Abstract:
An electronic system for distributing up to date news information to patrons includes central news facilities receiving current news information. A number of newspaper machines are located remote from the central news facilities and communicate with them via wireless transmission or a network. Patrons insert payment into the remote newspaper machines and the machines are updates from the central news facilities. The patrons may select specific portions of the newspaper to print. After a patron has inserted payment and the newspaper machine has been updated, the specific portion of the newspaper selected by the patron is printed.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY  
       [0001]     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/451,211 filed Feb. 28, 2003, currently pending. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to newspaper production and distribution systems and, more particularly, to a newspaper system that updates and prints newspapers via a machine that is located remotely from a central news facility.  
         [0003]     There are several disadvantages with conventional newspaper production and distribution systems and the information contained in the newspapers provided by such systems. Perhaps the most significant is that a conventional newspaper quickly becomes outdated. In addition, conventional newspapers cannot be tailored to an individual reader&#39;s specific interests. More specifically, a newspaper may feature several sections or articles that a reader cares nothing about. Furthermore, conventional newspapers are cumbersome to read and carry. Conventional newspapers also provide a great deal of waste in that many discarded papers are not recycled. In addition, waste occurs when copies of conventional newspapers are unsold. A need thus exists for a newspaper production and distribution system that overcomes these disadvantages.  
         [0004]     Prior art systems have taken advantage of recent advances in computer and communications technologies in attempts to overcome the disadvantages of conventional newspaper distribution systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,231 to Crandall illustrates a system that transmits news data or electronic publications from a central news facility to multiple remote stations (referred to as “base stations” or “base units”). The base unit of the Crandall &#39;231 patent includes an internal storage that contains the electronic publications downloaded from the central news facility. The base units periodically receive updated versions of the electronic publications. A portable “electronic newspaper” is removably positioned within a base unit. The electronic newspaper includes a screen through which a user may view a list of available electronic publications. When a user selects an electronic publication, the electronic publication is transferred from the base unit to the memory of the electronic newspaper. The base unit also includes an infrared port that may communicate with a wireless printer so that the selected publications may be printed.  
         [0005]     Commercial versions of the base unit of the Crandall &#39;231 patent may be placed with commercial vendors such as supermarkets, convenience stores, sundry shops, airport shops, bookstores and any other retail establishment that would sell publications on a single issue basis. With such an arrangement, a customer enters a store and places their electronic newspaper unit on the store&#39;s base unit and enters a PIN number. The customer selects from the list of publications that are displayed upon the screen of the electronic newspaper and then selects a debit or credit card to consummate the transaction. The purchased publications are downloaded into the electronic newspaper unit. The customer then removes the electronic newspaper unit from the base unit so that the downloaded publications may be read when and where the customer pleases.  
         [0006]     A disadvantage of the system of the Crandall &#39;231 patent, however, is that the updates are performed periodically at set time intervals. More specifically, the publications are downloaded as they are released by their publishers. As a result, there will always be some time lag between the time that the base unit receives an update and the time that a user downloads or prints the publication.  
         [0007]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,262 to Nozue et al. discloses a vending machine for electronic news information. The machine is installed at a location where people meet such as at a station or on a street. News is transmitted from a central news source to the vending machines through a satellite link or terrestrial line. When the patron purchases the electronic news information by inserting cash or other form of payment into the machine., the information is recorded from the machine onto a recording medium such as a computer disk or removable IC chip. The information recorded on the recording medium may be read by a personal computer or the like.  
         [0008]     The news information stored on the machine of the Nozue et al. &#39;262 patent is automatically updated so, for example, the evening edition of a newspaper is transmitted to the machine in the evenings and the morning edition of the newspaper is transmitted to the machine in the morning. While the system of the Nozue et al. &#39;262 patent does provide updates from a central facility to remote machines, the updates are, once again, performed at set time intervals instead of being dictated by consumer purchases.  
         [0009]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,103 to Smith et al. illustrates a system for electronically transmitting news information from a central source via radio frequencies to subscriber reception stations. The received news information may be displayed upon a computer screen or printed out by the subscriber. The updates are, similar to the above prior art systems, provided at the discretion of the central source and not the subscriber.  
