Article Vending Machine and Method For Exchanging An Inoperable Article For An Operable Article

• US 20150199666A1
• Filed: 03/25/2015
• Published: 07/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Redbox Automated Retail LLC (Chicken Soup For The Soul Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: Redbox Automated Retail LLC (Chicken Soup For The Soul Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: Lowe, J. Mitchell, Hoersten, Eric, Kapcar, Christoper A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,542,661 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• 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 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/407 Cancellation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0237 at kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/54 about vertical axes

Abstract

An article vending machine in a network of article vending machines capable of exchanging an inoperable rental article received from a user for an operable replacement article. The article dispensing machine checks customer identification information against one or more customer rental criteria to determine if the customer is eligible to exchange an inoperable article for an operable one. The article vending machine searches for an identical replacement article within an inventory of the machine itself and within inventories of the networked article vending machines. Alternatively, the article vending machine may provide a refund for the inoperable article.

Claims

1. An article vending machine configured to exchange an inoperable article for an operable article, the article vending machine comprising:

a user interface configured to receive, from a customer, a request to initiate an exchange of an inoperable article for an operable article;

a receptacle for receiving the inoperable article;

an inventory comprised of a plurality of articles;

a selector arm for transferring articles within the article vending machine, the selector arm being configured to;

engage the inoperable article at a first position proximate to the receptacle,

transfer the inoperable article from the first position to a second position within the article vending machine, and

disengage the inoperable article at the second position;

a memory configured to store a database identifying, as inoperable, the inoperable articles that have been received via the receptacle; and

a processor in communication with the user interface and the memory and configured using program code to;

determine whether the customer is eligible to exchange the inoperable article,

if the customer is eligible, provide an operable replacement article,

receive a request from a service person via the user interface to purge all inoperable articles,

in response to the request to purge, access the database to identify each article identified as inoperable, and

provide for removal, from the second position, each of the identified inoperable articles.

2. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the articles are automatically dispensed via the receptacle in response to the request from the service person to purge all of the articles identified as inoperable in the database.

3. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the selector arm includes a picker device that is configured, in response to receiving the request to purge, to engage each inoperable article in the second position within the article vending machine, and to continue engaging the inoperable article while the selector arm transfers the article from the second position to the receptacle.

4. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the selector arm includes a conveying device that is configured to dispense the inoperable articles through the receptacle by transferring the inoperable articles towards the receptacle.

5. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein providing the operable replacement article comprises:

in response to determining that the customer is eligible, determining whether the inventory includes an article that is an identical replacement for the inoperable article; and

in response to determining that the inventory does include an identical replacement article, dispensing the identical replacement article through the receptacle.

6. The article vending machine of claim 5, wherein providing the operable replacement article further comprises, in response to determining that the inventory does not comprise an identical replacement article, providing, via the user interface, an option to receive a non-identical replacement article from the inventory.

7. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the program code is further configured to:

read an article identifier from the inoperable article; and

based on the article identifier, identify a database entry for the inoperable article in the database; and

modify the database entry for the inoperable article to indicate that the corresponding article is inoperable.

8. The article vending machine of claim 7, wherein the program code is further configured to delete the database entries of the inoperable articles that are removed from the article vending machine in response to the request to purge.

9. A network of article vending machines comprising:

a first article vending machine comprising;

an inventory comprised of a plurality of articles,

a user interface configured to receive, from a customer a request to initiate an exchange of an inoperable article for an operable article,

a receptacle for receiving the inoperable article, and

a selector arm for transferring articles within the first article vending machine, the selector arm being configured to;

engage the inoperable article at a first position proximate to the receptacle,

transfer the inoperable article from the first position to a second position within the first article vending machine, and

disengage the inoperable article at the second position;

a plurality of remote article vending machines in communication with the first article vending machine, each remote article vending machine comprising an inventory of a plurality of articles;

a memory configured to store one or more databases, the one or more databases including a list of the articles included in the inventory of the first article vending machine; and

a processor configured using program code to;

determine if the customer is eligible to exchange the inoperable article,

if the customer is eligible, provide an operable replacement article,

receive a request from a service person via the user interface to purge all inoperable articles,

in response to the request to purge, access the one or more databases to identify each article identified as inoperable in the first article vending machine, and

provide for removal, from the second position, each of the identified inoperable articles from the first article vending machine.

10. The network of article vending machines of claim 9, wherein the articles are automatically dispensed via the receptacle of the first article vending machine in response to the request from a service person to purge all inoperable articles.

11. The network of article vending machines of claim 9, wherein providing the operable replacement article comprises:

in response to determining that the customer is eligible, determining whether the inventory of the first article vending machine includes an article that is an identical replacement for the inoperable article; and

in response to determining that the inventory of the first article vending machine does include an identical replacement article, dispensing the identical replacement article through the receptacle.

12. The network of article vending machines of claim 11, wherein providing the operable replacement article further comprises, in response to determining that the inventory of the first article vending machine does not comprise an identical replacement article, providing, as alternative offers via the user interface, an option to reserve an identical replacement article at one of the remote vending machines and an option to receive a non-identical replacement article from the first article vending machine.

13. The network of article vending machines of claim 11, wherein providing the operable replacement article further comprises, in response to determining that the inventory of the first article vending machine does not comprise an identical replacement article,

determining whether the inventories of the remote vending machines include an identical replacement article;

in response to determining that one or more of the inventories includes an identical replacement article, transmitting, to the user interface, an identification of the one or more remote vending machines comprising the identical replacement article; and

providing, via the user interface, an option to reserve the identical replacement article at one of the one or more remote vending machines.

14. The network of article vending machines of claim 9, wherein the determination of whether the customer is eligible to exchange the inoperable article is based on whether the customer is identified in a list of customers ineligible to exchange inoperable articles, the memory being further configured to store the list of ineligible customers.

15. The network of article vending machines of claim 9, wherein the determination of whether the customer is eligible to exchange the inoperable article is based, at least in part, on a frequency of exchanges by that customer within the network of article vending machines.