System and method for determining vendibility in automatic vending machine

A method for determining vendibility in an automatic vending machine, said method comprising the step of providing an automatic vending machine comprising:

• means for receiving a plurality of kinds of coins,
• means coupled to said coin receiving means for sorting received coins dependent on said kinds of coins,
• means coupled to said coin sorting means for detecting each of received and sorted coins separately for each kind of coins,
• means coupled to said coin sorting means for reserving received and sorted coins separately for each kind of coins,
• means coupled to said coin reserving means for detecting said reserved coins being fewer than a predetermined number of coins separately for each kind of coins,
• said plurality of kinds of received coins comprising at least three kinds of coins of large, medium and small values, said large and medium values being as large as integral times said small value,
• means coupled to said coin reserving means for discharging said reserved coins as change from said coin reserving means, and
• means for setting a plurality of prices of commodities being vended by said machines,
• said method comprising the further steps of;
• generating information associated with the total amount of received coins in response to said received coin detecting signals for each kind,
• generating information associated with the number of received coins in response to said received coin detecting signals separately for each kind of coins,
• generating unit information associated with said small value,
• effecting sequential subtraction of said small value associated unit information from said total amount associated information,
• determining, at each stage of said sequential subtraction, whether said received coins are available as change, for assumed vending of the corresponding amount at each stage of said sequential subtraction, and
• withdrawing said result of determination of said availability as change as determination of vendibility.

A control system for determining, based on an amount of money inserted into an automatic vending machine and available change on hand in said machine, the vendibility of various respective commodities for each of a plurality of possible selections of said various respective commodities, said machine including at least a receiving means for receiving a plurality of coins of various types, and having an output for producing a coin type detection signal unique to each of said various types for each of said plurality of coins received;

• and a change holding means for each given type of said various types of coins for holding said plurality of coins of said given type, and having an output for producing an empty-signal indicating when said plurality of coins of said given type on hand for change is less than a predetermined number;
• said control system comprising, in combination;
• commodity price setting means for indicating the respective prices of the various respective commodities being vended;
• and
• control means coupled to said receiving means and said change holding means for receiving and analyzing said unique coin type detection signals and said empty-signals, respectively, therefrom, so as to determine said amount of money inserted and said available change on hand, respectively, said control means being operatively associated with said price setting means for comparing said amount of money inserted with the respective prices of the various respective commodities being vended to determine, for each of said plurality of possible selections, respective amounts of change which must be made, said control means further comparing said respective amounts of change which must be made for each of said plurality of possible selections with said available change on hand so as to produce control signals indicating which of said commodities are vendible based on said amount of money inserted and the available change on hand in said machine.

A method of determining vendibility of various commodities having various commodity prices in a vending machine which receives a plurality of coins of different types ranging from small value to large value, the method comprising the steps of:

• a. detecting coins of various types from the plurality of coins received;
• b. generating information relative to the total amount, and individual amounts by type, of coins received, as well as unit information corresponding to the value of the small value type coins received;
• c. successively subtracting an amount equal to increasing multiples of said unit information from said total amount information to obtain successive remainders;
• d. during step (c), evaluating at each stage of subtraction a change necessary for each successive subtracted amount, and determining based on said evaluated change whether the change can be paid out from the plurality of coins on hand in said machine,;
• e. indicating each said successive remainder for which the change can be paid out, whereby to indicate each commodity price for which change can be made;
• and
• f. indicating as vendible those commodities having commodity prices for which change can be made.