Microprocessor based vending apparatus

Abstract

Microprocessor-based vending apparatus incorporating a plurality of separately driven individual dispensing assemblies is disclosed. The dispensing assemblies are scanned to determine their state and any malfunctioning assembly disabled to prevent attempted selection by a user without shutting down the entire vending machine. The state of the malfunctioning dispensing apparatus is retained in memory so that the state of each dispensing assembly may be selectively displayed through activation of a display switch causing the microprocessor to sequentially identify and display those dispensing devices which malfunctioned. The microprocessor performs all change-making functions normally performed in vending machines to greatly reduce the complexity and expense of the coin-accepting apparatus. Additionally, data is stored representing the quantity of each coin denomination present and change-making capability is disabled when coin denominations are reduced to a predetermined count. Cash flow data is stored in memory and may be displayed upon request. All functions of the vending apparatus are continuously monitored to assure proper operation and alarm conditions to identify malfunctions are developed. The status of all such functions are stored in memory for subsequent display or data transfer. Data transfer may be to an off-line printer, an off-line memory, optically coupled data transducers or the like. The off-line memory has a transceiver which is automatically energized by the vending machine transceiver to initiate data transfer.