System and method for simultaneous article retrieval and transaction validation
First Claim
1. A method of dispensing a selected article of a plurality of articles from an article dispensing machine, the article dispensing machine comprising a user interface, a processor, a selector device driven by a motor, and a storage unit for holding the plurality of articles, the method comprising:
- receiving a request related to the selected article through the user interface at the processor;
receiving payment information for a balance related to the request through the user interface at the processor;
determining whether the payment information is valid, using the processor;
retrieving the selected article from the storage unit via the selector device driven by the motor simultaneously with the step of determining whether the payment information is valid;
dispensing the selected article from the article dispensing machine, if the payment information is valid; and
returning the selected article to the storage unit, if the payment information is not valid.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for dispensing an article from an article dispensing machine by reducing the amount of time for completing a transaction involving the article is provided. A request related to a selected article and payment information for a balance related to the selected article may be received at the article dispensing machine through a user interface. The payment information may be validated, and simultaneously and in parallel, the selected article may be retrieved from a storage unit in the article dispensing machine. The selected article may be dispensed from the article dispensing machine if the payment information is valid. If the payment information is not valid, the selected article may be returned to the storage unit. Quicker dispensing of articles during consumer transactions with the article dispensing machine may result. The articles may include media articles, such as DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, and video game discs.
558 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method of dispensing a selected article of a plurality of articles from an article dispensing machine, the article dispensing machine comprising a user interface, a processor, a selector device driven by a motor, and a storage unit for holding the plurality of articles, the method comprising:
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receiving a request related to the selected article through the user interface at the processor; receiving payment information for a balance related to the request through the user interface at the processor; determining whether the payment information is valid, using the processor; retrieving the selected article from the storage unit via the selector device driven by the motor simultaneously with the step of determining whether the payment information is valid; dispensing the selected article from the article dispensing machine, if the payment information is valid; and returning the selected article to the storage unit, if the payment information is not valid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A non-transitory computer readable medium for dispensing a selected article of a plurality of articles from an article dispensing machine, the article dispensing machine comprising a user interface, a processor, a selector device driven by a motor, and a storage unit for holding the plurality of articles, the computer readable medium comprising:
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a first code segment for receiving a request related to the selected article through the user interface at the processor; a second code segment for receiving payment information for a balance related to the request through the user interface at the processor; a third code segment for determining whether the payment information is valid, using the processor; a fourth code segment for retrieving the selected article from the storage unit via the selector device driven by the motor simultaneously with the step of determining whether the payment information is valid; a fifth code segment for dispensing the selected article from the article dispensing machine, if the payment information is valid; and a sixth code segment for returning the selected article to the storage unit, if the payment information is not valid. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of dispensing a selected article from an article dispensing machine, the article dispensing machine comprising a processor, a selector device driven by a motor, and a storage unit, the method comprising:
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receiving a request related to the selected article at the processor; receiving payment information for a balance related to the request; determining whether the payment information is valid; simultaneously (a) retrieving the selected article from the storage unit via the selector device driven by the motor while (b) performing the determination of whether the payment information is valid; and dispensing the selected article from the article dispensing machine, if the payment information is valid. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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Specification