System and method for remotely buying, renting, and/or selling media discs

• US 8,095,236 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2008
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gamechanger Systems Inc.
• Original Assignee: Into Great Companies, Inc.
• Inventors: Rudy, Alan T., Murray, Bob, Wolf, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): WAGGONER, TIMOTHY R
• Application Number:
  US12/118,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20090326708A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: 700/236, 700/238
• US Class Current: 700/238
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/24 Rotary or oscillatory members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/069 by box-like containers, e.g. videocassettes, books
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines

Abstract

A kiosk or machine for buying media discs includes a dispense/receive system for dispensing the media discs to consumers and receiving media discs from customers, a disc identification system for identifying the media discs, a disc transfer system for moving the media discs within the kiosk, a control system operably connected to dispense/receive system, the disc transfer system, and a user interface system. The user interface includes a buy-back indicator or prompt which can be selectively activated by the customer. In response to activation of the buy-back indicator, the controller activates the dispense/receive system to receive a media disc for buy-back, activates the disc transfer system to move the media disc to the disc identification system, activates the disc identification system to identify the media disc, determines a buy-back price for the media disc, and activates the user interface system to display the buy-back price.

Claims

1. A system for dispensing and receiving media discs comprising, in combination:

a storage system for storing a plurality of the media discs;

a dispense/receive system for dispensing the media discs to consumers and receiving media discs from customers;

a disc identification system for indentifying the media discs;

a disc transfer system for moving the media discs between the dispense/receive system and the disc identification system;

a control system operably connected to the dispense/receive system to selectively intake media discs and operably connected to the disc transfer system to selectively activate the disc transfer system to move the media discs between the dispense/receive system and the disc identification system;

a user interface system operably connected to the control system and including a buy-back indicator which can be selectively activated by the customer; and

wherein, in response to activation of the buy-back indicator, the controller is adapted to activate the dispense/receive system to receive a media disc for buy-back, to activate the disc transfer system to move the media disc for buy-back from the dispense/receive system to the disc identification system, to activate the disc identification system to identify the media disc for buy-back, to determine a buy-back price for the media disc for buy-back, to activate the user interface system to inform the customer of the buy-back price and to provide the customer with an accept/decline input corresponding with the buy-back price, and to provide a credit to the customer upon activation of the accept/decline by the customer to accept the buy-back price.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the disc identification system includes an optical disc drive for reading prerecorded information on the media disc for buy-back to identify the media disc for buy-back.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the disc identification system includes a plurality of optical disc drives for reading different types of media discs.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the optical disc drive is adapted to check the playability of the media disc for buy-back.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the controller is adapted to decline buy-back and return the media disc for buy-back to the customer if the disc identification system determines the playability of the media disc for buy-back is below a predetermined level.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to decline buy-back and return the media disc for buy-back back to the customer if the disc identification system cannot identify the media disc for buy-back.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the user interface system includes a touch video screen.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the user interface system includes a bar code scanner for reading a bar code on a protective cover of the media disc for buy-back.

9. A method for dispensing and receiving media discs comprising the steps of, in combination:

providing a storage system for storing a plurality of the media discs;

providing a dispense/receive system for dispensing the media discs to consumers and receiving media discs from customers;

providing a disc identification system for identifying the media discs;

providing a disc transfer system for moving the media discs between the dispense/receive system and the disc identification system;

providing a control system operably connected to the dispense/receive system to selectively intake and dispense media discs and operably connected to the disc transfer system to selectively activate the disc transfer system to move the media discs between the dispense/receive system and the disc identification system;

providing a user interface system operably connected to the control system and including a buy-back indicator which can be selectively activated by the customer; and

in response to activation of the buy-back indicator, activating the dispense/receive system to receive a media disc for buy-back, activating the disc transfer system to move the media disc for buy-back from the dispense/receive system to the disc identification system, activating the disc identification system to identify the media disc for buy-back, determining a buy-back price for the media disc for buy-back, activating the user interface system to inform the customer of the buy-back price, activating the user interface system to provide the customer with an accept/decline input corresponding with the buy-back price, and providing a credit to the customer upon activation of the accept/decline by the customer to accept the buy-back price.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of providing the disc identification system with an optical disc drive and identifying the disc for buy-back by reading prerecorded information on the media disc.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of checking the playability of the media disc for buy-back using the optical disc drive.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the steps of declining buy-back and returning the media disc for buy-back to the customer if the disc identification system determines the playability of the media disc for buy-back is below a predetermined level.

13. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of declining buy-back and returning the media disc for buy-back to the customer if the disc identification system cannot identify the media disc for buy-back.

14. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of providing the user interface system with a touch video screen.

15. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of providing the user interface system with a bar code scanner for reading a bar code on a protective cover of the media disc for buy-back.