Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F13/00—Coin-freed apparatus for controlling dispensing or fluids, semiliquids or granular material from reservoirs
  • G07F13/06—Coin-freed apparatus for controlling dispensing or fluids, semiliquids or granular material from reservoirs with selective dispensing of different fluids or materials or mixtures thereof
  • G07F13/065—Coin-freed apparatus for controlling dispensing or fluids, semiliquids or granular material from reservoirs with selective dispensing of different fluids or materials or mixtures thereof for drink preparation
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
  • G06Q20/30—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks
  • G06Q20/34—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
  • G06Q20/343—Cards including a counter
  • G06Q20/3433—Cards including a counter the counter having monetary units
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
  • G07F7/02—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by keys or other credit registering devices
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
  • G07F7/08—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
  • G07F7/08—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means
  • G07F7/12—Card verification
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
  • G07F9/02—Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus

Definitions

• a system for dispensing measured amounts or packages of products by means of automatic vending machines A system for dispensing measured amounts or packages of products by means of automatic vending machines
• the present invention relates to automatic vending machines and is particularly concerned with a system for dispensing product units . (measured amounts or separate packages) according to the preamble of Claim 1.
• Claim 1 corresponds to any dispensing system including automatic vending machines which operate with coins and/or tokens and/or cards (credit cards) .
• the invention has been developed for application to automatic vending machines for bulk beverages, particularly espresso coffee, but is applicable to systems which include automatic vending machines for packaged products of any type, amongst which may be cited, by way of example, drinks in cans or small bottles, packaged confectionery products, cigarettes, and condoms.
• One very common form of management for automatic vending machines is that in which the machines are not the property of a keeper who occupies the locations in which they are installed (workshops, offices, etc.) but are the property of a management organisation.
• the vending machines are installed free of charge and the management organisation benefits only from the sale of the products supplied.
• the management organisation is concerned that the vending machine should not be reloaded with products of a different origin from those supplied by the organisation itself.
• the vending machine is provided with a lock which enables it to be reloaded only by a manager in possession of the key, with the simultaneous collection of the takings in coins and/or tokens and, where appropriate, with the checking of the units paid for by means of credit card.
• the particular object of the invention is to provide a vending system as defined in the preamble of Claim 1, which involves much lower management costs than conventional systems but at the same time offers a complete guarantee against the use of the vending machines for the sale of unauthorised products.
• a machine for vending canned drinks to be consumed cold is considered.
• the automatic vending machine will be of the refrigerating type and may contain, for example,
• 100 cans The removal of each can by a consumer after payment (with coins, tokens or cards) will give rise to the counting of the product unit supplied.
• the manager Upon the delivery of the 1000 cans, the manager will set the machine to the predetermined number of 1000 product units to be dispensed. These 1000 units will at the same time be debited to the keeper.
• the keeper can have access to the inside of the machine and can reload it whenever necessary. However, if his fortnightly supply of 1000 cans is used up early and he reloads the machine with cans from a different source, the machine will refuse to supply them.
• the keeper of the machine could load the machine prematurely with cans from a different source, whilst still holding a stock of authorised cans, but in this case the management organisation would not suffer damages, given that the authorised cans will already have been debited to him.
• the storage capacity of the machine will be the limited capacity of the reloadable hopper situated above the grinder (e.g. 300 g) .
• the weekly consumption is expected to be 450 cups, this is equal to 3 kg of coffee which is equal to 20 x 450 ⁇ 9000 revolutions of the shaft.
• the manager envisaging a weekly re-supply, sends the keeper 3 kg of coffee beans each week which he will store in a suitable place.
• the manager Upon delivery of the 3 kg, the manager, if necessary, sets the machine to the predetermined number of 450 cups (that is, in the example given, 9000 revolutions of the shaft) .
