초록 ▼

An item dispensing system having an item dispenser, a controller and a fault store for storing fault thresholds and faults. A true state of a fault is stored in the fault store in response to an operating state of the item dispensing system being equal to the fault threshold, and an alarm is generat

An item dispensing system having an item dispenser, a controller and a fault store for storing fault thresholds and faults. A true state of a fault is stored in the fault store in response to an operating state of the item dispensing system being equal to the fault threshold, and an alarm is generated in response to the true state of the fault. The fault thresholds can represent operating states that normally lead to the item dispensing system going out of service, for example, a low dispenser inventory. The item dispensing system is connected to a communications link and a computer and the alarm is provided to the computer to facilitate a servicing of the item dispensing system. A method or operating such an item dispensing system and associated network is also provided.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An item dispensing system comprising:a plurality of item dispensers located at different retail locations, each of the item dispensers comprising a fault store which stores a fault threshold representing an operating state of the item dispenser, and a fault having two states; and a controller in

1. An item dispensing system comprising:a plurality of item dispensers located at different retail locations, each of the item dispensers comprising a fault store which stores a fault threshold representing an operating state of the item dispenser, and a fault having two states; and a controller in electrical communications with the item dispenser and the fault store, the controller switching the fault to a first state in response to detecting the operating state of the item dispenser represented by the fault threshold, and producing an alarm in response to detecting only a deterioration of the fault; and a host computer located geographically remotely from the retail locations, the host computer being in electrical communications with, and receiving the alarm from, the controller.