Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
AIJl~TIC DISPENSII~ APPARATUS
The present invention relates to automatic dispensing
apparatus and is particularly concerned with apparatus for
automatic renting, as opposed to vending.
Automatic vending machines are of course already known and
widely used for automatic dispensing of numerous consumable
products. Their contribution in increasing sales and reducing
business overheads is also well appreciated. HoWever, the
known machines are all vending machines, accepting money or
tokens in exchange for goods, but having no provision for
receiving returned goods. As a result they cannot be used for
dispensing articles which are available only for rental.
Video cassettes and discs, which have recently become very
popular, have created a large market for renting rather than
lS selling. The reason for this is that each cassette is
relatively expensive and uneconomical to purchase as most
viewers will seldom wish to see a film more than once. The
renting of such cassettes, on the other hand is a potentially
profitable business as each cassette can earn several times
its purchase cost.
A difficulty in operating such a rental business has been the
need to work unsociable hours since viewers will often wish
to rent a cassette and return it outside normal working
hours. There is therefore a clear demand for an automated
renting machine but despite this it is believed that no
suitable rnachine for this purpose is available of course,
with rental it does not sufice to dispense, it is important
to record the whereabouts o each article which has been
dispensed for rental.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide an
apparatus capable of automatically dispensing articles for
rental and accepting returned articles~
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According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there
is provided apparatus capable of dispensing articles for rental
and accepting returned articles, comprising: means for enabling
a user to enter a unique identification code, means for verifying
the code entered to inhibit dispensing to unauthorized users, means
for enabling payment for rental to be made, means ~or ~nabling a
user to select from amongst the articles available for rental, a
magazine having a plurality of compartments each for receiving a
respective one of the articles for rental, the magazine being
constructed as a cylindrical drum with two radially spaced rows of
radially extending compartments for the individual articles, means
defining twc separate dispensing apertures ~ormed in line with one
another, a sector shaped plate ~or controlling the dispensing
apertures, the sector shaped plate being formed with offset
apertures and being pivotable between three posikions, both
apertures being closed in one position, and a respective one of the
apertures being open in each of the other two positions, means for
moving the magazine relative to the dispensing apertures to align
with a d.ispensing aperture the magazine compartment containing the
5elected article, and ffleans for recording data indicaking the
identity of the user and the selectad article, the apparatus
~urther comprising; means for reading ~rom the recorded data the
article previousl~ hired to an identi~ied user, means ~or moving
tha magazine to align with a dispensing aperture the empty
compartment ~or containing the article previously hired to the
identified user, means operative a~ter insertion of the article
into the compartment by th~ user to read a code on the article
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identifying the returned article, and means for recording the
return of the rented article when the article code corresponds
with that r~ad from the recorded dataO
It will be noted that in addition to the financial transaction
carried out by the apparatus, it is essential that the user should
identify himself. In this respect, the apparatus differs from
conventional vending machines. Furthermore, a record is maintained
of the identity of the user to whom each article is rented so that
the article may be traced if not properly returned.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, each user may only
rent one article at a time and when the identity code is entered,
it may be immediately determined if an article is being rented or
returned by ascertaining if an article has already been rented to
that user. It is possible, alternatively, to allow each user to
lS rent several articles,
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whereupon means may be provided to enable the user to select
the mode of operation for dispensing or accepting a returned
article and in this case the user must al60 identify the
article being returned.
The means for entering a unique identification code may
comprise an encoded card issued to authorised users, means
for reading data recorded on the card and a keyboard for
manual entry of a codeword, access to the machine being
possible only when the codeword corresponds with the data
recorded on the card.
The money transaction may be perfofrm ~ in any of several
-~ known ways. For example, a coin _f-r~ mechanism may be
provided, or tokens may be issued from a counter. It is still
further possible to employ recorded cards, such as used by
some telephones, which are prepurchased and allow a
predetermined amount to be spent before being made unusable.
The recording of data is preferably carried out on a
programmable micro-computer within the dispensing apparatus.
It wi]l be appreciated also that many of the functions of the
machine can be performed under the control of the micro-
computer.
In the dispensing or video cassettes in particular, there is
encountered the prohlem that certain films can only legally
be rented to adults. It is possible in the preferred
embodiment of the invention to includq a code on a card
issued to a minor to inhibit dispensing of certain categories
of films, the latter being indicated by the code identiying
the cassette.
Rental is usually carried out on a time basis and it is
preferred that the apparatus should include a clock and that
the data recorded should indicate the time of rental and the
time of return.
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It is also desirable that the apparatus include a display
unit for conveying information to the user. This in~ormation
may include prompts and may also display available titles or
the price of each selection. If the pricing is effected under
software control and there is present a real time clock, then
the pricing may be varied with the day of the week, for
example, to encourage rental during otherwise slack periods.
If the data storage is effected exclusively in computer
memory, there is a danger that data may be lost in the event
of power failure. It is therefore preferred that the
apparatus should include means for permanently recording at
least some of the data, such means being a printer or a
magnetic recorder such as a cassette, floppy disc or
diskette.
The magazine for carrying the articles, that is to say the
video cassettes, is preferably constructed as a cylindrical
drum with a plurality of radially extending compartments for
the individual cassettes. This construction is particularly
advantageous because it enables simple accurate alignment of
the compartments with the dispensing aperture in that the
drum or preferably the motor driving the drum may be fitted
with a shaft encoder producing pulses as the drum rotates.
The pulses can once again be analysed by the computer to
determine the cassette compartment aligned with the
dispensing aperture.
The drum preferably has two radially spaced rows of
compartments, in order to make better use of the space
available within the machine and the dispensing aperture is
preferably constructed as two separate apertures each
controlled by a shutter~
It is advantageous to form the apertures in line with one
another and to employ as a shutter a sector plate pivotable
between three position, both apertures being closed in one
position, and a respective one of the apertures being open in
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each of the other two positions. In this manner a single
actuator may serve to control the opening and closing of both
the apertures.
In order to rotate a large drum using a small motor, it is
necessary to provide a suitable transmission train. If a
drive belt is employed then there is a risk of slipping which
could lead to misalignment of the apertures with the
dispensing apertures. Cogs are more reliable but the cost
may prove excessive.
In order to mitigate this problem, it is preferred to secure
to the outer circumference of the drum a toothed belt of the
same diameter, the teeth pointing radially outwards. The
belt may be secured, for example, by rivets. The teeth of
the belt can now be directly engaged by teeth on a cog driven
by the motor. This construction provides an inexpensive
alternative to the use of a toothed wheel on the drum and the
performance of the belt has, surprisingly, been found not to
be adversely affected by the fact that it is inverted,
The code on the articles is preferably a bar code. To read a
bar code, it is necessary to be able to scan the bar code
optically. The use of a drum enables the reading of the bar
codes in a simple manner in that the drum may drive the bar
code at constant speed past a stationary reader. It is
necessary to allow enough distance ~or the drum to reach a
steady speed before reading Ls effected.
As an alternative to the use of a light pen, the bar code may
be irnaged onto a camera so that its imaye may be scanned
electronically rather than mechanically. The camera may
conveniently comprise a charge coupled device.
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~ccording to a second embodiment of the present invention, there
is provided apparatus capable of dispensing articles for rental and
accepting returned articles, comprising: means for enabling a
user to enter a unique identification code, means for verifying
the code entered to inhibit dispensing to unauthorized users, means
for enabling payment for rantal to be made, means for enabling a
user to select from amongst the articles available ~or rental, a
magazine having a plurality of compartments each for receiving a
respective one of the articles for rental, the magazine being
constructed as a cylindrical drum with at least first and second
rows of compartments ~or the individual articles, the first row
being at a ~irst radial distance and the second row being at a
second radial distance greaker than the first radial distance,
means for moving the magazine relative to a dispensing aperture to
align with the dispensing aperture the magazine compartment
containing the selected article, means for recording data
indicating the identit,v o~ the user and the selected article, means
Por reading ~rom the recorded data the article previously hired to
an identi~ied user, means Por moviny the magazine to aliyn with
the dispensing aperture the empty compartment for containing the
article previously hired to the identiPied user, means operative
a~ter insertion o~ the article into the compartment by the user to
read a code on the article identiPying the returned article, and
means for recording the return o~ the rentad article when the
article code corresponds with that read ~rom the recorded data.
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According to a ~hird embodiment of the present invention, there i5
provided apparatus capable of dispensing articles for rental and
accepting returned articles, comprising: a maga~ine having a
plurality of compartments each for receiving a respecti~e one of
the articles for rental, there beiny at least two categories of
articles, an encoded card issued to an authorized user, means for
reading data recorded on a user's card, means for manual entry of
a codeword, means for comparing the manually-entered codeword with
data read from the card and inhibiting dispensing in the event
that the codeword does not match data read from the card, means ~or
preventing articles of a predetermined category from being
dispensed to an authorized user if the data read from the user's
card includes a disabling code while permitting articles of other
categories to be dispensed to the authorized user, means for
enabling payment for rental to be made, means for enabling a user
to select from amongst the articles available ~or rental, means for
moving the magazine relative to a dispensing aperture ta align with
the dispensing aperture, the magazine compartment containing the
selected article, means for recording data indicating the identity
o~ the user and the 0elected artiale, means for reading from the
recorded data the articla previously hired to an identi~ied user,
means for moving ~he magazine to ali~n with the dispensing aperture
the empty compartment ~or containing the article previously hired
to the identified u~er, means operative after insertion of the
article into the compartment by khe user to read a code on the
arkicle identifying the returned article, and means for recording
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the return of ~he rented article when the article code corresponds
with that read from the recorded data.
According to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, there
is provided apparatus capable of dispensing articles far rental and
accepting returned articles, comprising: means for enabling a
user to e.nter a unique identification code, means for verifying
the code entered to inhibit dispensing to unauthorized users, means
for enabling payment ~or rental to be made, means for enabling a
user to select from amongst the articles available for rental, a
magazine having a plurality of compartments each for receiving a
respective one of the articles for rental, the magazine being
constructed as a cylindrical drum with at least first and second
rows of compartments ~or the individual articles, the first row
being at a first radial distance and the second row being at a
second radial distance greater than the first radial distance,
means for moving the magazine relative to a dispensing aperture to
align with the dispensing aperture the magazine compartment
containing the selected article, means ~or recording data
indicating the identity of the user and the selected article, means
for r0ading from the recorded data tha article previously hired to
an identigied usqr, means for moving the magazine to al.ign with
the dispensing aperture an empty compartment for receiving the
article previ.ously hired ~o the identifi~d user, means operative
after ins~rtion of the article into the empty compartment by the
user to read a code on the article identifying ~he returned
article, and means for recording the return of the rented arti~le
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when the article code corresponds with that read from the recorded
data .
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The invention will now be described further, by way of
exa~ple, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which :
Figure 1 is a front view of 2 dispensin~ machine of the
- 5 invention designed especially for the rental of video
cassettes,
Figure 2 is a vertical section through the machine shown
in Figure 1,
Figure 3 shows a partial plan view of the magazine drum
used in the embodiment of Figures 1 & 2, and
Figure 4 shows schematically the shutters associated with
the dispensing apertures.
The machine comprises an outer casing 10 resembling, for
example, that of a ~onventional drinks dispensing machine To
the left, on the front of the casing, there is present a slot
12 for receiving an encoded card and a second slot 14 for
receiving coins~
A keyboard 16 is arranged near eye level, adjacent a display
unit 18 which may be an LCD or an LED display. The keyboard
and display pxovide the means by which communication can take
place between the user and the micro-computer within the
machine The latter i8 not shown in the drawings nor is a
printer driven by the micro computer but both these are
conventional items and need not be described in the context
o~ the present application.
Beneath the display 18 and keyboard 16, there are arranged
two vertically spaced shuttered apertures 20 and 22 from
which video cassettes are dispensed in the manner to be
described in more detail below.
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Also illustrated in Figure l is a recess 24 for receiving a
catalogue listing the available films but this may instead be
- a display board such as currently in use on juke bo~es.
Referring now to the section shown in Fi~ure 2, there is
disposed behind the front panel of the casing lO a subframe
30 carrying a magazine drum 32 with its axis 34 inclined to
the horizontal. Because of this inclination any cassettes
carried by the drum 32 tend to fall towards the back of the
drum 32.
The drum 32 is composed, as shown in Figure 3, of individual
cassette containers 322 and 324 arranged side by side on two
diameters, each container being large enough to contain a
cassette while held within a transparent case. The cassettes
are dispensed in cases, and the latter are transparent to
enable a code written on the cassette itself to be read. As
an alternative the cases for the cassettes may have only a
transparent window aligned with the bar code on the cassettes
or they may be provided with a cut-out at such location.
Between the two rows of containers 322, 32~ there are
disposed bar code readers 330 these being arranged on a
radius circumferentially staggered from the dispensing
apertures and being shown in dotted lines in Figure l.
The drum 32 is journalled about its outer circumference on
the subframe 30 and has a hub engaged by an electric motor
and gearbox 332 shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 but not
shown in the section of Figure 2. The hub has about its outer
circumference, not shown, ~ toothed belt which is turned
inside out and secured to the hub by means of rivets. The hub
thus acts as a large gear wheel and engages directly a cog on
the output of motor driven gearbox. The motor shaft is
fitted with a shaft encoder which is connected to the micro-
computer and the motor current is in turn controlled by the
output of the micro-computer.
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The identification card to be inserted in the slot 12 may
be magnetically encoded. However, because a bar code
reader is already present to identify the cassettes and the
decoding program is alread~ present in the computer, it is
preferred that the user cards should also carry optical bar
codes. The coin feed mechanism may be conventional and
need not therefore be described in detail.
The apertures for dispensing the cassettes are opened and
closed by a shutter shown in Figure 4. The shutter is in
the form of a sector plate 40 having apertures ~2, 4~ of
the same size as the dispensing apertures 20 and 22. The
apertures 42, 44 in the sector plate 40 may be selectively
aligned with the respective apertures 20 and 22 in the
front plate of the machine by pivoting the sector plate
between three click stop positions determined by stops or
ball aatches 46. It can readily be seen that the apertures
are either both closed or one may be opened at one time by
pivoting the sector plate to the left or right of its
centre position.
The sector plate 40 is ~ufficienkly strong to be tamper
proof and is preferably driven by a second motor acting
through a worm gear. Such a drive mechanism provides high
tor~ue and can also act as a bra~e preventing forcing of
the sector plate. However, because of the very high tor~ue
there is a risk of damage being caused to anything trapped
in the apertures 20, 22 while the motor is energised. It
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is therefore preferred that a further trap door or flap be
provided on each aperture 20, 22 associated with a switch
which is only closed when the flap covers the aperture
entirely. This safety interlock can ensure that the user's
fingers are away from the danger zone before the motor can
be energised. The flap may be spring or gravity biassed
into a closed position.
The electronic controls of the machine can be implemented
by means o~ a specially designed circuit but it is more
convenient to employ a micro-computer, which are available
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inexpensively, to perform all the logic controls. The
computer can be programmed in machine code or a suitable
computer language and detailed description of the program is
not therefore deemed to be required and clear to a person
S skilled in the art of programming from the mode of operation
of the machine which will now be described and from which it
is readily possible to construct a flow chart for designing
the program.
In the description that now follows, it will be assumed that
each authorised user is issued previously with an
identification card and identification code and that any user
can only borrow one cassette at a time.
After each dispensing cycle, the drum is returned to a rest
or datum position which can be identiEied by a position
encoder on the drum or on the shaft of the motor or gearbox
driving the drum 32. As the drum rotates, the pulses emitted
by the shaft encoder are counted and from this the angular
position of the drum at any moment in time can be determined
with accuracy. The return to a datum position avoids the
possibility of developing a cumulative error.
With the drum in the datum position, the next user is
permitted to enter his identification card into slot 12 to
commence a new dispensing cycle. A switch within the card
reader, which is itsel~ conventional and need not be
described in detail, signals to the computer that a card has
been inserted. The computer now controls the card reader to
read the code from the card and records the code in its
volatile memory.
Before any access is allowed, it is necessary for the user to
enter through the keyboard 16 his personal identification
code known only to him and which matches the code read from
the card in the slot 12. If the correct code is entered then
the cycle continues~otherwise the user will be asked to re-
enter his personal identification code. If several attempts
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are unsuccessful, it is possible for the card to be
confiscated eliminating the possibility of A code of a stolen
card being derived from trial and èrror.
once the user has correctly identified himsel~, the computer
searches though its mem~Qy to establish if the user has
already borrowed a - ~ m. If not, it is assumed tha~ the
machine is to opera~e in a dispensing mode. However, as any
user may only borrow one cassette at a time, if he already
has a cassette on hire then it is assumed that he is
returning it and accordingly the machine operates in a
receiving mode. Each of these modes will now be considered
separately.
