WO1988000741A1

WO1988000741A1 - Remotely-controlled vending system

Info

Publication number: WO1988000741A1
Application number: PCT/US1987/001604
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dennis E. Bahr; Kenneth R. Clark; Michael V. Fox; Kendall E. Post; Philip Shevick
Original assignee: Bar Vender, Inc.
Priority date: 1986-07-11
Filing date: 1987-07-10
Publication date: 1988-01-28
Also published as: AU7702887A

Abstract

A vending system for a hotel with a plurality of remotely-controlled vending machines (14) in the hotel's guest rooms - typically, one such machine in each such room - and a central computer (36) at the hotel's office/front desk (10). A vending machine dispenses articles which a guest might want, such as beverages in conventional containers. The computer is programmable by hotel personnel to prevent certain ones of the vending machines (30, 32) from functioning to dispense articles as well as to prevent the machines from dispensing predetermined articles, such as alcoholic beverage containers, during predetermined time periods as well as at other times as determined by hotel personnel. The system also advantageously controls other operations and functions, such as refrigeration, pertaining to effective use of the vending machines.

Description

REMOTELY-CONTROLLED VENDING SYSTEM Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for vending articles directly in guest rooms of hotels or the like, and, in particular, to a computer-controlled system wherein guest-operated vending devices are under the control of a central computer.

Background of the Invention U.S. Patent Number 3,979,017, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, describes an article-dispensing apparatus of a type to be used in hotels or the like for in-room vending of food items and other articles, including beverages, which hotel guests may wish to purchase. In that system, in-room vending machines are connected electrically to a remotely- located recorder which makes a record of each time a particular door in the machine is opened. The use of that system has been inhibited by various circumstances. In many States and municipalities, because of legal regulation of the time-availability of alcoholic beverages, the system has been limited to the vending of non-alcoholic drinks. Since many vended articles are preferably served cold, the inefficient operation of the associated refrigerators — even when guest rooms were unoccupied — unduly increased operating and maintenance costs. Moreover, monitoring of the use of that system was labor-intensive and inefficient. As a result, the wide acceptance of that system has been inhibited although there was and continues to be need for in-room vending capability to meet the needs and desires of hotel guests. Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a new and improved apparatus and method for controllably dispensing articles in hotel rooms or the like. In accordance with its teachings, the system of the present invention enables the dispensing of articles by individual in-room vending machines to be recorded as in the prior art, but also overcomes the noted inhibiting circumstances with reference to the prior art in that each of the vending machines is controlled by a computer programmed from a work station such as the hotel's front and operated by hotel staff at the work station. Typically, each machine includes at least one article-dispensing device containing alcoholic beverages and both remote and in-room locking means.. The remote locking means enables the computer to prevent operation of the device during periods when alcoholic beverages ought not be dispensed as, for example, when occupants of the room include a child or when the dispensing of alcoholic beverages is unlawful such as during early morning hours or on Sunday. Brief Description of the Drawing

The present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein the single figure of the drawing is a schematic diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such preferred embodiment includes, in guest rooms of an hotel or the like, a plurality of in-room vending machines which are controlled by a computer at a location remote from the guest rooms.

In the drawing reference numerals identify components and parts of the system of the present invention, as follows: 10 is the office/front desk of an hotel; 12 is a guest room in the hotel, remote from front desk 10; 14 is a vending unit in room 12; 16 is a key-operated lock-switch for unit 14; 18 is a vending machine of unit 14; 20 is logic and vending-control circuitry for unit 14; 22 represents a remote modem for unit 14; 24 is a television (TV) receiver in room 12; 26 is the master television coaxial cable (MA TV) which serves the hotel and supplies signals to TV receivers in the hotel such as receiver 24; 28 is a splitter operative between modems 20 and coaxial cable 26; 30 and 32 are discrete article- dispensing devices of vending machine 18; 34 is a refrigerator for cooling vending machine 18; 36 is a computer (including monitor, terminal and real-time clock and calendar) at office 10 and 38 is an encode/decode interface, 40 is a head modem, and 42 is a» signal mixer, all operative between coaxial cable 26 and computer 36. Also, 44 is a printer connected with computer 36, 46 is an emergency power supply/source, 48 is a remote monitor and 50 is the link between computer 36 and remote monitor 48.

Description of Preferred Embodiment The system comprising this invention includes a plurality of remote vending units 14 which are preferably identical; therefore, only one such unit is herein described in detail. Each unit 14 has a vending machine 18, logic and control circuitry 20 and a remote modem 22. A unit 14 may be key-enabled, that is, kept out of the system by the lock-switch 16 until a guest — informed at check-in of the availability of in-room vending, opting for such availability, and given a key for the lock-switch — uses the key to switch the unit in his/her room into the system. The key for switch 16 may be provided with the room key or separately. This lock and key arrangement protects against unwanted or undue use of the system.

The remote modems 22 of units 14 are, respectively, connected by splitters 28 to the master coaxial cable 26. Computer 36, at front desk 10, is coupled through encode/decode interface 28 and head modem 40 to signal mixer 42 which applies vending machine control signals from front desk 10 to coaxial cable 26 and extracts signals from vending units 14 from coaxial cable 26. Noise and other unwanted effects between signals for the system of the present invention, on one hand, and the TV signals, on the other, should be minimized or excluded by selecting and operating the system at signal carrier frequencies operationally distinct from typical TV master antenna signal frequencies and by using so-called "Manchester" coding and decoding circuits. Alternatively, modems 22 and computer 36 may be connected by other suitable means such as telephone lines or A.C. power lines.

Vending machines 18 may be physically embodied as machines of the type described in the said Patent Number 3,979,017 and thus include a plurality of discrete article-dispensing devices 30 and 32 with a door and individual locking means therefor which, in response to control signals from front desk 10, prevent such a device from dispensing. In this system, quite apart from in-room controls, computer 36 automatically transmits control signals to the logic and control circuitry 20 for all vending machines 18 throughout the hotel to prevent operation of any devices 30 and 32 which contain alcoholic beverages during predetermined time periods when such beverages cannot lawfully be sold as well as to control unauthorized use of the devices at all other times.

This preferred embodiment enables the system to serve other control functions such as restocking and refrigeration. Each device 30 and 32 has a specific capacity and will, when initially stocked, contain a predetermined number of articles. Computer 36 counts the number of dispensing events for each device and, when the number of events equals the predetermined number of articles, transmits a signal to the logic circuitry 20 for the device which latches the device against further^'use until restocked by hotel personnel. To-be-dispensed articles in a vending machine 18 are cooled by refrigerator 34 which is controlled, through computer 36, by front desk 10; this control capability enables, for example, refrigeration readily to be interrupted or discontinued as, for example, while a room 12 is unoccupied or when refrigerator 34 needs to be defrosted.

This preferred embodiment is intended to process and generate transactional and management information. Devices 30 and 32 are connected to circuitry 18 which sends to computer 36 and front desk 10 signals indicative of each and every dispensing event occurring throughout the system, recording the event in terms of the particular device — in the drawing, 30 or 32 — which is operated and the time each such operation. Such information, deriving from the numbers and sources of dispensing events, is variously utilized by hotel management. It enables front desk personnel to post charges, at programmed prices, for dispensed articles to guest accounts prior to or at check-out. It provides article-demand and inventory-control data as well as a financial summary of in-room vending activity which, with other financial information, in typical hotel operations must be reviewed on a daily basis by the night auditor. In this connection printer 44 is an important system adjunct. Located at front desk 10, it makes a "hard" record of the information collected and processed by computer 36. The preferred embodiment provides diagnostic function for the system which may covers many possible mechanical and electrical failure-modes and system- service requirements. For example, if a door of a dispensing device fails to close or re-lock (having, for example, been inadvertently or capriciously kept open by a guest) , the system promptly senses and reports such abnormal condition.

The preferred embodiment may optionally include a remote monitor 48 and an emergency power source 46 for computer 38. A remote monitoring capability enables centralized management and supervision of system opera¬ tion as well as enhanced warranty administration; in this connection, link 50 may be a conventional telephone circuit. The emergency power source 46 for computer 38 preserves essential guest-charge data in case of a general or external power outage; such protection against unwanted interruption may be of particular advantage at resort-type hotels.

According to the system and operation character¬ istics thus described, the method and apparatus of the present invention provides for comprehensive computer- controlled in-room vending throughout an hotel or similar establishment. All of the logic functions are controlled by the computer 38 so that operation of the individual vending machines 18 can be changed simply by a change in the computer program without physically changing the vending units 14. All actions of and interactions within the system are initiated by the simple closure of contacts.

