Patent ID: 7036724

Claim:
A vending machine system for selling a product or service to a customer during a transaction, comprising: a card reader for accepting non-cash means of payment from the customer, a vending mechanism for dispensing the product or service in response to payment received by the card reader; a data storage device for storing the transaction with the customer, the data storage device having a data storage device password; communication means for transferring data regarding the transaction to an external device; a vending machine controller for controlling the card reader, the vending mechanism, access to the data storage device, and the communication means, and the vending machine controller passing an access key password; external access to the data storage device and the controller are limited by correct entry of their respective passwords, and, in the event of a security breach wherein the data storage device is stolen from the vending machine system the data regarding the transaction is substantially inaccessible if the data storage device is disconnected from the controller; and wherein the access key password is set once during initialization.