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US 7,627,496 B2Granted
Systems and methods for vending machine customer account management
AssigneeWalker Digital, LLC
InventorsJay S. Walker, Matthew D. Breitenbach, Paul T. Breitenbach, Sih Y. Lee, Paul D. Signorelli, Daniel E. Tedesco, Dean P. Alderucci, Gregory J. Scribner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Some embodiments are associated with providing, establishing, registering, administering, and/or managing vending machine subscription accounts. In some embodiments, third parties may administer and/or manage subscription-vending accounts associated with customers.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- receiving, by a vending machine and from a customer, an indication of a subscription identifier;
- receiving, by the vending machine and from the customer, an indication of a product selection, wherein the product selection comprises a selection of one or more of:
- (i) a beverage, (ii) a snack, (iii) recordable media, (iv) access to digital content, (v) network access, (vi) access to photography services, (viii) access to car wash services, and (ix) access to an electronic game;
- determining, by the vending machine, a parameter governing a subscription associated with the identifier, wherein the parameter is defined by a third party, and wherein the third party is not an operator of the vending machine;
- determining, by the vending machine, whether the product selection is in conformance with the third-party parameter governing the subscription;
- and
- providing, by the vending machine and to the customer, in the case that the product selection is determined to be in conformance with the third-party parameter governing the subscription, the selected product.
4 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor result in:
- receiving funds from a third party;
- establishing, based on the receipt of the funds from the third party, a subscription account for a customer, wherein the subscription account entitles the customer to redeem units of products offered for sale by a vending machine;
- receiving, from the third party, an indication of a definition of a parameter associated with the subscription account for the customer;
- receiving, after the establishment of the subscription account for the customer, an indication of a product selection made by the customer at the vending machine;
- determining whether the product selection satisfies the parameter defined by the third party;
- and
- dispensing, in the case that the product selection is determined to satisfy the parameter defined by the third party, the selected product to the customer.
7 more elements
A vending machine, comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to:
- receive, from a customer, an indication of a subscription identifier;
- receive, from the customer, an indication of a product selection;
- determine a parameter governing a subscription associated with the subscription identifier, wherein the parameter is defined by a third party, and wherein the parameter defines a product selection condition based on one or more of:
- (i) a sales velocity of the selected product, (ii) a popularity of the selected product, (iii) one or more ingredients of the selected product, (iv) nutritional information of the selected product, (v) a category of the selected product, (vi) a time condition, and (vii) a weather condition;
- determine whether the product selection is in conformance with the third-party parameter governing the product selection pursuant to the subscription;
- and
- provide to the customer, in the case that the product selection is determined to be in conformance with the third-party parameter governing the product selection pursuant to the subscription, a unit of the selected product.
7 more elements
A vending machine located in a school, the vending machine comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to:
- receive, from a student of the school, an indication of a subscription identifier;
- receive, from the student, an indication of a product selection;
- determine nutritional criteria governing a subscription associated with the subscription identifier, wherein the nutritional criteria is defined by a parent of the student;
- determine whether the product selection is in conformance with the parent-defined nutritional criteria governing the product selection pursuant to the subscription;
- and
- provide to the customer, in the case that the product selection is determined to be in conformance with the parent-defined nutritional criteria governing the product selection pursuant to the subscription, a unit of the selected product.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.