Abstract:
A method of and apparatus for tokenless vending, and tokenless shopping enable an account holder to buy goods and services without having to be in possession of cash, cards, or any other physical token of value or identity. To make a purchase, the purchaser simply inputs his account number and password on a keypad at a vending machine or other point of sale. The point of sale equipment transmits the account code and password to a central server. The server determines whether the said at least one code input by the purchaser agrees with the at least one identifying code associated with an active account. The vendor system confirms, either at the server or at the point of sale, that the price of the desired goods or services does not exceed the available credit on the purchaser&#39;s account. If all is in order, the goods or services are provided to the purchaser at the point of sale, and the server reduces the available credit on the account accordingly.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention relates to the automated sale of goods to the public. In particular, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for selling goods, and charging the cost of the goods to an account held by the purchaser. The invention relates especially to such a method and apparatus in which the point of sale is connected to a central account server over the world wide web.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    It has been common practice for many years to purchase goods and services and to pay for them with a credit card, debit card, or the like. Possession of the card, optionally combined with a Personal Identification Number (“PIN number”) or a signature, serves to identify the purchaser, and to establish his authority to charge the cost of the goods to an associated credit or deposit account. It is also possible to purchase goods and services by giving a credit card number over the telephone or, more recently, over the internet. In that case, either the purchaser must subsequently collect the goods or services, or they must be sent to him. If he collects, he is required to produce the credit card at the point of collection. If the goods are sent to the purchaser, he never needs to produce the credit card, but the delivery address provides additional identification.  
           [0003]    Vending machines accepting cash are of course well known, as are machines operated by a pre-payment card that records on a magnetic stripe or other storage medium an amount of credit from which the cost of purchases can be deducted.  
           [0004]    However, all of the above systems have the disadvantage, from the purchaser&#39;s point of view that, in order to purchase goods or services for immediate use from a public sale point, he must carry with him a token that either represents value in itself, for example, currency notes, coins, or a prepayment card, or identifies the possessor as entitled to charge expenditure to an account, for example, a credit card or debit card.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    According to one aspect, the present invention provides a method of tokenless vending, and tokenless shopping. The vendor provides a plurality of points of sale accessible to the general public and a central server, the points of sale being in communication with the server. Potential purchasers establish accounts with the vendor, credit limits are established for such accounts, at least one identifying code is associated with each such account, and the vendor stores details of the accounts, including the said at least one identifying code for each account, at the server. To make a purchase at one of the points of sale, the purchaser inputs the at least one identifying code for his account, without having to produce a token bearing such code, and indicates the goods or services that he desires to purchase. The point of sale receives the code input by the purchaser and the indication of the desired good or service, and transmits the said at least one input code to the server. The server determines whether the said at least one code input by the purchaser agrees with the at least one identifying code associated with an active account. The vendor system confirms that the price of the desired goods or services does not exceed the available credit limit on the account. If all is in order, the goods or services are provided to the purchaser at the point of sale, and the server reduces the available credit limit on the account accordingly.  
           [0006]    According to another aspect, the present invention provides apparatus for tokenless vending, comprising a central server arranged to store details of accounts for potential purchasers, including credit limits for such accounts and at least one identifying code associated with each such account, and a plurality of points of sale in places accessible to the general public and capable of communicating with the server. The points of sale are arranged to receive from a potential purchaser at least one input code, without receiving any such code from a token, and an indication of at least one desired good or service, and to transmit the said at least one input code to the server. The server is arranged to determine whether the said at least one input code agrees with the at least one identifying code associated with an active account. The apparatus is further arranged to confirm that the price of the at least one good or service does not exceed the available credit limit on the account in question. The point of sale is arranged to provide the at least one good or service. The server is arranged to reduce the credit limit on the account in question according to the price of the purchase. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a somewhat simplified front view of a vending machine of the present invention;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the vending machine of FIG. 1; and  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a network of the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram depicting server/user interaction;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram depicting system initialization and system/server communications;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram depicting user/system interaction. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0013]    [0013]FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a vending machine  10 , containing stocks of several different sorts of merchandise (not shown). When a purchaser wishes to purchase merchandise, he provides a suitable payment by means of appropriate device  12  on the exterior of the machine  10 , and indicates which sort of merchandise he wishes to purchase, for example by pressing an appropriate vend button  14 . The vending machine verifies the sufficiency and validity of payment and, if that is in order, actuates an appropriate column vend motor  16  or other mechanism, and releases the item of merchandise to a dispensing slot  18  or other outlet from which it can be removed by the purchaser.  
