The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 24, 1996
Filed:
May. 10, 1993
Thomas B Banks, Prairie Village, KS (US);
Daniel B Laughlin, Kansas City, MO (US);
Hallmark Cards, Incorporated, Kansas City, MO (US);
Abstract
A vending machine for displaying and dispensing personalized products includes apparatus for sequentially displaying personalized products of a given type in accordance with prior viewing and sales of each personalized product. The machine includes an enclosure with selection means on the outside thereof and with storage and handling means on the inside thereof, all coupled to computer equipment which is on the inside of the enclosure. The computer equipment is programmed to facilitate a customer's creation from among designs of products of a given type by ranking each of the designs and thereafter sequentially displaying the designs in accordance with its ranking.