• the keeper of the machine can reload the hopper of the coffee grinder whenever necessary. However, if, as in the case of the can vendor, he uses up his weekly supply of coffee early and reloads the hopper with coffee from a different source, the machine will refuse to function.
• An automatic espresso coffee machine is normally provided with a hot-water supply spout, which can be used, for example, to prepare tea from teabags.
• the system according to the invention also provides for the metering of the hot water necessary for a certain number of additional measures of hot water, as well as for the preparation of the predetermined number of cups of coffee.
• the preparation of a cup of espresso coffee requires, on average, 35 cc of hot water, so the 450 cups of the case in question correspond to approximately 160 litres of water. Since the consumption of coffee in countries like Italy is much greater than that of tea, the manager can programme the machine so that it stops when a toal of 200 litres of water have been supplied.
• the additional 40 litres of water could correspond to the number of teabags supplied to the keeper of the machine by the management organisation.
• it may not be convenient to allow the free supply of hot water by the machine, in order to prevent excessive consumption of competing products such as, for example, freeze-dried coffee.
• Figure 1 is a schematic external view of the machine
• FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the main internal components concerned in the system according to the invention.
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the control system of the machine.
• Figure 4 is a flow chart which shows a simplified version of the operation of the system.
• an automatic vending machine for espresso coffee includes a cabinet-shaped casing 10 having a front wall 12 with a compartment for housing a cup 16 or a glass.
• the front wall 12 has a keypad 22 and a display unit 24.
• dispensing means in the form of an espresso machine proper, generally indicated 26.
• This machine may be of the type described and illustrated in the document WO 87/01570.
• the machine 26 includes an infusion unit 28 which is supplied on the one hand with ground coffee and on the other hand with pressurised hot water.
• the coffee is supplied from a transparent reloadable hopper 30 situated at the top of the machine.
• the hopper 30 is adapted to hold a certain quantity of coffee beans and has a coffee grinder 32 driven by an electric motor 34 at its base.
• the shaft of the motor 34 is indicated 36.
• the shaft 36 drives, through a gear train, a screw 38 for conveying the ground coffee to the unit 28.
• a gear train for conveying the ground coffee to the unit 28.
• the water is supplied to the unit 28 from a refillable water tank 40 housed in the machine.
• An electric pump 42 whose electric motor is indicated 43, draws water from the tank 40 and sends it to the unit 28 through a. flow meter 44 , an instantaneous heater 46, and a three-way solenoid valve 48, in succession.
• the heater 46 is provided with a temperature sensor 50 for its regulation.
• the unit 28 is provided with a spout 52 for discharging the espresso coffee into the cup 16.
• the solenoid valve has the function of diverting the hot-water supply, upon demand, to an auxiliary spout 54 for the preparation of another drink, for example, tea in a cup or glass.
• the shaft 36 of the motor 34 of the coffee grinder 32 has associated counting means in the form of a light-sensitive diode 56 which constitutes a revolution sensor.
• the shaft 36 has a diametral slot. Opposite the diode 56 is a light source 58 which illuminates the diode through the slot at every half-revolution of the shaft 36.
• the machine incorporates a processing and control logic circuit, preferably in the form of a microprocessor 60.
• the various functional components including those mentioned with reference to Figures 1 and 2, are connected to the microprocessor 60.
• the card-reader 18, the coin acceptor 20, the keypad 22 and the display unit 24 are connected to the microprocessor 60.
• the flow meter 44, the temperature sensor 50 and the revolution sensor 56 are connected to the microprocessor 60.
• the microprocessor 60 also has an output which enables the operation of various electromechanical components of the machine, including the motor 34 of the coffee grinder and the solenoid valve 46, by means of an amplifier circuit 62 and an enabling power relay 64.
• the manager has a personal identification card (C-, Figure 4) compatible with the reader 18.
• the card C. and the reader 18 may be of the magnetic-strip type, but cards of known type including "EEPROM" memories are preferably used. These are rechargeable cards in the sense that a manager's personal card, on the one hand, contains the modifiable or fixed data which identify the manager and enable him to perform all or some of the operations described below and, on the other hand, can store in its memory management data from one or more vending machines for insertion into a main management computer by means of a suitable card-reader of the computer itself.
• the microprocessor 60 recognises that it is a manager's card (box 100) and then checks whether this card is valid (box 102) . If not, the operation does not proceed, that is to say, the microprocessor 60 refuses to carry out the orders of the supposed manager (box 104) .
