Patent ID: 6606602
Filing Date: 2003-08-12
Classification: G06Q,G07F

Abstract:
A public access electronic commerce terminal operatively connected to a vending machine for allowing a user to select a vend of at least one product from said vending machine, for facilitating an incentive-based vend of one or more products from said vending machine, and for accessing the Internet for transacting electronic commerce, said public access electronic commerce terminal comprising:a controller for controlling user vending by said vending machine and said user access to said Internet; equipment control means connected with said controller for interfacing said controller to said vending machine; identification means for i) accepting at least one of a plurality of identification inputs from said user and ii) effectuating a selective dynamic identification interchange of said at least one of said plurality of identification inputs from said user; storage means in communication with said controller for storing a plurality of incentive-based advertising referencing terms for an incentive for said user; presentation means in communication with said controller for i) presenting said user with said incentive-based advertising and ii) presenting said user with electronic commerce related information; comparison means for comparing said user selection to said terms for said incentive; controlling means for controlling a delivery of said incentive to said user in response to said comparison means; first determining means for determining a non-use period of said public access electronic commerce terminal; means for generating an error condition of said public access electronic commerce terminal based on an output of said first determining means; second determining means for determining if at least one of a system limit and an authorization limit of said user is at least one of reached and exceeded; reauthorizing means for reauthorizing said user based on an output of said second determining means; and reprocessing means for reprocessing said vend based on said reauthorization.