Automated business system and method of vending and returning a consumer product
AssigneeNCR Corporation
InventorsDonald Blust, Thomas Driscoll
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
System and method of dispensing disc-based media and other consumer products. A user can interact with an automated business system to select disc-based media for rental and/or purchase. The automated business system can retrieve the selection from the interior of the automated business system and dispense the selection through a port to the user. The automated business system can retrieve the selection from the port in a return process.
Claims9
A method of dispensing disc-based media to customers from an automated disc-based media system, the method comprising:
- selecting a disc-based media;
- determining if the selected disc-based media is available;
- providing the selected disc-based media from inventory if available;
- and
- generating the disc-based media if the selected disc-based media is not available, wherein the step of determining comprises determining if the particular selection is available in an item database storing inventory data which is updated by performing a machine implemented inventory process which comprises moving a disc-based media retrieval system carrying a radio frequency tag interrogator to each storage position within the disc-based media system.
A machine implemented method of taking physical inventory of a disc-based media system, the method comprising:
- accessing the disc-based media system with a remote computer terminal;
- initiating an inventory process including instructing a disc-based media retrieval system carrying a radio frequency tag interrogator to begin the inventory process, moving the disc-based media retrieval system to each storage position within the disc-based media system, and
- if a disc-based media is in one of the storage positions, reading a radio frequency tag on the disc-based media utilizing the radio frequency tag reader carried by the disc-based media retrieval system;
- and
- outputting results of the inventory process to the remote computer terminal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.