# US 2019/0244465 A1 · Systems and methods for reservations at a vending machine

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- Number: US 2019/0244465 A1
- Document ID: US20190244465A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/267,039
- Filed: 2019-02-04
- Published: 2019-08-08
- Earliest claimed: 2018-02-05
- Assignees: Romaine Empire, Inc.
- Applicants: Romaine Empire, Inc.
- Inventors: Luke Saunders; Rajesh Kumar Karmani
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190244465A1

## CPC

- G06Q 30/014: Providing recall services for goods or products
- G06Q 10/087: Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
- G06Q 10/0877: {by inventory control or reporting using inventory tracking or counting}
- G06Q 20/18: involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
- G06Q 20/322: {Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]}
- G06Q 20/407: {Cancellation of a transaction}
- G07F 9/001: {Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices}
- G07F 9/002: {Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines}
- G07F 9/023: {Arrangements for display, data presentation or advertising}
- G07F 9/026: {for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty}
- G07F 11/62: in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
- G07F 17/12: comprising lockable containers, e.g. for accepting clothes to be cleaned
- G06Q 10/0832: Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods
- G06Q 10/30: Administration of product recycling or disposal
- G06Q 30/06: Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- Y02W 90/00: Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G07F: COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS (coin sorting G07D3/00; coin testing G07D5/00; {handling coins or paper currencies apart from payment activated apparatus G07D; payment architectures, schemes or protocols G06Q20/00})
- Y02W: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT

## Abstract

Systems and methods for facilitating reservations at a vending machine. The systems and methods include detecting a reservation request indicating a list of items and a purchase code and querying an inventory database to determine that the list of items are available. The systems and method also include generating a record in a reservation database corresponding to the reservation request, the record indicating a unique identifier purchase code and receiving an input indicative of the unique identifier purchase code. Additionally, the systems and methods include querying the reservation database to identify a reservation record that includes a unique identifier purchase code that matches the input unique identifier purchase code; and issuing a command to vend the list of reserved item included in the identified reservation record.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vending machine comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more transceivers adapted to communicate with a management server over a one or more communication networks;
an inventory database configured to store item records of items offered by the vending machine;
a reservation database configured to store reservation records of reservation for items corresponding to records stored in the inventory database, wherein each reservation record includes a purchase code and a list of reserved items; and
one or more non-transitory memories coupled to the one or more processors, the reservation database, the inventory database, and the one or more transceivers, the one or more non-transitory memories storing a set of computer executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vending machine to:
detect a reservation request received via the one or more transceivers, the reservation request indicating a list of items and a purchase code;
query the inventory database to determine that the list of items are available;
generate a record in the reservation database corresponding to the reservation request, the record indicating a unique identifier purchase code;
receive an input indicative of the unique identifier purchase code;
query the reservation database to identify a reservation record that includes a unique identifier purchase code that matches the input unique identifier purchase code; and
issue a command to vend the list of reserved item included in the identified reservation record.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vending machine to:
detect a presence of a customer at the vending machine.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The system of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vending machine to:
responsive to detecting the presence of the customer, prevent the detection of the reservation request.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The system of claim 3, wherein to prevent the detection of the reservation request, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vending machine to:
disable the one or more transceivers or route the request to a queue.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The system of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vending machine to:
detect that the customer is no longer present at the vending machine.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The system of claim 5, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vending machine to:
responsive to detecting that the customer is no longer present, enable the detection of the reservation request.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The system of claim 6, wherein to enable the detection of the reservation request, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vending machine to:
enable the one or more transceivers or access requests stored in a queue.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the list of items is obtained by a customer electronic device via a voice interface.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the record in the reservation database includes a reservation expiration indicator.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vending machine to:
detect the expiration of a reservation stored in the reservation database; and
modify the record of the expired reservation in the reservation database to indicate an expired status.

### Claim 11

A computer-implemented method executed by one or more processors of a vending machine, the method comprising:
detecting, by the one or more processors, a reservation request indicating a list of items and a purchase code;
querying, by the one or more processors, an inventory database to determine that the list of items are available;
generating, by the one or more processors, a record in a reservation database corresponding to the reservation request, the record indicating a unique identifier purchase code;
receiving an input indicative of the unique identifier purchase code;
querying, by the one or more processors, the reservation database to identify a reservation record that includes a unique identifier purchase code that matches the input unique identifier purchase code; and
issuing. by the one or more processors, a command to vend the list of reserved item included in the identified reservation record.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, further comprising:
detecting, by the one or more processors, a presence of a customer at the vending machine.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, further comprising:
responsive to detecting the presence of the customer, preventing, by the one or more processors, the detection of the reservation request.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein preventing the detection of the reservation request comprises:
disabling, by the one or more processors, one or more transceivers associated with the vending machine or routing, by the one or more processors, the request to a queue.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, further comprising:
detecting, by the one or more processors, that the customer is no longer present at the vending machine.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, further comprising:
responsive to detecting that the customer is no longer present, enabling, by the one or more processors, the detection of the reservation request.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein enabling the detection of the reservation request comprises:
enabling, by the one or more processors, one or more transceivers of the vending machine or accessing, by the one or more processors, requests stored in a queue.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the list of items is obtained by a customer electronic device via a voice interface.

### Claim 19 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vending machine to:
detecting, by one or more processors, an expiration of a reservation stored in the reservation database; and
modifying, by the one or more processors, the record of the expired reservation in the reservation database to indicate an expired status.

### Claim 20

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
detect a reservation request indicating a list of items and a purchase code;
query an inventory database to determine that the list of items are available;
generate a record in a reservation database corresponding to the reservation request, the record indicating a unique identifier purchase code;
receive an input indicative of the unique identifier purchase code;
query the reservation database to identify a reservation record that includes a unique identifier purchase code that matches the input unique identifier purchase code; and
issue a command to vend the list of reserved item included in the identified reservation record.