Method and system of personal vending
First Claim
1. A system for vending products to a customer, comprising:
- a plurality of vending machines, managed by a vending machine company;
a server, operating under the authority of the vending machine company, comprising a processor, non-transitory memory, a communications interface, and a database;
wherein the database comprises a communication address of the customer;
wherein the database comprises a location of each of the plurality of vending machines;
wherein the database comprises an inventory of products in each of the plurality of vending machines;
wherein the database comprises a customer order history for a plurality of orders;
a personal electronic device comprising a processor, non-transitory memory, a communications interface, and a user interface (UI);
software running in non-transitory memory on the personal electronic device wherein the software transmits to the server;
(i) an identification of the customer, and (ii) a location of the customer;
software running in non-transitory memory on the server wherein the software creates a list of co-located vending machines wherein the list is responsive to the customer location and each vending machine on the list of co-located vending machines is co-located with the customer; and
wherein the software running in non-transitory memory on the server sends a message to the personal electronic device responsive to the product inventory in each vending machine in the list of co-located vending machines.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for vending products to a customer that encompasses a group of vending machines managed by a vending company, a database of the inventory of products in the vending machines and information about customer purchase history from the vending machines; and the use of a personal electronic device by the customer. Embodiments include the customer selecting either products or vending machines from a list of options provided via the user interface of the personal electronic device, wherein the list of options depends on the actual available inventory on vending machines co-located with customer, and the customer purchase history. Methods are described to permit advance purchases with deferred dispensing, and methods of payment that are both fast and automatic. Also described are methods of identifying vending machines and ordering a group of products as single request.
55 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A system for vending products to a customer, comprising:
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a plurality of vending machines, managed by a vending machine company; a server, operating under the authority of the vending machine company, comprising a processor, non-transitory memory, a communications interface, and a database; wherein the database comprises a communication address of the customer; wherein the database comprises a location of each of the plurality of vending machines; wherein the database comprises an inventory of products in each of the plurality of vending machines; wherein the database comprises a customer order history for a plurality of orders; a personal electronic device comprising a processor, non-transitory memory, a communications interface, and a user interface (UI); software running in non-transitory memory on the personal electronic device wherein the software transmits to the server;
(i) an identification of the customer, and (ii) a location of the customer;software running in non-transitory memory on the server wherein the software creates a list of co-located vending machines wherein the list is responsive to the customer location and each vending machine on the list of co-located vending machines is co-located with the customer; and wherein the software running in non-transitory memory on the server sends a message to the personal electronic device responsive to the product inventory in each vending machine in the list of co-located vending machines. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification