US 4,951,308 A · Automated vending of cellular hand-held telephones and cellular telephone services

Abstract

Mobile cellular telephone services are automatically vended through a microprocessor controlled vending machine which inventories a plurality of mobile cellular telephones and selectively delivers one of the phones after reading a credit card number from a customer and obtaining credit card approval. The mobile cellular telephone is dispensed and later returned by the customer. When returned by the customer, the mobile cellular telephone is disposed within a receiving unit which uniquely verifies the mobile cellular telephone through its phone number, reads the usage made by the customer of the mobile telephone, and senses the charged condition of the battery within the mobile telephone. The customer's credit card is again read and the bill for rental of the mobile cellular telephone unit, including all telephone usage charges, is computed and directly billed to the credit card number. The vending unit then produces a printed record of the credit card billing and returns the mobile telephone unit to inventory to be fully recharged and reinitialized for revending.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An apparatus for vending mobile telephones that include memory capability comprising:

a microprocessor;
a bus coupled to said microprocessor;
a memory coupled to said microprocessor;
storage means for holding a plurality of mobile telephone units;
dispensing means for selectively dispensing one of said plurality of mobile telephone units from said storage means, said dispensing means being electrically coupled to said bus and thence to said microprocessor memory;
input/output means coupled to said bus for communicating with said microprocessor with interactive communication with said microprocessor for selective control of said dispensing means;
and
bus connection means for electrically coupling through said plurality of mobile telephone units within said storage means, said bus connection means coupled to said bus for allowing selective communication between the memory of each of said plurality of mobile telephone units and said microprocessor to determine the identity and usage of each mobile telephone,
whereby mobile telephone units are automatically dispensed and billed.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Automated vending of cellular hand-held telephones and cellular telephone services

Life of this patent

Automated vending of cellular hand-held telephones and cellular telephone services

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18