Patent ID: 8482413

Claim:
A consumer-operated kiosk, the kiosk comprising: an enclosure; an access structure coupled to the enclosure, wherein the access structure is movable between a first position preventing access to an interior portion of the enclosure and a second position permitting access to the interior portion of the enclosure; an identifier mounted to one of the enclosure or the access structure; a reader mounted to the other of the enclosure or the access structure, wherein the reader receives information from the identifier when the access structure is in the first position, and wherein the reader ceases to receive the information from the identifier when the access structure is in the second position; a first computer operably connected to the reader; and a clock operably connected to the first computer, wherein the reader is configured to transmit a first signal to the first computer when the access structure moves away from the first position toward the second position, wherein the reader is further configured to transmit a second signal to the first computer when the access structure moves back to the first position from the second position, wherein the first computer starts the clock and records a clock start time in response to receiving the first signal, wherein the first computer stops the clock in response to receiving the second signal, and wherein the first computer sends at least one of the clock start time and a clock stop time to a second computer located remotely from the kiosk.