Patent ID: 9195979
Filing Date: 2015-11-24
Classification: G06Q,G07D,G07F

Abstract:
1. A machine for buying a gold-bearing item from a consumer comprising: a housing structure having a vault within said housing; a portal in said housing leading inboard to a plurality of processing stations in the interior of said housing, said portal adapted to receive said gold-bearing item by the customer; said plurality of processing stations including: a weigh station to weigh said gold-bearing item and to generate representative weight data for the item; an x-ray spectrometer station wherein said spectrometer detects constituent elements present in said gold-bearing item and generates representative elemental data including gold elemental data; a volume measurement station for measuring the volume of said gold-bearing item based upon gas or fluid displacement in a chamber with said item, said volume measurement station generating volume data for the item; a consumer-visible display electronically coupled to a computer-based processor; said computer-based processor electronically obtaining said weight data, said gold elemental data and said volume data for the item and approximately calculating the amount of gold by weight in said item; a plurality of interface modules configured for the consumer on and about an exterior of said housing including an imaging system to capture one or more images of said consumer, an input module configured for obtaining consumer's identity or biometric data, a keypad input interface and a bank card reader adapted to read a consumer's bank card data linked to a consumer's account to be credited for the sale of said gold-bearing item; said processor including: (a) a module determining a discounted market value for said gold-bearing item based upon predetermined exchange rate data, the approximated gold weight and at least one discount factor; (b) a presentation system for displaying on said display said discounted market value for said gold-bearing item to the customer; (c) an acceptance module including means configured for accepting an offer to sell instruction from the customer and thereafter generating a payment instruction to compensate the customer and for generating a vault storage event command; (d) a rejection module adapted to negate said acceptance module upon either a customer's request or a detected error signal, said rejection module generating a rejection command; and, (e) an error module configured for generating the error signal based upon either a gold purity fault or a weight fault; (f) a compiler obtaining and storing consumer's data from said interface modules including consumer image and consumer's identity data or biometric data, said compiler also storing representations of said gold purity fault error signals and weight fault error signals; a transport system, as part of the gold-buying machine, for delivering said gold bearing item to said weigh station, to said spectrometer station, to said volume measurement station and, upon said vault storage event command to deliver the item to said vault, and upon said rejection command to deliver the item to an item return port in said housing.