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. 08, 2009
Filed:
Dec. 22, 1998
Jay S. Walker, Ridgefield, CT (US);
Daniel E. Tedesco, New Canaan, CT (US);
John M. Packes, Jr., Hawthorne, NY (US);
Charles A. Rattner, Stamford, CT (US);
Magdalena Mik, Greenwich, CT (US);
Andrew S. Van Luchene, Norwalk, CT (US);
Jay S. Walker, Ridgefield, CT (US);
Daniel E. Tedesco, New Canaan, CT (US);
John M. Packes, Jr., Hawthorne, NY (US);
Charles A. Rattner, Stamford, CT (US);
Magdalena Mik, Greenwich, CT (US);
Andrew S. Van Luchene, Norwalk, CT (US);
Walker Digital, LLC, Stamford, CT (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus is disclosed for advancing the sale of vending machine products. The invention enables selling products without revealing the identity of the product. By concealing the identity of the products from a consumer prior to receiving payment, the present invention promotes the automated sale of perishable, slow-selling and/or less profitable products, to increase the overall profitability of a vending machine. Various embodiments are disclosed, including: predetermined price embodiments in which a vending machine sells one or more mystery products for a predetermined price; consumer-specified price embodiments in which a consumer is allowed to specify a price for one or more mystery products; and upsell embodiments in which a vending machine offers one or more upsell mystery products in exchange for the amount of change owed to a consumer, or in exchange for an amount of change owed to a consumer plus an additional monetary value.