US3828904A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Automatic vending machine including a plurality of customer units interconnected with a single processing and dispensing unit
Assignee: Omron Corp
•
Filing: 1973-01-22
•
Granted: 1974-08-13
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Expires: 1993-01-22
Abstract
Abstract An automatic vending machine which comprises at least two customer serving units which are individually used by customers to input purchase data into the machine and a single processing unit commonly serving the customer serving units so that in accordance with the input data the processing unit causes an article to be dispensed through the outlet of that customer serving unit through which the purchase data have been entered.
Inventors
- 👤 N Naitou
- 👤 K Baba
- 👤 S Huziwara
- 👤 T Yamanaka
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 04:07
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07F; G07F5/00; G07F5/18; G07F17/00; G07F17/42; G07F5/24; G07F9/00; G07F9/002
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
119 words
An automatic vending machine comprising: a plurality of customer units, each customer unit including customer-operated means for entering purchase data into said customer unit, a coin inlet means for entering coins into said customer unit and an outlet for dispensing articles to the customer which are purchased through said machine, and, a processing unit interconnected with said plurality of customer units, said processing unit including means storing articles to be purchased from said machine, and article dispensing means responsive to said purchase data and the monetary value of the coins entered into any one of said plurality of customer units to dispense articles from said storing means through the outlet of said one of said plurality of customer units.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
119 words
An automatic vending machine comprising: a plurality of customer units, each customer unit including customer-operated means for entering purchase data into said customer unit, a coin inlet means for entering coins into said customer unit and an outlet for dispensing articles to the customer which are purchased through said machine, and, a processing unit interconnected with said plurality of customer units, said processing unit including means storing articles to be purchased from said machine, and article dispensing means responsive to said purchase data and the monetary value of the coins entered into any one of said plurality of customer units to dispense articles from said storing means through the outlet of said one of said plurality of customer units.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
63 words
An automatic vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein said processing unit further includes control means inhibiting the operation of said article dispensing means in response to the entry of purchase data and coins from any other one of said pluraLity of customer units until said processing unit has completed the dispensing of articles through the outlet of said one customer unit.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
60 words
An automatic vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein each one of said plurality of customer units includes means for detecting coins entered through said coin inlet, means responsive to said detecting means for calculating and storing the value of coins so entered, and means responsive to said customer-operated means for storing purchase data entered through said customer-operated means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
47 words
An automatic vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein said processing unit includes change calculating means responsive to said purchase data and to the value of coins entered into said one customer unit for calculating change to be paid to customer by said one customer unit.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
48 words
An automatic vending machine as recited in claim 4, wherein said processing unit includes means storing change for purchases from said machine, and change dispensing means responsive to said change calculating means to dispense change from said change storing means through the outlet of said one customer unit.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
93 words
An automatic vending machine as recited in claim 5, wherein said change dispensing means includes a plurality of passages connecting said change storing means to said outlets of said customer units, a change directing means including plate means for opening that one of said plurality of passages connecting said change storing means to said one customer unit, and means inhibiting said plate means from opening any of the remaining ones of said plurality of passages until said processing unit has completed the dispensing of change through said outlet of said one customer unit.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
92 words
An automatic vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein said article dispensing means includes a plurality of passages connecting said article storing means to said outlets for said plurality of customer units, an article directing means including plate means for opening that one of said plurality of passages connecting said article storing means to said one customer unit, and means inhibiting said plate means from opening any of the remaining ones of said plurality of passages until said processing unit has completed the dispensing of articles to said one customer unit.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
An automatic vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein the articles stored and dispensed by said machine are railway tickets.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
An automatic vending machine as recited in claim 8, wherein the purchase data entered into any one of said plurality of customer units is the monetary value of a fare for a railway trip.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
49 words
An automatic vending machine as recited in claim 9, wherein said article dispensing means is responsive to the purchase data entered through said one customer unit to print on the railway ticket to be dispensed through the outlet of said one customer unit numerals expressing said monetary fare value.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-08-12 | 1978-02-11 | 1978-08-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-08-12 | 1982-02-11 | 1982-08-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-08-12 | 1986-02-11 | 1986-08-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |