System, method, and apparatus for purchasing, dispensing, or sampling of products

• US 9,633,504 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2013
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Transparensee, LLC
• Original Assignee: Transparensee, LLC
• Inventors: Kline, Michael J, Salvucci, Denise Lisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford, Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): AKRIDGE, STEPHEN LEE
• Application Number:
  US14/087,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20150144650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,250 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/065 for drink preparation
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices

Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatus for the purchase of and/or free sampling of products. The systems, methods, and/or apparatus may permit push notifications of purchased products and/or free product samples being available and may permit the use of mobile devices and/or mobile device applications to be used to purchase products or dispense free samples of products via a product dispenser or vending machine.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

initiating a push notification intended for a mobile application associated with a plurality of intended recipients, the push notification offering a free product sampling intended to be dispensed from a product dispenser configured to dispense both a sample size of the free product sampling and purchased products corresponding to the free product sampling;

receiving a response to the push notification indicative of an acceptance of the offering, the acceptance generated by the mobile application; and

authorizing dispensing of the sample size of the free product sampling from the product dispenser.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving and authorizing is performed via a mobile application.

3. The method of claim 1, the push notification further comprising offering the free product sampling for one or more of a limited time, at limited locations, in a limited quantity, and in limited types of product.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the free product sampling comprises a sample size of a product selected from the group consisting of beverages, liquid soap, liquid detergent, lotion, cosmetic, perfume, cologne, mouthwash, and contact lens solution.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the free product sampling comprises a sample dispensed through a dispenser configured to dispense microliter doses of liquid, comprising a keypad, touch screen, or graphical user interface enabling a user thereof to make product selections.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the free product sampling comprises a sample dispensed through a legacy fountain beverage type dispenser.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the mobile application is accessible via a handheld device.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the authorizing comprises receiving information from one or more intended recipients indicative of the one or more intended recipients having joined the mobile application.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising initiating a second push notification.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the second push notification comprises one or more of requesting feedback on the free product sampling, offering one or more additional free product samplings, and offering to sell a purchased product corresponding to the free product sampling.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving a response to the second push notification indicative of an acceptance of the offering one or more additional free product samplings or offering to sell a purchased product corresponding to the free product sampling, and authorizing the dispensing of the one or more free product samplings or of the purchased product.

12. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

requesting feedback from a user to whom the free product sampling has been dispensed, the feedback comprising a rating by the user of the free product sampling;

if the rating by the user satisfies a predetermined rating value, offering the user an opportunity to purchase a product corresponding to the free product sampling to be dispensed from the product dispenser; and

if the rating by the user does not satisfy a predetermined rating value, offering to dispense an additional free product sampling from the product dispenser.

13. The method of claim 12 further including the steps of interposing a counter operation to count a number of free product dispenses and to disable further free product dispenses after a predetermined count of free product dispenses has been reached.

14. A product dispenser configured to dispense, responsive to a request indicative of an acceptance, generated by a mobile application, from a mobile device configured to receive push notifications intended for the mobile application associated with a plurality of intended recipients, the push notification offering dispensing of free product samplings from the product dispenser to a plurality of intended recipients, a sample size of a free product;

the product dispenser further comprising a product quantity discriminator configured to discriminate between, and dispense the sample size of the free product or a purchased product corresponding to the free product according to, whether a purchased product corresponding to the free product or the sample size of the free product has been selected for dispensing, the product dispenser further configured to dispense the purchased product, responsive to a request by a recipient of the free product.

15. The product dispenser of claim 14, wherein the product dispenser is configured to dispense variable sizes of purchased product and further comprises a user interface configured to permit a user to request the product dispenser to dispense a predetermined caloric content of the purchased product from the product dispenser.

16. The product dispenser of claim 15, wherein the product dispenser is configured to offer a variable price for the purchased product being dispensed based on caloric content of the purchased product being dispensed.

17. The product dispenser of claim 14, wherein the dispenser is further configured to determine the quantity of product that has been dispensed to a particular customer, and is further configured to discontinue further dispensing of product for that particular customer once the quantity of product dispensed to that customer has reached a predetermined limit.

18. A system comprising:

a product dispenser in wireless communication with a mobile device, the product dispenser configured to dispense, responsive to an instruction from the mobile device indicative of an acceptance, generated by a mobile application, of a push notification offer, a purchased product and a sample size of a free sample of a product corresponding to the purchased product, the mobile device comprising the mobile application configured to receive push notifications offering to dispense free samples of product from the dispenser, the system further configured to query a user of the mobile device, following dispensing of the free sample corresponding to the purchased product from the product dispenser, if the user desires to purchase the purchased product, and to dispense, responsive to an affirmative response to the query, the purchased product from the product dispenser.

19. The system of claim 18, the product dispenser further comprising a product quantity discriminator configured to distinguish between and dispense both purchased product quantities and sample sizes of a free sample product corresponding to, but in smaller quantities than, the purchased product quantities.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a variable pricing menu configured to permit a user of the dispenser to select predetermined quantities of purchased product based at least in part on a variable price based on caloric content purchased product.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the product dispenser is further configured to discontinue dispensing of product once a predetermined total caloric content limit has been met.