         [0014]    The payment devices  12  preferably include a coin feed mechanism  20  and/or a currency bill acceptor  22 , with the usual mechanisms for verifying the authenticity and denomination of the coins and bills, and an arrangement  24  for dispensing change. The payment devices  12  preferably also include a credit and/or debit card acceptor  26 . If a credit and/or debit card acceptor is present, a keypad  28  may enable the purchaser to enter a PIN number, and a modem  30  and/or digital port  32  (to be described in more detail below) may enable the vending machine to communicate with the card issuer  33  to validate the card and, if appropriate, to verify the amount of credit available on it.  
         [0015]    The front of the vending machine  10  may also include a display device  34 , to guide the purchaser through the purchase process or provide other information that may be useful.  
         [0016]    The operation of the vending machine  10  is controlled by an internal vending machine controller (VMC)  36 , preferably an electronic control board.  
         [0017]    The aspects of the vending machine  10  described so far may be conventional, and in the interests of conciseness are not described in more detail. It will be understood by the person skilled in the art that numerous alternatives exist or may be conceived of, which can be substituted for the specific structures and mechanisms mentioned above. For example, a touch-screen unit may be provided instead of, or in addition to, the separate display device  34 , keypad  28 , and vend buttons  14 . The display device  34  and/or touch-screen unit may be equipped with, or supplemented by, a video display.  
         [0018]    The modem  30  or digital port  32  is connected to a server  40  via any convenient means of telecommunication. As shown in FIG. 3, a group of vending machines  10  that are close together are connected by local dedicated links  42 , which may be, for example, a digital cable or radio link, to a gate  44 . The gate  44  connects the dedicated links  42  to a local area network (LAN)  46 , which is connected to the internet  48 , to which the server  40  is also connected. It is understood that high-level encryption is used for the transmission over the internet. If an internet connection is not available near to the location of the vending machines  10 , then a modem  30  may be arranged to communicate via a conventional telephone (POTS) line, either with the server  40  or with an internet point of access. Alternatively, the vending machine may be equipped both with a radio or LAN connection  42  and with a dial-up POTS connection  30 . If the necessary service connections are available at the location, the vending machine  10  may then be configured to use the LAN or wireless connection  42  as a primary communications path, and to use the POTS line  30  as backup in case the primary communications path fails.  
         [0019]    In accordance with the present invention, the vending machine  10  is equipped for tokenless purchases using the keypad  28 . As shown in FIG. 2, the vending machine  10  is equipped with a controller  50  for tokenless purchase transactions in accordance with the present invention. That controller  50  interfaces with the keypad  28 , the display  34 , and the vending machine controller  36 . Preferably, the controller  50  is so constructed and programmed that the controller  36  can treat it as just another credit or debit card reader. The controller  36  can then be entirely conventional. However, since credit/debit card transactions are commonly initiated by inserting a card into the card reader  26 , it may be necessary to provide a special interface between the keypad  28  and the controller board  50  so that a tokenless purchase transaction can be initiated from the keypad.  
         [0020]    A purchaser desiring to make tokenless purchases first communicates with the operating company, to establish an account. The purchaser is assigned an account number, is assigned or selects a password, and in the preferred embodiment pays a sum of money to establish a credit balance on the account. The account could be set up over the internet, and the initial payment could be made by credit or debit card, in digital cash, or charged to a telecommunications account. The purchaser may also authorize the operating company to replenish the account as necessary by a direct debit from a financial services account or the like held by the purchaser. Once the account has been set up, the account details are stored on the server  40 .  
         [0021]    In one embodiment of the process, as shown in FIG. 4, in step  102  the purchaser uses a computer  60  with a world-wide web browser to contact the operating company&#39;s web site. In step  104 , the purchaser selects a link to establish a new account. In step  106 , the purchaser enters information requested by the operating company, typically including credit card details and optionally a password chosen by the purchaser. In step  108 , the operating company&#39;s computer confirms that the account has been created, issues the account number, and confirms that the password is allowable.  
         [0022]    The purchaser may then use the web site for various purposes associated with the account. As shown in step  110 , the purchaser may locate a nearby vending machine  10 . As shown in step  112 , the purchaser may confirm that his or her account is still active and the password is still valid. As shown in step  116  and  118 , the purchaser may review the state of the account, including the amount of available credit and recent account activity. As shown in step  120 , by following links from the operating company&#39;s web site the purchaser may learn about special offers and promotions available to account holders.  
         [0023]    Referring to FIG. 5, which shows the interactions between the vending machine  10  and the operating company&#39;s server, and to FIG. 6, which shows the interactions between the purchaser and the vending machine  10 , the process of purchasing goods from a vending machine  10  is as follows:  
         [0024]    At the Start  150  of FIG. 5, it is assumed that the vending machine  10  and the server  40  are running, and are able to communicate via the network. The procedures necessary to reach that state may be conventional and, in the interests of conciseness, are not described. At step  152 , the VMC  36  polls the various peripheral devices attached to it, and the tokenless transaction controller  50  responds by sending its device ID to the VMC. At step  154 , the vending machine  10  receives the VMC&#39;s acknowledgment of the device ID, and the maximum and minimum prices of goods available for sale from the machine  10 . At step  156 , the vending machine  10  initializes its communications protocols, and then in step  158  the vending machine waits for a purchaser. While it is waiting, the vending machine may display advertising or attention-attracting material on the display  34 .  
         [0025]    At step  160 , shown in more detail in FIG. 6, when the purchaser wishes to make a purchase, he first enters at step  170  an indication that a tokenless purchase is desired, for example, by pressing a key on the keypad  28 . In response to a prompt at step  172  from the display  34 , the purchaser then enters an account number at step  174  using the keypad  28 . At step  176 , the control board  36  checks that the account number is superficially acceptable, for example, that it has a valid number of digits. If the account number is unacceptable, the machine  10  loops back to step  172 , and prompts for a new account number. If the account number is acceptable, the machine proceeds to step  178 , and prompts the purchaser for a PIN number or password. The purchaser enters a PIN number at step  180  using the keypad  28 . At step  182 , the control board  36  checks that the account number is superficially acceptable, for example, that it has a valid number of digits. If the PIN number is unacceptable, the machine  10  loops back to step  180 , and prompts for a new account number.  
         [0026]    If the PIN number is acceptable, the machine proceeds to step  184 , and prepares a transaction package containing the account number and password for network transmission. The package may also contain the maximum and minimum prices provided by the VMC  36  at step  154 . At step  186 , the machine  10  transmits the transaction to the server, and at step  188  receives the server&#39;s reply. The reply may merely indicate whether or not the account number and password together denote a valid account, or it may contain additional information. Such additional information may include an authorization code for use in the machine&#39;s transaction log, the user&#39;s name, for use in personalizing further prompts, and the amount of available credit. If the amount of available credit is less than the minimum price of an item for sale, the transaction may be denied authorization at this stage.  
         [0027]    As shown in FIG. 5, steps  186  and  188  may be implemented as follows. In step  200 , the vending machine  10  creates a TCP socket for communication with the network. In step  202 , the vending machine  10  sends a connect request to the server  40 &#39;s TCP socket. At step  204 , the vending machine receives a message from the server  40  confirming that a connection has been established. At step  206 , the vending machine sends an assembled data transaction to the server  40 , and at step  208 , the vending machine receives an acknowledgment of the transaction from the server. At step  210 , the vending machine receives a response transaction from the server  40 , and at step  212 , the vending machine sends an acknowledgment of that transaction to the server. At step  214 , if there is further data waiting to be sent, the vending machine loops back to step  206 . If there is no further data waiting to be sent, then at step  216  the vending machine closes its TCP socket, and at step  218  the vending machine returns to step  158 , where the communication process waits until further user input is ready to be communicated to the server  40 .  
         [0028]    At step  252 , the vending machine  10  checks the response received from the server received at step  188 . If the response is unfavorable, the system resets at step  254  to a waiting condition, until a purchaser initiates a new transaction sequence at step  170 . If the server response is favorable, the system proceeds to step  256 , where it starts a timer, and then to step  258 , where it greets the purchaser, optionally using the name obtained from the server  40  at step  188 , and prompts the purchaser to select a product. At step  260 , the system tests whether the purchaser has indicated a desired purchase by pressing one of the vend buttons  14 . If not, then the system proceeds to step  262  and tests whether the timer has expired. If the timer has expired, indicating that the purchaser has not selected a product within a preset time after the account name and password were approved, then the system goes to step  254 , where it resets and awaits a new transaction.  
         [0029]    As well as greeting the purchaser by name, the system may, either automatically or on demand by the purchaser, display information about the status or purchase history of the account from the server. The system may also display advertising or other material that is selected in the light of what is known about the individual purchaser. For example, the material displayed may include special offers relevant to recent or regular purchases, goods complementary to those previously purchased, or alternatives. Whenever transaction data relating to a purchase are sent by the vending machine  10  to the server  40 , the server may send updated display material appropriate to that purchase. The information displayed need not be confined to data stored by the server  40 . The server  40  may store internet addresses and send them to the vending machine  10 , enabling appropriate information from anywhere on the internet to be brought to the display  34 . If the vending machine is equipped with a printer (not shown), such as the receipt printers that are commonly fitted to credit and debit card accepting vending machines, then coupons for free or discounted goods or services could be printed on the spot. Instead, or in addition, any of the above-mentioned additional information could be sent to the purchaser&#39;s home e-mail address.  