         [0010]     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a newspaper system that provides printed publications that are updated when a patron makes a purchase request.  
         [0011]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a newspaper system that permits a patron to select an updated newspaper for purchase from a number of available newspapers.  
         [0012]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a newspaper system that permits a patron to select specific updated sections or articles (e.g. sports, weather, local or world news, etc.) from newspapers for purchase.  
         [0013]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a newspaper system that permits a patron to select updated headline articles from specified geographic regions of the world for purchase.  
         [0014]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a newspaper system that is efficient and economical to operate.  
         [0015]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a newspaper system that reduces waste in terms of discarded and unsold newspapers.  
         [0016]     The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, provide a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of the invention.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     An electronic system for distributing up to date news information to patrons includes a central news facility receiving current news information. A newspaper machine located remote from the central news facility and in communication with the central news facility accepts payment from and provides news information to the patrons. The central news facility transmits the current news information to the newspaper machine when the patrons request news information from the remote newspaper machine by inserting payment.  
         [0018]     The newspaper machine prints out the updated news information transmitted from said central news facility. The newspaper machine permits patrons to select portions of the updated news information to print out. Patrons may also select the size of newsprint and language within which to print out the news information. The newspaper machine also includes means for accepting newspaper pages and means for providing a recycle credit to a patron for every newspaper page fed into the newspaper machine by the patron.  
         [0019]     For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of the invention, reference may now be had to the following detailed description of embodiments taken in conjunction with the appended claims and accompanying drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustrating the main components of an embodiment of the newspaper system of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a remote machine suitable for use with the newspaper system of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIGS. 3A-3C  are flow diagrams illustrating the screens that are displayed on the remote machine of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]     It is to be understood that while the present invention is described below in terms of printing out publications such as newspapers, articles and the like, the invention could be adapted to download the news information to a portable computing device such as a palm-sized computer or personal organizer.  
         [0024]     The invention is a system for providing printed “up to the minute” newspapers to the public. The system is also efficient in that it there is reduced paper waste and the newspaper, since it only contains information that the purchaser has requested, is more convenient to carry. With reference to the  FIG. 1 , the news provider receives updates for specific geographic location or paper through its reporters, new wires, etc. at its central facility  10 . The updates are entered into a central facility computer  11 . Any type of data storage and transmission device could be substituted for the computer  11  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0025]     The central facility computer  11  communicates with remote newspaper machines  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  20  through the Internet or a dedicated network  12 . The communications between computer  11  and machines  14  through  20  may take place through the Internet or dedicated network  12  via wire connections, such as through a telephone jack, or wireless transmissions. In the case of the latter, a transmitter is in communication with the central facility computer  11  while each machine  14  through  20  includes a compatible receiver, such as illustrated at  15 . Each machine also contains computer memory, as illustrated at  17 , that is in communication with the receiver. The computer memory  17  contains the publications and updates received from the central facility through the network  12 . As a result, each machine  14  through  20  has access to the latest news developments.  
         [0026]     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , each machine  14  through  20  is sized approximately the size of a current corner newspaper sales box or an automated teller machine (ATM) and is positioned in a public place. Such public places could include, for example, coffee shops, grocery stores, office buildings, near mass transit such as airports or train stations, restaurants, waiting rooms, etc.). Using machine  14  as an example, each machine includes a display  19 , a high speed printer  21 , an input device, such as a keypad  22 , and a means to accept payment from a customer  23 , such as mechanisms to accept currency or credit cards. As will be explained below, when a customer provides payment to a machine and makes his or her selection, the machine prints out an updated newspaper, article or the like. More specifically, the newspaper, article or the like is instantly updated and printed when a customer orders his paper by inserting their payment into the machine.  
         [0027]     As an alternative to entering currency or a credit or debit card, the customer may have an account set up with the news provider whereby the customer merely needs to enter an account number or other user identification code so that the purchase is billed to his or her account. As yet another alternative, the customer could purchase a “rechargeable” card that is inserted into the machine when the customer wishes to make a purchase. The card would feature a magnetic strip, as is known in the art, upon which an available balance is recorded. The balance would be reduced by an appropriate amount when the customer makes a purchase. The balance available on the card would be increased, that is, the card would be recharged, by inserting the card into a recharging station and inserting money into the station.  
