Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to improved methods and apparatus for vending or rental of media discs or the like, and more particularly to advantageous aspects of compact, reduced cost kiosks therefore. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Media disc vending or rental kiosks (henceforth collectively “rental kiosks”), such as the Coinstar Redbox™ machines and the Blockbuster Express™ video kiosk made by NCR Corporation, the assignee of the present application, have become ubiquitous with the www.redbox.com web site claiming at least 23,000 locations and a billion rentals as of September 2010. Such kiosks typically offer hundreds of titles which are available to browse through a liquid crystal display (LCD) touch screen. Such browsing can take several minutes resulting in the formation of a line of customers. As a result, the business of customers unwilling to wait may be lost. Furthermore, customers who already know what title they are going to rent or are simply trying to return a disc may have a lengthy wait during a busy period. Similarly, if the returning customer has waited to the very end of the rental period, that customer may end up returning the rental late thereby incurring a late charge if he or she has to wait longer than expected. Such experiences may create an undesirable rental experience. 
     Other aspects of such big box kiosks are that they are relatively complex to manufacture, assemble and maintain, heavy to ship, and have a substantial footprint requiring a relatively large floor space which can be significant in a retail environment, or any environment in which floor space is at a premium. For example, in markets in many Asian cities, smaller vending machines are highly preferable. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Among its several aspects, the present invention recognizes that a supplemental or alternative approach may be highly advantageous as addressed further below. According to one aspect of the present invention, a push button activated kiosk dispenses discs utilizing gravity to move a selected disc through a plastic guide member from inventory to a dispense port. A kiosk in accordance with aspects of the present invention may advantageously have a significantly lower production cost than the typical big box solutions addressed above, be simpler and faster to use, require reduced intelligence and processing, utilize no robotics or other complex delivery mechanisms requiring regular service and maintenance, eliminate an expensive touch panel display, employ a low cost and basic central processing unit, may be wall or counter mountable thereby requiring no floor space, and have a compact design which is simple to maintain. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, a low cost compact kiosk for storing a plurality of media discs and delivering a particular media disc selected by a customer to the customer is provided. The kiosk has a reduced height and employs a compact array of electric motors, each electric motor turning a shaft to advance a media disc to a drop point. The kiosk employs a disc drop guide for guiding the media disc under the influence of gravity from the drop point to a disc outlet for retrieval by the customer. 
     According to other aspects, the kiosk may deliver media discs which have a thickness of approximately 1.2 mm and a diameter of 12 cm, and the kiosk is housed in a housing having an approximate size of 76 cm (30 inches)×58 cm (23 inches)×15 cm (6 inches). The disc drop guide may be suitably made of molded plastic and have a lower funnel portion with a bottom outlet. The disc drop guide may be readily replaced by an untrained worker as opposed to the trained service person who typically works on robotic delivery mechanisms. 
     The kiosk may also comprise a pair of rollers aligned with the bottom outlet of the disc drop guide which trap the disc, control movement of the disc to the disc outlet and hold the disc properly positioned at the disc outlet for retrieval by the customer. A sensor positioned to detect passage of the disc while guided by the disc drop guide may also be suitably employed. An RFID reader may also be located to detect passage of the disc, and the read data employed to maintain an inventory of checked out RFID tagged discs. 
     In one embodiment, the kiosk may further comprise a card reader and a receipt printer. A two line LCD display for displaying simple customer instructions may be advantageously employed to reduce cost. The compact array of electric motors may suitably comprise N electric motors where N is at least twelve, and each of the N electric motors may have a corresponding selection switch. 
     Further, the kiosk may be advantageously piggybacked with an existing big box kiosk operated in conjunction with a self-service checkout terminal, or a network. 
     A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as further features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent from the following Detailed Description and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a wall mounted media disc rental kiosk in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a second perspective view of the media disc rental kiosk of  FIG. 1  with a hinged front panel open; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  show cutaway side views and a transparent cutaway rear view to illustrate internal details of the media disc rental kiosk of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate further aspects of a motor driven threaded disc dropping arrangement according to an aspect of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate further aspects of the disc dropping arrangement of  FIGS. 4A and 4B ; 
         FIG. 6  shows a control circuit for controlling the media disc rental kiosk of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  shows a process of media disc rental kiosk operation in a standalone mode of operation in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  shows the media disc rental kiosk of  FIG. 1  mounted on the side of a big box kiosk; and; 
         FIG. 9  shows a process of media disc rental kiosk operation in a piggyback mode of operation in accordance with the present invention in which the media disc rental kiosk of  FIG. 1  supplements the operation of a big box kiosk. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a media disc rental kiosk  100  in accordance with the present invention. In  FIG. 1 , kiosk  100  is mounted on a wall  300 . Kiosk  100  includes plural media title push buttons  110 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , twelve push buttons or selection switches  110  are shown although it will be recognized a larger or smaller number may be employed for purposes of making a selection of a desired title by a customer. Where the kiosk  100  rents movies on DVDs, each switch may be embodied as a large clear plastic actuator having a product literature insert holder for holding an advertisement for the movie corresponding to the switch. Example dimensions for the kiosk  100  are 30 approximately inches high, 23 inches wide and 6 inches deep for a unit capable of dispensing twelve different titles of DVDs which have a thickness of approximately 1.2 mm as described further herein. With a six inch depth, the kiosk  100  can hold 33 copies of each of twelve titles for a total of 396 discs. With dimensions such as those described herein, kiosk  100  can be mounted low enough on the wall  300  that it is readily accessible to customers in wheel chairs and the like. It is noted that a standard DVD disc weighs about 0.58 oz. so that 400 discs weigh about 15 pounds. With the proper selection of housing material and thickness, as well as other components, a light and highly portable kiosk results. 
     Kiosk  100  further comprises a sheet metal case  120 , a hinged front panel  130 , a disc return slot  140 , an LCD display  150 , a disc output, a receipt dispensing slot  170  for dispensing a customer receipt, and a credit card reader slot  180  for inserting a credit or other payment card to pay for a rental or purchase. An optional slot for dispensing an envelope for holding the disc may also be included if desired. An optional membrane keypad (not shown) for entering a zip code or other input may also be provided. 
       FIG. 2  shows kiosk  100  with the hinged front panel  130  open to illustrate further internal details of the kiosk  100 . As seen in  FIG. 2 , a plastic disc drop guide mechanism  132  is supported by the interior surface of hinged front panel  130  above disc output  160 . For ease of maintenance and repair, a simple snap on and snap off mounting arrangement may be employed for guide mechanism  132 . As described in further detail below, drop guide mechanism  132  guides the disc selected from the discs  190  on threaded shafts  200  and dropped therefrom in response to selection utilizing a respective one of the pushbuttons  110  by a customer. At the bottom of drop guide mechanism  132 , a funnel aligns and feeds the disc into a set of mechanized rollers  134 . Rollers  134  slow and trap the dropped disc so it is presented to the customer at the disc output  160  in a similar manner to the rollers in a car CD player. Alternatively, rollers  134  can drop the disc slowly into a drop bin for collection by the customer. 
     A disc return bin  143  holds returned discs upon return through disc return slot  140 . Before returning a disc, the customer again inserts his or her card. As a disc is returned, a reader, such as an RFID tag reader, bar code reader or the like, reads an indicia on the disc such as an RFID tag or bar code. The read is compared with stored information for the rental to insure the correct disc is being returned on time, that the customer is charged accordingly, and the like. From the disc return bin  143 , discs can be manually restocked by a service person. 
     At the end of a transaction, a receipt printer  175  prints a receipt which is delivered to the customer through the receipt slot  170 . If desired, at the time of rental, a summary of the item or items selected, the daily rental fee, a return deadline, terms and conditions, or the like may be printed and delivered to the customer. 
     A credit card reader  185  receives a customer&#39;s credit card through slot  180  and reads it for payment. 
     Turning to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , further details of the disc drop guide mechanism  132  and electric motors  220  to controllably drive threaded shafts  200  are shown. In the cutaway side view of  FIG. 3A , a large number of discs  190  are shown on threaded shafts  200 . The shafts  200  are rotatably driven by electric motors  220 . When a disc reaches the end of one of the threaded shafts  200 , it is guided downwards by the plastic disc drop guide mechanism  132  until it reaches rollers  134  which slowly feed and then hold the disc stopped at the disc output  160  for retrieval by the customer. 
     The transparent cutaway rear view of  FIG. 3B  shows a suitable mounting arrangement for twelve electric motors  220 . As seen in  FIG. 3B , motors  220  are mounted on a mounting and wiring board  225 . As seen in  FIG. 3A , drive shafts  222  for the motors  220  extend through the mounting board  225  and connect with the disc holding threaded shafts  200 . 
       FIGS. 4A ,  4 B,  5 A and  5 B illustrate further details of how an individual media disc  190  moves to the end of a threaded shaft  200  and then drops off the end as end member  204  rotates to a downward disc release position as seen in  FIG. 4B . A disc drop sensor, such as an optical detector comprising a transmitter  206 , such as an LED, and receiver  208 , such as a photodetector, may suitably be employed to detect the drop of the disc  190  as the disc  190  blocks transmission of light from the transmitter  206  to the receiver  208 . One suitable location for transmitter  206  and receiver  208  is on the front and back walls of back portion  212  of plastic disc drop guide  132  as shown in  FIG. 2 . Alternatively, a simple spring switch can be placed at position  212  between the front and back walls. As the disc falls, it will close the switch. As a further alternative, transmitter  206  and receiver  208  may be located on the same side of the plastic disc drop guide  132  and angled to reflect from surface of the disc as it passes by. It will be recognized these sensing arrangements are exemplary and others may be employed as desired. As one example, an RFID sensor may be employed for purposes of sensing both disc drop, and in conjunction with the return sensor generating information from which a processor can maintain an accurate inventory of discs in the kiosk  100 . 
     The pitch of individual threads  201  and  203  of threaded shaft  200  are spaced apart more than the thickness of a media disc  190  to be rented by the kiosk  100 , but less than the thickness of two such discs. For example, for a standard DVD, the spacing might be 1.4 mm. It will be recognized that by making the threaded shafts readily attachable and detachable from the shafts  222  of motor  220 , the kiosk can be adapted for different formats and types of media discs having different thicknesses by simply changing out the shafts  222 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a control circuit  600  for controlling the media disc rental kiosk  100 . In  FIG. 6 , a suitably programmed processor  610  reviews program instructions and data from, and stores data to a memory  620  including RAM and ROM. Processor  600  receives an input signal indicative of a customer selection as a result of closure of one of the selection switches  110  by a customer to select a movie. The processor  600  also drives the LCD display  150  to provide customer instructions such as “INSERT CARD SELECT MOVIE”. In a presently preferred embodiment, display  150  is a low cost two line display for providing simple instructions. 
     When a customer inserts a credit, debit, movie rental card, or the like into slot  180 , card reader  185  reads this card and provides appropriate output to the processor  610 . Upon validating the acceptability of the customer&#39;s card for payment and its acceptance, processor  610  controls a column driver  630  and a row driver  640  to selectively drive the particular one of the motors  220   1 - 220   12  (collectively  220 ) corresponding to the customer&#39;s selector. The selectively driven motor, for example, motor  220   1  rotates its threaded shaft until a disc  190  is dropped off the end. 
     The plastic disc drop guide  132  guides the disc downwards under the influence of gravity. In one embodiment, the guided drop is no more than 24 inches for a DVD having a diameter of 12 cm. Disc drop sensor  650  senses the disc has been dropped and provides an output to processor  610  which turns off the motor  220   1  so that only one disc drops. Alternatively, motor  220   1  may be driven for a predetermined time and stopped. If no disc is sensed by disc drop sensor  650  within a predetermined time, the processor  610  tries to drive motor  220   1  again. If the disc drop is sensed, a record for the customer is stored in the memory and the receipt printer  175  may be driven by the processor  610  to prepare an interim receipt. 
     Optionally, the processor  610  can also communicate through a communication interface  660  with another kiosk or kiosks, a control network, or with another device such as self-checkout terminal, a checkout terminal, or the like, as discussed further below. At the time of return of the disc  190  by the customer, the customer inserts the disc  190  into the return slot  140 . Disc reader  145  reads identifying indicia from the disc  190  provides read data to the process  610 , and the processor  610  closes out the transaction. Receipt printer  175  is driven by processor  610  to printout a final receipt which is delivered to the customer through receipt slot  170 . In the event of a problem, for example, the customer returns a DVD owned by the customer rather than the previously rented DVD  190 , the processor may print information such as “see a customer service person on site”, “call a service person” at a number printed on the receipt, “email a service person” or the like. 
     For a kiosk mounted on the wall of a grocery store, the customer might be instructed to go to the customer service desk where a customer service person could take a key, open hinged front panel  130 , investigate, and resolve any problem. 
       FIG. 7  shows a process  700  of media disc rental kiosk operation in a standalone mode of operation in accordance with the present invention. In step  702 , a portable kiosk, such as kiosk  100  is positioned. As one example, in a grocery store, two portable kiosks  100  are retrieved from being stored in storage while the store is closed by a customer service person or other store employee and positioned for the day. In one example, it&#39;s a nice day and one unit is positioned outdoors on mounting screws which mate with matching cutouts on the back of housing  120 . There is also a buy snacks and rent a movie promotion that day at the store, and the second kiosk is mounted or positioned near the snacks involved in the promotion. Alternatively, the portable kiosk or kiosks at a given location may have a permanent location which seldom or never changes. However, the portability of the unit makes such change of location readily possible. 
     In step  704 , a customer approaches the kiosk  100  and makes a selection of a title of a movie for rental or purchase. While the example is for a movie, the selection could be for a videogame, recorded music or some other material suitably distributed as described herein. In step  705 , the customer pays for the selection by inserting a card in reader  180 , for example. 