A typical installation comprising a preferred embodiment has capacity to serve 1,000 rooms. Such an installation includes these components (in addition to the vending units as herein described) and operating characteristics and parameters: The external power source is a 115 volt 50/60 hz single phase wire. The computer is standard model IBM Corporation personal computer with a monitor and single disc drive and 256k of RAM operating with a standard serial output (RS-232) ; an equivalent machine, such as the hotel's own master computer, is equally acceptable. The computer either has or is separately provided with a real-time calendar- clock capability having its own battery to maintain the calendar-clock function if external power fails or is interrupted. Also, the system has an ac line power failure detect feature which, in case of failure or interruption of external power, transfers system data to a disc before such data may be lost and an independent uninterruptible power supply which is specifically implemented as a Power General UPS-200 unit. The encode/decode interface is embodied as a circuit card by means of a commercially available

"Manchester" encode/decode chip, and, with the head end modem and its own power supply, is separately contained. This interface card converts signal data to RS-232 form, and the information transmitted through its includes identification of each dispensing event. The splitters provide signal attenuation in the 3 - 6 db range. The modems are radio- frequency devices. The head end modem transmits at a frequency of 121.75 mhz and receives at a frequency of 26.75 mhz; these widely-separated bands provide capability for duplex operation as well as isolation between the receive and transmit sections of the modem. The remote modems receive at a frequency of 121.75 mhz and transmit at a frequency of 26.75 mhz, and the receive levels of the remote modems are set in the

-5 to -15 dbm range.

Data is transmitted between the modems and the computer in either direction at 5 kbaud which may be increased to 20 kbaud, if necessary; total transmission — either way — requires about 5 milliseconds, and thus the likelihood of interference between different requests to vend is extremely low. Also, the logic circuitry prevents two, near-simultaneous events from effectively interfering with each other; a vending unit is programmed so that, if a first request from a vending unit is denied, the unit will repeat the request four more times.

Each vending unit is provided with its own control and logic circuit card; the card has its own power supply, and it contains the solenoid drives for opening the doors and locking the carousel of the vending machine, controls the refrigerator, and permits manual servicing of the vending unit. The printer may be a commercial unit having print speed of 120 characters/ second. The refrigerator may be likewise a commercially available component which is selected for low-noise operation and, if necessary, modified to the vending unit's capacity and cooling requirements.

Service personnel may put the computer in the diagnostic mode. The diagnostic function includes these 5 exemplary event/ circumstance codes: Event ♦ Function 10 Power up restart 20 Power failure, file backup 30 Charge deleted by interrupt IJO 41 Request from a room not in the system denied 51 Byte order error

60 User password changed

61 Prices changed

15 While the present invention has thus been described in terms of one particular embodiment, it will be recog¬ nized by those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

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Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An article-dispensing apparatus comprising in combination a computer, a plurality of vending machines remotely located with respect to each other and with respect to the computer, a plurality of logic circuits each respectively located in proximity to one of the vending machines, signal transfer means operative between the computer and the logic circuits, wherein each of the vending machines includes a plurality of article-dispensing devices, remotely-controlled locking means for preventing operation of the article-dispensing devices from dispensing articles, and means for producing signals in response to the operation of article-dispensing devices to dispense articles, wherein the computer is responsive to said signals for making a record of the article-dispensing devices which are operated to dispense articles and of the number of times each of said article-dispensing devices is operated, and which apparatus includes means to program the computer to control the said locking means selectively to prevent said article-dispensing devices from dispensing articles. -

2. The apparatus of Claim 1 where the signal transfer means connect the computer and the logic circuits and the computer renders selected one of the locking means operative to prevent the respectively associated dispensing devices from dispensing articles during predetermined periods of time. -16-

3. The apparatus of Claim 1 which includes also means for producing diagnostic signals indicative of an abnormal functional status of an article- dispensing device, and wherein the computer is responsive to such diagnostic signals.

4. An article-dispensing system for a hotel, which hotel has an office and a plurality of guest rooms, comprising the combination of the apparatus of Claim 2 with the dispensing machines thereof respectively in separate ones of the guest rooms, and the computer in the office.

5. The system of Claim 4 with a plurality of refrig- eration units for cooling articles in each of the dispensing devices and wherein the said logic circuits are responsive to signals from the computer for control¬ ling the refrigeration units.

6. The method of vending articles in an hotel or similar facility having a plurality of guest rooms and an office comprising the steps of providing a guest-operable article-dispensing unit in each of the guest rooms, providing a logic circuit for each article- dispensing unit, connecting each logic circuit to a computer, and operating the computer from the office selectively to permit operation of said article-dispensing units.

7. The method of Claim 6, further comprising the steps of providing a plurality of article-dispensing devices in each of the article-dispensing units, counting the number of times each of the article- dispensing device is operated to dispense, and selectively preventing operating of each of of said article-dispensing devices when the number of operations thereof exceeds a predetermined number. -II-

8. The method of Claim 6, further comprising the steps of providing a plurality of article-dispensing devices in each of the article-dispensing units, loading alcoholic beverages in predetermined ones only of the article-dispensing devices, operating the central computer to prevent operation of said predetermined ones to dispense articles.