Display Material Provision

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for provision to customers of display material without intervention by an attendant. It is known to dispense material to attendees and prospective customers at meetings, exhibitions, conferences and commodity or product shows of all kinds, in an anonymous fashion from unattended literature racks and the like. The material to be dispensed usually comprises brochures, pamphlets and other printed material describing the item of interest which attracted the potential customer or attendee. It is not always possible to have a human attendant present, and even if one or more attendants are present, it may not be possible to meet the instant needs of a large crowd. The present invention seeks to provide means whereby the needs of every individual can be met, whether or not a human attendant is present, whilst allowing the attendee the choice of remaining anonymous or not. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a point of display document dispenser comprising: coupling means for accepting coupling of a portable electronic memory device to said point of display dispenser; detection means for detecting when a portable electronic memory device is coupled with said coupling means and providing output indicative thereof; and data transfer means, operative, on the condition that said detecting means has provided said output, to transfer an electronic copy of a document in an associated memory means to the portable memory device or to receive an identification address.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.