         [0028]     The machine  14  of  FIG. 2  could optionally include a recycle slot, indicated at  24 . Such a slot would receive newspaper pages that a patron would otherwise discard (after reading, for example) for recycle credit. That is, after entering his or her account information or inserting his or her card into the machine  14 , the account or card would receive a “recycle credit” for each page entered through slot  24 . Alternatively, the machine could indicate that a certain monetary amount has been entered into the machine for every page that is directed through slot  24 . Pages fed through slot  24  would be collected in a bin inside the machine, or in some other fashion, which would periodically be emptied by the machine owners. As a result, the system of the present invention would encourage recycling and thus reduce waste even further.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 3A through 3C  illustrate sample screens that may be displayed upon the screen  19  of machine  14  of  FIG. 2  to guide a customer through selecting, purchasing and printing newspapers, articles and the like. It should be noted that the screens and flow diagrams are presented as examples only and in no way should they be construed to limit the scope of the present invention. With reference to  FIG. 3A , when a customer approaches the machine, screen  30  is displayed. If a credit or debit card or account number payment system is used, the screen  30  could be displayed when the customer input his or her card, account number or user id.  
         [0030]     Prior to display of screen  30 , the system optionally prompts the customer as to what language the screens should feature. In addition or alternatively, the system optionally provides the customer with a print size option. For example, the system could offer the customer three print size choices: standard, enlarged or extra enlarged print size. This would be a beneficial features for senior customers or customers with special vision requirements.  
         [0031]     As illustrated at  30 , the customer initially has three choices: Find Specific Newspaper, Get Headlines or Search Available Newspaper. As with the remaining screens described below, the user may make his or her selection in a number of alternative fashions. For example, the screen may be touch-sensitive so that the user may press the text  32  or the boxes  34  to make the selection. Alternatively, the keypad  22  of  FIG. 2  may feature up and down arrows and enter or select keys so that the customer may toggle between the selections and highlight the appropriate text  32  or check the appropriate box  34 . As an alternative to the keypad  22  of  FIG. 2 , a touch-sensitive keypad could be displayed on the screen  19  of the remote machine  14  ( FIG. 2 ).  
         [0032]     If the customer selects Find Specific Newspaper from screen  30 , screen  40  is displayed. The customer enters the name of the newspaper in screen  40  using the keypad  22  ( FIG. 2 ), and, if the newspaper is available, screen  42  is displayed. If the newspaper is not available, a suitable message is displayed instead and the customer is returned to screen  40 . The message displayed may optionally provide access to an electronic request form that the customer may send electronically (such as via e-mail) to the requested newspaper suggesting that it be added to the system. Alternatively, the system could automatically send an e-mail message to the requested paper advising that their paper has been requested but is not available on the system. As a result, newspaper publishers would contact the owner of the system and request that their paper be added.  
         [0033]     As an alternative to typing the name of the newspaper into screen  40 , in an alternative embodiment of the system, the customer could select from a list of newspapers that are presented on screen  40 . In such an embodiment, screen  40  could offer access to an electronic request form of the type described in the above paragraph in the event that the customer does not see the desired newspaper listed.  
         [0034]     If the customer presses the screen or appropriate key when screen  42  is displayed, the selected newspaper is instantly updated in the memory of the machine ( 17  in  FIG. 1 ) via a transmission from the central facility if a credit or debit card or account number was entered previously. The customer&#39;s account will also be charged. If the customer has not entered such information previously, he or she will be prompted to enter payment upon pressing or otherwise electing to proceed when screen  42  is displayed. Only upon entry of payment will the selected newspaper be instantly updated in the memory of the remote machine. Once the machine has received payment, in one form or another, and the newspaper has been immediately updated in the remote machine memory, the newspaper will print, as indicated at  44 .  
         [0035]     For the sake of brevity, the remaining portion of the discussion will assume that a credit or debit card or other account information has been entered by the customer prior to, or immediately after, the display of screen  30 . It is to be understood, however, that if this were not the case, payment would have to be entered into the machine prior to the machine being remotely updated and the newspaper, article or the like printing out.  
