Vending machine with automated detection of product position
US8706293B2 · kind B2 · utility
16Cited by
4References
22Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 29, 2011 |
| Grant date | Apr 22, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/30204
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Embodiments of a vending machine are disclosed that can comprise one or more horizontally oriented shelves for supporting products to be vended, a plurality of vertically oriented dividers coupled to the shelves, a plurality of location markers located on the dividers and/or on the shelves, and an optical recognition module configured to optically recognize the location markers and to determine positions of the location markers and products relative to the shelves. In some embodiments, the optical recognition module can recognize the products by comparing images of the products to stored product images.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.