• managers of two levels are envisaged: managers authorised only to resupply the machine and managers authorised partially to reprogram the machine, and their cards C- will therefore be coded correspondingly.
• the microprocessor After it has checked that the card C- corresponds to an authorised manager, the microprocessor evaluates the level of authorisation (box 106) : if the manager can only resupply the keeper of the machine with coffee, the microprocessor 60 sends to the reader 18 signals which register on the card C. the replenishment which has taken place. If the manager is authorised to alter the parameters of the machine, however, the microprocessor 60 enables the keypad for partial reprogramming (box 108) .
• the reprogramming consists basically of the alteration, upwards or downwards, of the predetermined number of product units (cups of coffee) which can be dispensed by the machine.
• the number of pulses (revolutions or half revolutions) of the shaft 36 at which it is supposed that the supply of coffee provided by the manager will be exhausted is set by means of the keypad 22.
• a manager authorised for partial reprogramming can thus also alter the quantity of water which the machine can supply for the preparation of coffee, plus a certain quantity for the preparation of tea or other infusions.
• the manager can reprogram on the keypad 22 the number of revolutions of the flow meter 44 corresponding to the total quantity which can be supplied between one replenishment of coffee beans and another.
• the manager can reprogram the supply temperature of the coffee and of the hot water according to the wishes expressed by the user.
• the reprogramming is translated into a modification of the calibration in relation to the sensor 50.
• the reprogrammed data which may even be left unchanged, are registered on the card C, for further processing by the central management computer.
• This cycle is not shown in the flow chart of Figure 4 but it is intended that the cups of coffee dispensed will be counted in the form of pulses sent to the microprocessor by the revolution sensor 56 on the one hand, and in the form of pulses applied to the microprocessor by the flow meter 44 on the other hand.
• the system provides for the recharging of the user cards C 2 , which in this case are also to advantage of the "EEPROM" type.
• the user card C 2 is void, the user can recharge it by means of the reader 62 by inserting coins into the coin accepter 20.
• the microprocessor then increases the credit (box 112) and the card is brought up-to-date (box 114) by the recording of the increase.
• a user card C-, full or void, gives rise to a further decision in the microprocessor 60 (box 118) : if the machine is not enabled because the quantity of coffee provided and/or the quantity of the water for are exhausted, the microprocessor .60 does not enable the operation and it ends (box 104) ; if the machine is enabled, however, the user can set the keypad 22 for the supply of one or more successive cups.
• the microprocessor 60 evaluates the credit read from the card C_ (box 120) and, if it is less than the value of the order, does not allow the order to be carried out and the operation ends.
• the microprocessor 60 deducts the credit used from the card C- by means of the reader 18, that is, it cancels the corresponding units registered on the card (box 112) and enables the order to be fulfilled (box 124) .
• the user can himself program the type of coffee he- requires, that is, strong or weak, small or large.
• the microprocessor 60 enables the operation, among other things, of the coffee grinder 34, the motor 43, the pump 44 and the solenoid valve 46 which are thus supplied by the power relay 68 in a sequence which may be controlled by the microprocessor itself or by a separate logic system.
• the cycle for the preparation of an espresso coffee may be that described in the document WO 87/01570 to which reference should be made.
• product unit in this case an espresso coffee
• revolution sensor 56 For each product unit (in this case an espresso coffee) dispensed, the revolution sensor 56 and the flow meter

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
• Strategic Management (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Control Of Vending Devices And Auxiliary Devices For Vending Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11307797

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

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Family Cites Families (8)

• 1988
  • 1988-12-07 IT IT68093/88A patent/IT1223977B/it active
• 1989
  • 1989-12-04 JP JP90501010A patent/JPH04503417A/ja active Pending
  • 1989-12-04 EP EP90900809A patent/EP0447469A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 1989-12-04 WO PCT/EP1989/001479 patent/WO1990006565A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1989-12-04 CA CA002004519A patent/CA2004519A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1989-12-04 AU AU46660/89A patent/AU4666089A/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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