         [0036]     If the customer instead selects Get Headlines when screen  30  is displayed, screen  46  will be displayed. The Geographic Area requested by screen  46  could take on a number of forms. For example, it could be a country, continent, state, region (i.e. Northwest or South of France) or other geographic division. Assuming that Washington D.C. was entered into screen  46 , screen  48  would be displayed. If screen  48  were selected by touch screen or keypad, the headlines for Washington D.C. would be instantly updated in the machine memory via transmission from the central facility ( 10  in  FIG. 1 ), the customer&#39;s account would be charged and a number of headline articles for the selected geographic area (Washington D.C. in this case) would be printed out as indicated at  50 .  
         [0037]     If the customer, upon encountering screen  30 , selects Search Available Newspapers, screen  52  of  FIG. 3B  is displayed. If the customer selects Specific Newspaper from screen  52 , screen  54  is displayed. From screen  54 , the customer may select a specific Newspaper Name or, alternatively, he or she may choose between International or U.S. newspapers. If the customer chooses Newspaper Name, screen  40  of  FIG. 3A  is displayed. Upon entry of the name of the newspaper, processing continues as described above with regard to screens  42  and  44  of  FIG. 3A .  
         [0038]     If the customer chooses International newspapers from screen  54 , screen  56  is displayed. Screen  56  allows the customer to choose between selecting a Country or City. If the latter is chosen, screen  58  is displayed, which prompts the customer for the name of the foreign city. Upon entering the name of the city, the name of the city newspaper is displayed as indicated at  62 . If the city features more than one newspaper, than a list of the city newspapers is displayed and the customer proceeds by selecting a newspaper from the list. Once the specific city newspaper is selected, it is immediately updated and then printed as indicated at  64 .  
         [0039]     If the customer chooses Country from screen  56 , screen  66  is displayed. This screen permits the customer to select a continent. If Europe is selected, a list of European countries is displayed as indicated at  68   a . The customer then selects a country from the list, France for example, and a list of French newspapers is displayed as indicated at  72   a . Upon selecting a newspaper from the list, the customer is prompted to purchase the newspaper at  74   a . If the customer elects to purchase the newspaper by an affirmative response to screen  74   a , the newspaper, Le Triumph for example, is updated (via transmission from the central facility to the remote machine and its memory) and then printed out as indicated at  76   a . Similar actions take place as indicated at  68   b  through  76   b  and  68   c  through  76   c  if alternative continents are selected from screen  66 . It should be noted that additional continents, such as Central America and South America, could be added to the listing of display  66 .  
         [0040]     Returning to screen  54 , if the U.S. newspapers option is selected instead of the Newspaper Name and the International newspapers option, screen  82  is displayed. Screen  82  permits the customer to select between choosing a newspaper by Region or City. If Regional is selected, a listing of regions is provided as illustrated at  84 . While West, Central and East are shown at  84 , it should be noted that alternative regional groupings could be used, for example, North, South, Midwest, etc.  
         [0041]     As illustrated at  86 , the major cities for a region, West for example, are listed when the region is selected by the customer from screen  84 . When a city, Los Angeles for example, is selected from the list of screen  86 , the customer is given the option to purchase the newspaper via screen  88 . If the city has more than one newspaper, a list of newspapers is displayed to the customer instead and, upon selection of one of the newspapers, screen  88  is displayed. Upon electing to purchase the newspaper by an affirmative response to screen  88 , the newspaper is updated in the remote machine&#39;s memory via transmissions from the central facility and is printed out as indicated at  92 . Of course, screens similar to screens  86 ,  88  and  92  are displayed if an alternative region is selected from screen  84 .  
         [0042]     If By City is selected from screen  82 , screen  94  is displayed. Upon entry of the city name in response to screen  94 , either screen  88  is displayed (listing the appropriate newspaper) or a list of available newspapers for the city is displayed. In the latter case, screen  88  is displayed when a newspaper is selected from the list. The paper is updated and printed, as indicated at  92 , upon entry of an affirmative response to screen  88  by the customer.  