~ssuming that no cassette is on hire to the user then the
user is asked to make his selection of cassette through the
keyboard 16. The memory of the computer stores information
on all available cassettes and can indicate to the user
immediately if the cassette is already on hire. If so, the
user may either make a further selection or abort, his card
being returned to him in the latter case.
If the cassette requested is available, then the next step is
to prompt the user with the amount required to be placed in
the coin freed mechanism 14. If the incorrect amount is
placed in the machine it can be refunded or chanye given but
no cassette can be dispensed until the correct payment has
been made into the machine. It is mentioned here that on
occasions a dispensing cycle can be commenced but cannot be
completed, such as if the user finds he has insufficient
change~ To prevent the machine becoming ineEfective, the
computer contains a real time clock and a cycle can be
automatically terminated if the transaction is not completed
with a given time. At the end of such time, the card can
either be returned or retained by the card reader.
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If selection of an available cassette has been made and the
correct payment made, the computer, knowing the container
322, 324 of the drum allocated for that cassette, energises
the drum motor until the appropriate container is aligned
with one or other of the two apertures 20, 22. The computer
constantly compares the count from the shaft encoder with the
desired count and stops the drum motor 332 when the aligned
position is reached. The shutter motor is then operated to
open the appropriate aperture 20, 22 and at this point the
user may remove the cassette from the container.
After removal of the cassette, the container should be empty
and if desired this can now be verified by driving the drum
32 until the container from which the cassette has been
removed reaches the bar code readers 330. If a bar code is
successfully read it may either be that the cassette has not
been withdrawn for some reason or that another incorrect
cassette has been erroneously put in its place. In either
event the drum will be returned to re-align the container
322, 324 with the dispensing aperture and user will be asked
to remove the cassette.
once the container has been found as expected to be empty,
the drum is returned to its datum position and the user's
card will be returned to him by the card reader.
The computer now updates its memory to indicate that the
cassette is out on hire, thé code of the user in possession
of the cassette, the time of the rental and if desired the
amount paid. This information is also preferably printed out
on a printer within the machine or transferred to some other
non-volatile memory such as a magnetic recording medium.
It is possible that the code of the user may serve to
indicate that ~he user is a minor not eligible to hire
certain categories of cassette. In this case, the computer
may indicate that the selection is not available in the same
way as if it were on hire at the time of the request. The
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categories of the cassettes can of course also be indicated
by their bar codes.
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Assuming now that the cassette previously hired is to be
returned by the user. ~fter inserting his card and entering
his identification codej the computer can search its memory
to establish that not only is there a cassette out on hire to
that user but also which cassette and when it was hired out.
If the return is overdue, it is possible to make a further
request for payment or a record may be made of the lateness
so that persistent offenders may be warned.
The computer now knowing the container to which the cassette
is to be returned rotates the drum from its datum position
and on reaching the desired position opens the shutter 40 so
that the cassette may be replaced in its proper position.
~ecause of the slope of tbe containers, the cassette will
slide to the back of the container. ~fter closing of the
sa~ety interlock flap, the shutter closes and the drum is
rotated until the returned cassette passes by the bar code
readers 330. If the incorrect cassette, or an empty
0 cassetteh ha~s been returned the drum returns to the correct
position and the user is again asked to insert the correct
cassette. Failure to return the correct cassette after
several attempts would result in the user's card being
conflscated.
I~ the correct cassette is identified, the card user's card
i5 returned to him, the drum is returned to the datum
position and the computer records are updated both in memory
and on the printer to indicate that the cassette just
returned is now again available for hire and that the user no
longer has a cassette on hire.
It is alternatively possible to ask if the user wishes to
rent another cassette before the card is returned in order to
save the user having to repeat the entire procedure of
personal identification.
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Because all the rental particulars are available on computer,
it is possible to produce management information indicate the
most popular cassettes and other trends such as slack periods
etc. The operator may then select his stock of cassettes
more frequently to maximise returns. The operator may also
choose to vary his pricing policy, offering discounts during
slack periods. The latter is made possible because of the
presence of a real time clock in the machine and the facility
of altering the rental charge under software control.
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