein the door sensor comprises a magnetic bond sensor detecting that the locking mechanism is locked.

4. The vending kit of claim 1, wherein the housing retrofits onto an external surface of the casing of the kiosk with a tamperproof fastener.

5. The vending kit of claim 1, wherein the display visually renders aggregate nutritional information of a selection of foodstuffs removed from the kiosk, the selection of foodstuffs identified from the difference between the initial inventory and the final inventory.

6. The vending kit of claim 1, further comprising a second radio antenna configured to be installed over a second shelf within the kiosk, wherein the radio frequency identification reader reads identification signals received through the second radio antenna, and wherein the processor records the initial inventory of products within the kiosk based on signals received from the radio antenna and the second radio antenna by the radio frequency identification reader.

7. The vending kit of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a replacement door for the kiosk, the locking mechanism comprising a lock bolt integrated into the replacement door and the door sensor arranged within the replacement door, and wherein the radio antenna comprises a dipole antenna arranged along the frame of the replacement door.

8. The vending kit of claim 1, wherein the processor estimates positions of products within the kiosk based on strengths of signals received from corresponding radio frequency identification tags at the radio antenna.

9. The vending kit of claim 1, wherein the housing conducts thermal energy from the radio frequency identification reader into a frame of the door.

10. A method for controlling access to products from a vending machine, the method comprising:

locking a door of the vending machine;

at a processor arranged on the door, recording an initial inventory of products arranged within the vending machine based on signals received by a radio antenna arranged over a shelf within the vending machine, transmitted to a radio frequency identification reader arranged on the door via a cable routed through a frame of the door, and read by the radio frequency identification reader;

initiating a transaction in response to receiving a cashless payment mechanism from a patron;

unlocking the door in response to authentication of the cashless payment mechanism;

in response to closure of the door, recording a final inventory of products within the vending machine based on signals received by the radio antenna and read by the radio frequency identification reader; and

initiating a payment with the cashless payment mechanism for a difference between the initial inventory and the final inventory to complete the transaction.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein initiating the transaction comprises receiving payment information from a credit card swiped through a magnetic stripe reader coupled to the vending machine, and wherein initiating the payment comprises identifying a particular product removed from the vending machine based on the difference between the initial inventory and the final inventory and initiating the payment for a price of the particular product with the credit card.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein recording the initial inventory of products comprises recalling a previous final inventory of a preceding transaction, and wherein initiating the payment with the cashless payment mechanism comprises identifying a disjoint of products between the final inventory and the previous final inventory of the preceding transaction.