Cash-less automatic vending system

• US 6,430,470 B1
• Filed: 10/27/2000
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanden Corporation (Hisense Home Appliances Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sanden Corporation (Hisense Home Appliances Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nakajima, Yasunari, Nakajima, Kazuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi H.
• Application Number:
  US09/697,430
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 700/231, 700/232, 700/237, 700/236, 700/241, 700/244, 235/381, 235/385, 705/17
• US Class Current: 700/237
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/32 using wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/425 using two different networks, one for transaction and one for security confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/18 specially adapted for controlling several coin-freed apparatus from one place
• 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

A customer operates his portable communication terminal to call a vending management center and to transmit a purchase request for buying an item from an intended one of a plurality of automatic vending machines. The vending management center transmits a selling allowance to the intended automatic vending machine. The automatic vending machine, in accordance with the selling allowance, delivers an item indicated by the customer. Thus the customer can obtain his desired item. The automatic vending machine, after delivering the item, transmits dispensing result data to the vending management center. Then, the vending management center prepares user and sales data from the dispensing result data and transmits the user and sales data to a proprietary of the communication network accommodating the portable communication terminal. Subsequently, the proprietary, in accordance with the user and sales data, settles an account with the customer on the communication fee and the item price.

Claims

1. A cash-less automatic vending system capable of settling accounts for items delivered to a customer by an automatic vending machine without using a cash, a prepaid card, and a credit card, which comprises:

an automatic vending machine having items to be sold and delivering a requested one of the items in response to a selling allowance signal for the requested item, said automatic vending machine producing dispensing result data of the item delivered;

a communication terminal capable of inputting and transmitting a customer'"'"'s ID code and a purchase request for requesting to buy items in said automatic vending machine;

a vending management center coupled to said communication terminal and said automatic vending machine, said vending management center defining said customer'"'"'s ID code and said purchase request received from said communication terminal to transmit said selling allowance signal to said automatic vending machine, said vending management center producing user and sales data for the customer from said dispensing result data;

an account center coupled to said vending management center and preparing an account for the customer by using said user and sales data in said vending management center, to settle the account with said customer.

2. A cash-less automatic vending system according to claim 1, wherein said vending management center has a user/machine data base memory storing data about users who are allowed to use the cash-less automatic vending system, user specifying means capable of specifying a current customer who has input said purchase request from comparison of said customer'"'"'s ID code input with said data in said user/machine data base memory to produce a user specifying signal when the current customer is one of the users registered in the user/machine data base, and allowance determination means responsive to said user specifying signal to produce said selling allowance signal.

3. A cash-less automatic vending system according to claim 2, wherein said communication terminal is a portable communication terminal of the customer accommodated in a first communication network managed by a network management office, said customer'"'"'s ID code is a telephone number allotted to said portable communication terminal, said vending management center has a first communication control circuit by which said vending management center is coupled with said portable communication terminal and said account center through said first communication network, and said account center is said network management office, said account center producing said account including a network using fee together with a sales account according to said user and sales data for the customer.

4. A cash-less automatic vending system according to claim 3, further comprising a plurality of automatic vending machines having machine ID codes allotted thereto, respectively wherein:

each of said automatic vending machines has a display for displaying its own machine ID code, and the current customer transmits through his own portable communication terminal the machine ID code of an intended one of automatic vending machines together with said purchase request to said vending management center; and

wherein said vending management center has a machine data base storing data of automatic vending machines accommodated in the system, and a machine identifying means for identifying the intended machine by comparing the machine ID code input and the data in said machine data base memory to produce a machine specifying signal when the intended machine is one of the automatic vending machines registered in the machine data base memory, said selling allowance determination means produces said selling allowance signal based on reception of both of said user specifying signal and said machine specifying signal.

5. A cash-less automatic vending system according to claim 4, wherein upon receiving both of said user identifying signal and said machine identifying signal, said selling allowance determination means produces said selling allowance signal only when a predetermined condition is fulfilled.

6. A cash-less automatic vending system according to claim 4, wherein said vending management center has a second communication control means and each of said automatic vending machines having a communication control means, said vending management center and each of said automatic vending machines are coupled to each other by a second communication network through said second communication control means and said communication control means.

7. A cash-less automatic vending system according to claim 3, wherein a communication interface is disposed between said portable communication terminal and said vending management center, said portable communication terminal communicates with said communication interface, and said communication interface means transmits to said vending management center the purchase request information obtained through the communication with said portable communication terminal.