US 4,809,837 AGranted

Control device for a vending machine and gift certificate for use thereon

AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Nippon Coinco

InventorYukichi Hayashi

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Abstract

This gift certificate has information recorded thereon for identifying a total face value vendible by the gift certificate and a predetermined base amount equal to or smaller than the total face value. The information recorded on a deposited gift certificate is read by a reading device. A validation device validates the total face value and the base amount of the deposited gift certificate in response to the read information. A vending permission judgement device prohibits, in reponse to an output of the validation device, at least vending of an article to which a vend price below the base amount has been assigned. By virtue of this arrangement, a purchaser of an article from a vending machine by using a gift certificate is not forced to make purchase of the entire total face value but has only to make purchase above the base amount in which case a change preferably is paid out.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A control device for a vending maching comprising:

reading means for reading, responsive to deposition of a gift certificate, information recorded on the gift certificate, said gift certificate having information recorded thereon for identifying a total face value, which is the maximum amount purchasable by the gift certificate, and a base amount, whch is the minimum amount purchasable by the gift certificate, the base amount being an amount equal to or smaller than the total face value;
validation means, responsive to an output of said reading means, for validating the total face value and the base amount on the basis of said information recorded on the deposited gift certificate and for producing, in instances including situations wherein the base amount is greater than zero and smaller than the total face value, a signal representing the total face value and the base amount;
selection means for selecting one or more articles vendible from the vending machine;
and
vending permission judgement means, responsive to the produced signal of said validation means, for allowing vending of a selected collection of one or more articles to which a total vend price in a range from the base amount to the total face value has been assigned and for prohibiting vending in cases where a collection of one or more articles is selected to which a total vend price outside of said range has been assigned, said cases including situations wherein the base amount is greater than zero and smaller than the total face value.

2 more elements

A control device for vending machine comprising:

reading means for reading, responsive to deposition of a gift certificate, information recorded on the gift certificate, said gift certificate having information recorded thereon for identifying a total face value vendible by the gift certificate and a predetermined base amount equal to or smaller than the total face value;
validation means responsive to an output of said reading means for validating the total face value and the base amount on the basis of said information recorded on the deposited gift certificate;
and
vending permission judgment means responsive to an output of said validation means for prohibiting vending of at least an article to which a vend price below the base amount has been assigned;
wherein said vending permission judgment means prohibits vending of an article of a vend price below the base amount on the condition that the total face value and the base amount validated by said validation means are not equal to each other.

2 more elements

A control device for a vending machine comprising:

reading means for reading, responsive to deposition of a gift certificate, information recorded on the gift certificate, the gift certificate having information recorded thereon for identifying a total face value vendible by said gift certificate and a predetermined base amount equal to or smaller than the total face value;
validation means responsive to an output of said reading means for validating the total face value and the base amount on the basis of said information recorded on the deposited gift certificate;
first vending permission judgement means responsive to an output of said validation means for prohibiting in a first vending after deposition of the gift certificate, vending of at least an article to which a vend price below the base amount has been assigned;
second vending permission judgement means for performing a vending permission judgement on the basis of an amount of deposited money in the first vending and performing a vending permission judgement on the basis of a sum balance of a deposited amount left after subtracting a vend price of a preceding vending from a sum of the amount of deposited money and the total face value of the gift certificate in a second and subsequent vendings;
and
means for generating a vending permission signal in the first vending when either of said first and second vending permission judgement means has judged that vending is permissible and generating a vending permission signal in the second and subsequent vendings in response to a result of vending permission judgement by said second vending permission judgement means, nullifying the judgement by said first vending permission judgement means.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 07/016,972Filed 26 Feb 1987 · continuation
Priority: JP 59-7502216 Apr 1984
Granted: 7 Mar 1989
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

G07F 7/02
Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus:…
G06Q 20/3437
Cards including a counter: the counter having non-monetary units, e.g. trips
G06Q 20/387
Payment protocols; Details thereof: payment using discounts or coupons
G07D 7/12
Using wave or particle radiation: visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation