PRODUCT VENDING SYSTEM WITH PNEUMATIC PRODUCT DELIVERY

• Main Authors: BUSTOS, RAFAEL T, HOWARD, JOHN D, LAPOLICE, GEORGE
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 07.11.2006
• Subjects: BUILDING; BUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; CHECKING-DEVICES; COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOTDIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT; CONVEYING; DETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g.ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; FENCING; FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; MACHINE TOOLS; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OFPARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS; MASTS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PACKING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS; PRINTED CIRCUITS; SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS; STORING; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL; TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING ORTIPPING; TRANSPORTING

A system is provided for vending products such as beverage and other food pr oducts from a storage unit to a customer terminal at a remote location through a pneumatic tube conveyor, to remove the products fr om a storage unit to a customer terminal at a remote loc ation through a pneumatic tube conveyor to move the product from storage to a disp ensing unit at the remote location in response to produc t selection made by a customer at the remote location. Preferably, a vending s ystem (10) is provided for marketing products to custome rs of facility at which they are engaged in a transaction for the purchase of anot her product or service of a diverse vending system. For example, an ancillary system (10) may sell food, beverages or vehicle care products t o gasoline customers by charging to a gasoline charge sy stem (12) having a credit card reader (18) associated with self-service gasoline pump islands (18) to process the gasoline purchase charg e.