     In step  706 , a motor, such as one of the motors  220  is driven to drop the selected title. In step  708 , the selected title is guided by a guide mechanism, such as plastic disc drop  132 , and travels to a disc outlet, such as output  160 , under the influence of gravity. Optionally, as the selected title falls, it is sensed. If in step  709  it is determined the customer wishes to make another selection, process  700  loops back up to step  704 . If not, in step  710 , a customer receipt is printed and delivered to the customer. 
     When the customer is done with the title, it is returned in step  712 . In step  714 , the transaction is closed. As part of this step, a final receipt may be printed for the customer&#39;s records. 
     While  FIGS. 1-7  address standalone operation of kiosk  100 , the present invention further recognizes that the kiosk  100  can be piggybacked with a big box kiosk  800 . Further details of such kiosks are found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,747,346 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2010/0145507. both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. As shown in  FIG. 8 , kiosk  100  is mounted on a sidewall  804  of the big box kiosk  800 . One advantageous aspect of such an arrangement is that in periods of heavy returns, the kiosk  100  can be operated in a “RETURNS ONLY” mode with the display  150  shown making such a display in  FIG. 8 . Thus, instead of waiting in line as a customer reviews movies on kiosk  800 , the customer simply wanting to make a return inserts the disc being returned in return slot  140  and receives a receipt from receipt slot  170 . As kiosk  100  is designed to be simple and low cost, the receipt may have a barcode to be scanned or code to be entered using the Internet from home, or entered using an entry device for kiosk  800  when the line is gone. So long as the disc is returned on time to kiosk  100  on time, the customer can avoid a late fee. Alternatively, the return interface can be communicated to kiosk  800  using interface  660  if the kiosk  800  is properly programmed for such communication and follow on processing. 
     During periods of normal operation, kiosk  100  can supplement the hundreds of titles typically stored in kiosk  800  with a ready supply of the most recent and most popular movies that are most in demand for sale or rent. The above examples are exemplary only, and kiosk  100  can be advantageously ganged with kiosk  800  in a wide variety of ways. 
     While kiosk  100  is shown physically piggybacked with another big box kiosk  800  in  FIG. 8 , it will be recognized that it could be mounted on a counter top, a checkstand, on a pole or in myriad ways consistent with its relatively small size and weight and wireless communicate therewith. Further, it could be used in conjunction with a self-checkout terminal. A dedicated kiosk  100  for use with a self-checkout terminal having a touch screen, card reader and receipt printer could eliminate such components and utilize the self-checkout components instead. For example, the display of the self-checkout terminal could be employed to ask a customer if he or she wants to rent a movie. If yes, the selection could be made using the touch screen of the self-checkout terminal. Payment could be made using the card reader of the self-checkout terminal and the receipt could be printed with the receipt printer of the self-checkout terminal thereby further reducing the complexity of kiosk  100 . 
       FIG. 9  shows a process  900  of media disc rental kiosk operation in a piggyback mode of operation in accordance with the present invention. In step  802 , a portable kiosk, such as kiosk  100  is positioned adjacent a big box kiosk and communicatively connected therewith. In one embodiment, the portable kiosk is mounted on a sidewalk of the big box kiosk as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , for example. In step  903 , if the big box kiosk is determined to be operating in a period of less than high useage, a customer selects a title from the portable kiosk in step  904 , and steps  905 ,  906 ,  909 ,  10 ,  912  and  914  proceed as for the similarly numbered steps in  FIG. 7 . 
     If, however, the useage is heavy in step  903 , in step  915 , the portable kiosk is operated in a return only mode. In step  917 , the return only status is displayed, and the process  900  loops down to step  912  where the customer returns a title. Determination of heavy useage may be based on analysis of prior return data. For example, experience may show that a large number of returns occur as people finish shopping for food for dinner between 5 and 6 PM. The processor of the big box kiosk can be programmed to apply a learning algorithm to learn such patterns. Alternatively or in addition, data from an optical sensor may be utilized to estimate the number of people in front of the big box kiosk. As another exemplary alternative, a store service person can observe a line forming and swipe a control card in the portable kiosk to switch it to the return only mode. 
     While the present invention has been disclosed in the context of various aspects of presently preferred embodiments, it will be recognized that the invention may be suitably applied to other environments and modified as desired consistent with the claims which follow. For example, while the present invention is disclosed in the context of an embodiment having significantly lower production costs than typical big box solutions, the types of discs, number of motors, dimensions and the like may be readily adjusted as needed to deliver different size discs, more or less total discs, and the like. While an internal mounting has been described as presently preferred, the kiosk may be ruggedized and water proofed for outside mounting if desired. The described kiosk can also be mounted on a stand on a flat surface, a pole attached to a checkout stand or the like.

Technology Category: 3