         [0043]      FIG. 3C  illustrates the screens that are displayed when Headlines are selected from screen  52  of  FIG. 3B . More specifically, when Headlines are selected from screen  52  of  FIG. 3B , screen  102  of  FIG. 3C  is displayed. If the customer selects International Headlines from screen  102 , screen  104  is displayed. At this point, the customer may choose to receive headline articles from a region or a city. If the latter is selected, screen  106  is displayed. Upon entering the foreign city name, a listing of newspapers is presented, as indicated at  108 . The customer may then elect between receiving headline news articles from one, some or all of the city newspapers listed on screen  108 . The elections may be made by electronically checking boxes, highlighting the newspaper name(s) or other user interface methods well-known in the art. Once the newspaper selections are made in screen  108 , screen  110  is displayed at which time the customer may elect to purchase the headline articles from the selected papers. If the customer proceeds by responding affirmatively, the headline articles are updated and printed, the latter of which is indicated at  112 .  
         [0044]     If Region is selected from screen  104 , screen  114  is displayed. Screen  114  allows the customer to choose between continents from which to receive headline news articles. It should be noted that additional continents, such as South America, etc. may also be listed on screen  114 . When one of the continents is selected, either screen  116   a ,  116   b  or  116   c  is displayed.  
         [0045]     Assuming that Europe is selected from screen  114 , screen  116   a  is displayed. When screen  116   a  is displayed, the user has the option of printing out the current headline news articles for that continent. It is obviously impractical and redundant to update and print headline news articles for all of the major papers of a continent. As such, the news provider may create or otherwise provide a continent-specific headline newspaper that contains a collection of major headline news articles for a continent. The continent-specific headline newspaper would then be updated and printed ( 118   a ) if the customer so elects when screen  116   a  is displayed.  
         [0046]     If the customer elects to narrow the Geographic Area down from an entire continent, he or she may so choose from screen  116   a . When this occurs, screen  120   a  is displayed. Screen  120   a  allows the customer to choose between receiving current headline news articles from cities for the continent of screen  116   a  or for entire countries of the continent of screen  116   a . If the customer chooses By City from screen  120   a , screen  122   a  is displayed. Screen  122   a  lists the major cities for the continent. The customer may select one, some or all of the cities listed on screen  122   a  It would be impractical and redundant to update and print out headline news articles for all of the papers for each city selected from screen  122   a . As such, the news provider creates or otherwise provides a city-specific headline newspaper for each of the cities listed on screen  122   a  that contains a collection of headline news articles for the city. The appropriate city-specific headline newspapers are immediately updated and printed (I  18   a ) when the customer so elects by providing an affirmative response to screen  124   a . Of course, if a selected city only has one major newspaper, headline news articles may be printed from that major paper instead of the news provider creating a special city-specific headline newspaper.  
         [0047]     If By Country is selected from screen  120   a , screen  126   a  is displayed. From screen  126   a , the customer may select one or more of the countries of the continent selected from screen  114 . Upon entering the country selections from screen  126   a , screen  128   a  is displayed. By responding affirmatively to screen  128   a , the customer elects to update and print ( 132   a ) the headline news articles for the countries selected in screen  126   a . As with the printouts received from screens  16   a  and  124   a , it is impractical and redundant to update and print headline news articles for all of the major papers of a country. As such, the news provider may create or otherwise provide a country-specific headline newspaper that contains a collection of major headline news articles for a country. The appropriate country-specific headline newspapers are updated and printed when an affirmative response is provided to screen  128   a.    
         [0048]     Screens  116   b  and  116   c  work in the same fashion as screen  116   a . In addition, screens corresponding to screens  118   a  through  132   a  would be provided as screens that could be accessed from screens  116   b  and  116   c . Such screens, if illustrated in  FIG. 3C , would be numbered  118   b  through  132   b  and  118   c  through  132   c , respectively.  
         [0049]     Returning to screen  102  of  FIG. 3C , a customer may elect to receive headline news articles for the U.S. instead of International. By electing U.S. Headlines from screen  102 , screen  140  is displayed. From screen  140 , the customer may choose between receiving U.S. news headlines for a region or city. If the latter is chosen, screen  142  is displayed.  
         [0050]     Upon entering the city name in screen  142 , for example Chicago, a listing of newspapers is presented via screen  144 . The customer may then elect between receiving headline news articles from one, some or all of the city newspapers listed on screen  144 . Once the newspaper selections are made in screen  144 , screen  146  is displayed at which time the user may elect to purchase the headline articles from the selected papers. If the customer proceeds by responding affirmatively, the headline articles are updated and printed, the latter of which is indicated at  148 .  