         [0030]    If the user selects a product before the timer expires, then the process branches from step  260  to step  264 , where the system stops the timer and records the selection and the price. The system also deducts the price of the product from the user&#39;s credit, and compares the remaining credit balance with the minimum product price obtained at step  154 . If there is sufficient credit for a further purchase, at step  266  the timer is restarted, and at step  268  the system prompts the user either to select a further product or to press a key signifying that the transaction is complete. At step  270 , the system tests whether the purchaser has indicated a desired purchase by pressing one of the vend buttons  14 , or has signified that the transaction is complete. If the purchaser has done neither, then the system proceeds to step  272  and tests whether the timer has expired. If the timer has expired, indicating that the purchaser has not selected a product within a preset time after the last selection was registered, then the system goes to step  254 , where it resets and awaits a new transaction. Instead, the system may go to step  274  below.  
         [0031]    If the user selects a further product before the timer expires, then the process loops back from step  270  to step  264 , where the system stops the timer and records the selection and the price. If the purchaser signifies that the purchase transaction is complete, the system proceeds to step  274 , where the list of purchases and prices are transmitted to the server, and approval for the complete purchase transaction is obtained. The communication process follows steps  160  and  200  to  218  described above.  
         [0032]    If at any time the remaining credit on the purchaser&#39;s account is below the minimum price of a product on sale, so that no further product selection is possible, the system goes to step  270 , but prompts the user only to confirm the purchases already selected, and not to make a further purchase.  
         [0033]    If the amount of credit on the purchaser&#39;s account, obtained at step  188  or calculated at step  264 , is between the minimum and maximum product prices obtained at step  154 , then at step  260  or  270  the system must verify that the specific product selected has a price no greater than the amount of available credit. If the purchaser selects a product costing more than the available credit, then the transaction is rejected. An explanation may be given on the display  34 , and the purchaser may be prompted at step  270  to select a cheaper product.  
         [0034]    Provided that the VMC  36  or the controller  50  has made the necessary calculations and verified that the credit on the account is sufficient to pay for the item or items selected, at step  274  it may not be necessary for the server  40  to approve the transaction. Once any necessary approval has been obtained, the vending machine dispenses the requested products. The system then goes to step  254 , resets, and waits for a new customer.  
         [0035]    As is indicated by the branches to “END” from steps  218 ,  254 ,  262 ,  272 , and  274  in FIGS. 5 and 6, the vending machine may shut down operations at pre-programmed times or in response to pre-programmed conditions but, except in an emergency, should preferably not do so while it is in the process of dealing with a purchaser.  
         [0036]    When the balance in the purchaser&#39;s account falls too low, either the purchaser is invited to deposit more money, or it is automatically replenished by debiting it from the purchaser&#39;s bank or other account.  
         [0037]    Although the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions, and additions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as recited in the attached claims.  
         [0038]    For example, although the invention has been described as applied to a vending machine, it could equally be applied to other points of sale, such as a retail store. Many retail stores already have a card reader with a keypad for accepting payments by debit card, and such a keypad could be applied to the tokenless vending system of the present invention. In such cases, it is preferred for the customer to key the account name and password into the system. That is generally considered to minimize the risk that a third party, such as another customer in the store, could learn and subsequently misuse the account name and password. However, in appropriate cases, the customer could communicate one or both of the account code and password to the cashier or other member of staff, who could then enter the information into the system, for example, using the keypad of a cash register.  
         [0039]    As well as a retail store, the system could also be used in, for example, a fast-food or other drive-through. Instead of paying money, or handing a card, to a cashier, the purchaser would merely need to key his or her account number and password into a keypad placed next to the vehicle path.  
         [0040]    The system according to the invention could also be used at movie theaters and other places of entertainment, or other places supplying a service for immediate use or enjoyment in exchange for payment. From the system&#39;s point of view, the supply of such a service can be treated in exactly the same way as the supply of goods for immediate possession or use by the purchaser.  
         [0041]    The vending machine  10  could be equipped as a world wide web browser, enabling the purchaser not only to purchase goods or services for immediate use or possession, in accordance with the present invention, but also to order goods or services for later delivery, with the cost being charged either to the purchaser&#39;s account or to a conventional debit or credit account.