초록 ▼

A system is provided for vending products such as beverage and other food products, preferably individually packaged, from a storage unit to a customer terminal at a remote location through a pneumatic tube conveyor to move the product from storage to a dispensing unit at the remote location in resp

A system is provided for vending products such as beverage and other food products, preferably individually packaged, from a storage unit to a customer terminal at a remote location through a pneumatic tube conveyor to move the product from storage to a dispensing unit at the remote location in response to product selection made by a customer at the remote location. Preferably, a vending system is provided for marketing products to customers of a facility at which they are engaged in a transaction for the purchase of another product or service of a diverse vending system. In such an embodiment, payment for the purchase price of the product is accounted for through the payment subsystem that accounts for the transaction with the diverse vending system. For example, an ancillary system may sell food, beverages or vehicle care products to gasoline customers by charging to a gasoline charge system having a credit card reader associated with a self-service gasoline pump to process the gasoline purchase charge. A hotel guest's room account may be charged for items purchased on a terminal in the guest's room, or elsewhere by reading the guest's key card. Terminals at retail checkout lanes may automatically charge to a cash register transaction being processed. The product is preferably moved through the conveyor in a reusable carrier or in its own product packaging container that serves as a carrier.

대표청구항 ▼

[ I claim:] [8.] An auxiliary system for vending individually packaged products to customers of a diverse product or service vending system having a payment receiving or charging subsystem associated therewith, the auxiliary system comprising:an order entry device at a vending location accessible to

[ I claim:] [8.] An auxiliary system for vending individually packaged products to customers of a diverse product or service vending system having a payment receiving or charging subsystem associated therewith, the auxiliary system comprising:an order entry device at a vending location accessible to a customer of the diverse system;a product delivery unit at the vending location;a product supply at a supply location having a plurality of products thereat;a pneumatic conveyor responsive to a control signal from the controller, the conveyor including a delivery tube extending from the product supply to the product delivery unit, the tube having a loading end at the product supply and a delivery end connected to the product delivery unit;a communication link logically interconnecting the auxiliary system with the payment subsystem of the diverse system;control logic configured to generate the control signal and to cause the communication of transaction price information to the payment subsystem in response to the entry of an order on the order entry device; and wherein;the diverse vending system is a gasoline vending system at a gasoline service facility having a gasoline service island which includes a gasoline pump and a credit card reader, and the payment subsystem thereof is a credit card billing subsystem connected to the pump and to a the credit card reader to automatically charge gasoline purchases to a charge account of the customer;the order entry device and the product delivery unit are located at a gasoline service island; andthe communications link logically interconnects the auxiliary system with the billing subsystem of the gasoline vending system to automatically charge a purchase of the vended product to the charge account of the customer.