Vending machine service scheduling

US7894938B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Cantaloupe Systems, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Mandeep Arora · Milpitas, US
• Anant Agrawal · Cupertino, US
• Fred Cheng · Los Altos Hills, US
• Eric Matthew Chu · Madison, US
• Amedee Louis Beaudoin · Oakland, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 31, 2005
• Grant date: Feb 22, 2011
• Expiry date: Nov 24, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G07F9/026
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Techniques are provided for calculating vending machines' service priorities and scheduling the vending machines for service taking into account a number of factors and thresholds (520). In some embodiments, the machines (110) are subdivided into subroutes (320). Each subroute has one or more machines, and at least one subroute has a plurality of machines. The vending machine service schedule is generated by selecting the highest priority subroute (410) and selecting the machines in that subroute (420). Other subroutes can be selected (430, 440) if there is time left in the Service Period.