         [0051]     If Region is selected from screen  140 , screen  152  is displayed. Screen  152  allows the customer to choose between U.S. regions from which to receive current headline news articles. It should be noted that alternative or additional regions, such as the Midwest, etc. may be listed on screen  152 . When one of the regions is selected, either screen  154   a ,  154   b  or  154   c  is displayed.  
         [0052]     Assuming that East is selected from screen  152 , screen  154   a  is displayed. When screen  154   a  is displayed, the user has the option of printing out the headline news articles for that region. It is obviously impractical and redundant to update and print headline news articles for all of the major papers of a region. As such, the news provider may create or otherwise provide a region-specific headline newspaper that contains a collection of major headline news articles for a region. The region-specific headline newspaper would then be updated and printed ( 156   a ) if the customer so elects when screen  154   a  is displayed.  
         [0053]     If the customer elects to narrow the Geographic Area down from an entire region, he or she may so choose from screen  154   a . When this occurs, screen  158   a  is displayed. Screen  158   a  allows the customer to choose between receiving headline news articles from cities for the region of screen  154   a  or for entire states of the region of screen  154   a . If the customer chooses By City from screen  158   a , screen  160   a  is displayed. Screen  160   a  lists the major cities for the region. The customer may select one, some or all of the cities listed on screen  160   a . It would be impractical and redundant to update and print out headline news articles for all of the papers for each city selected from screen  160   a . As such, the news provider creates or otherwise provides a city-specific headline newspaper for each of the cities listed on screen  160   a  that contains a collection of headline news articles for the city. The appropriate city-specific headline newspapers are updated and printed ( 156   a ) when the customer so elects by providing an affirmative response to screen  162   a . Of course, if a selected city only has one major newspaper, headline articles may be printed from that major paper instead of the news provider creating a special city-specific headline newspaper.  
         [0054]     If By State is selected from screen  158   a , screen  164   a  is displayed. From screen  164   a , the customer may select one or more of the states of the East region. Upon making and entering the state selections from screen  164   a , screen  166   a  is displayed. By responding affirmatively to screen  166   a , the customer elects to update and print ( 168   a ) the headline news articles for the states selected in screen  164   a . As with the printouts received from screens  154   a  and  162   a , it is impractical and redundant to update and print headline news articles for all of the major papers of a state. As such, the news provider may create or otherwise provide a state-specific headline newspaper that contains a collection of major headline news articles for a state. The appropriate state-specific headline newspapers are updated and printed when an affirmative response is provided to screen  166   a.    
         [0055]     Screens  154   b  and  154   c  work in the same fashion as screen  154   a . In addition, screens corresponding to screens  156   a  through  168   a  would be provided as screens that could be accessed from screens  154   b  and  154   c . Such screens, if illustrated in  FIG. 3C , would be numbered  156   b  through  168   b  and  156   c  through  168   c , respectively.  
         [0056]     While  FIGS. 3A-3C  illustrate only newspapers or headline articles, it should be noted that systems that permit updated sections or other types of articles for printing at the remote machines are within the scope of the present invention. Such capability could be added, for example, by adding screens listing the sections or articles of a newspaper after the name of the newspaper is entered in screen  40  of  FIGS. 3A and 3B .  
         [0057]     The only regular maintenance that is required for the remote newspaper machines  14  through  20  of  FIG. 1  is refilling the paper and toner, a task that may be completed by the same people that refill the current machines with newspapers. The news provider that owns the machines may monitor each machine via the communications link  12  so that when a machine needs service, they will know instantly.  
         [0058]     The system of the present invention also offers an additional source of revenue through the sale advertising. For example, advertising could be printed on the back sides of pages produced byt the machine  14  of  FIG. 2 . Such advertising could include, for example, coupons that the patron could take to the store being advertised. In addition, advertising space on the machine itself, in the form of signs or banners, for example, could be sold. The machines themselves could also offer a revenue stream by being leased to the location where they are placed. For example, a coffee shop could lease a machine from the system owner. Alternatively, the machines could be sold by the system owner.  
         [0059]     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.