Exclusivity system and method

• US 9,446,924 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2007
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: San Jamar, Inc. (Carlisle Cos., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: San Jamar, Inc. (Carlisle Cos., Inc.)
• Inventors: Omdoll, Paul A.
• Primary Examiner(s): COLLINS, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US12/297,135
• Publication Number:
  US 20100030376A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,445 Days
• Field of Search: 221/36, 700/232, 700/241
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 16/00 Unwinding, paying-out webs reel-to-reel type web winding and unwinding mechanisms B65H18/103, B65H18/145
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 16/005 Dispensers, i.e. machines for unwinding only parts of web roll
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/01 indicating an entity as a function of which control, adjustment or change is performed, i.e. input
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/30 Numbers, e.g. of windings or rotations
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2557/11 wireless input by remote control devices B65H2551/13
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2557/12 Network
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2557/13 Data carrier, e.g. chip, transponder, magnetic strip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/66 in which the articles are dispensed by cutting from a mass
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/18 for washing or drying persons
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• 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

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a system and method for ensuring a controlled supply source of web material 34 to be dispensed through at least one dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24. The method involves providing at least one dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24 to a web material provider 26 or 28 at reduced or no charge, providing exhausting means 14, 16 or 18 to the web material provider 26 or 28 for periodically activating at least one dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24 in return for consideration 40, transferring at least one dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24 from the web material provider 26 or 28 to an end user 32 at reduced or no charge to the end user 32, wherein the web material provider 26 or 28 provides web material 34 to be dispensed from at least one dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24 to the end user 32 in return for consideration and transferring the exhausting means 14, 16 or 18 to the end user 32 for periodically activating at least one dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24 in return for consideration 40 from the end user 32 which consideration is built into the consideration the end user gives to the product provider 26 or 28 so that the additional consideration for the activation means is transparent to the end user 32. The system comprises a dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24 for dispensing web material 34, a credit carrying device 14, 16 or 18 for storing a predetermined number of credits 36 corresponding to a predetermined amount of web material 34 to be dispensed by a dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24, wherein the credit carrying device 14, 16 or 18 interacts with the dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24 to provide credit information to the dispenser 2, 4, 6 or 24 corresponding to at least a portion of the credits 36 on the credit carrying device 14, 16 or 18, a reading device 42 interacting with the credit carrying device 14, 16 or 18 for reading at least a portion of the credit information 36 stored on the credit carrying device 14, 16 or 18 and an activation device 44, in communication with the reading device 42, selectively activating the dispenser in response to credit information received from the credit carrying device 14, 16 or 18.

Claims

1. A method for ensuring a controlled supply source of a personal hygiene product to be dispensed through at least one dispenser that is configured to dispense incremental amounts of the personal hygiene product to anonymous users of the product, the method comprising the steps of:

providing at least one dispenser to an end user responsible for management of the at least one dispenser at reduced or no charge to the end user;

providing exhausting activation means via a network to said end user for periodically activating said at least one dispenser;

storing the exhausting activation means in memory of a device configured to interface with said dispenser; and

providing the personal hygiene product to be incrementally dispensed from the at least one dispenser for use by a discrete user of the dispensed product whose identity remains anonymous at no cost to the discrete user of the dispensed product and at discrete amounts desired by the discrete user of the dispensed product, to said end user in return for consideration received from the end user responsible for management of the at least one dispenser.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of interfacing said activation means with said dispenser.

3. A method for ensuring a controlled supply source of product to be dispensed through at least one dispenser comprising the steps of:

providing at least one dispenser to a product provider at reduced or no charge and wherein the at least one dispenser is constructed to incrementally dispense a personal hygiene product to discrete users of the personal hygiene product in a manner wherein the identity of the discrete users of the personal hygiene product remains unknown;

providing exhausting activation means to said product provider for periodically activating said at least one dispenser in return for consideration;

transferring said at least one dispenser from said product provider to an end user responsible for maintaining operation of the at least one dispenser at reduced or no charge to the end user;

said product provider providing product to be dispensed from said at least one dispenser for use by the unknown user of the incrementally dispensed personal hygiene product, to said end user in return for consideration;

transferring exhausting activation means to said end user via a network for periodically activating said at least one dispenser in return for consideration from the end user built into the consideration the end user gives to said product provider so that the additional consideration for the exhausting activation means is transparent to the end user; and

storing the exhausting activation means in memory of a device configured to interface with said dispenser.

4. A method for dispensing product comprising:

providing a dispenser for incrementally dispensing an amount of a single product from a bulk source of the dispensed product for use by a user of the incrementally dispensed product, to an end user who is responsible for deployment of the dispenser;

providing a credit carrying device for storing a predetermined number of credits, wherein each said credit corresponds to a predetermined amount of product to be dispensed by a dispenser;

providing the predetermined number of credits to said credit carrying device via a network for storage on said credit carrying device;

interfacing said credit carrying device with a reader for decrementing one or more said credits from said credit carrying device;

activating said dispenser to dispense a predetermined amount of product corresponding to the number of credits decremented from said credit carrying device and read by said reader; and

selectively, incrementally dispensing said predetermined amount of product from said dispenser at no cost to users of the dispensed product without identifying any of the users of the incrementally dispensed product.