HK1147334B - Automatic dispensing machine and method for its operation - Google Patents

Description

Automatic dispensing machine and method of operating the same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an automatic dispensing machine and a related method of operation. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automatic dispensing machine and associated method of operation for dispensing edible and/or non-edible items, particularly packaged food items such as snacks, sandwiches, bottled or canned beverages and the like, and/or for preparing and dispensing non-packaged edible items such as hot or cold beverages, water, juices, coffee, milk and the like.

Background

Such dispensing machines are typically arranged to operate in unattended locations, such as those provided at rail stations, airports, public/private offices, hotel lobbies, and the like, and also in attended locations where trained staff may use the machine to service customers. The dispensing machines described above may also be located in "self-service" areas to be directly operated by the user, such as areas in restaurants where the general public cannot use (but only for "internal" public), self-service eating places, cafeterias or food and grocery stores. The unpackaged goods may be contained in paper or plastic cups, as well as in stemmed mugs, porcelain cups, and the like that are available to or offered by the customer.

Conventional dispensing machines operated directly by the customer may use cash, such as coin or banknote payments, or require user identification to use electronic payments.

Another type of dispensing machine may operate in a so-called "free vending" mode, i.e. without the need to set up an economic transaction or user identification.

Identification is typically accomplished if the user carries an electronic token, such as a credit/debit card, a smart card, an RFID tag, an electronic key.

Typically, the basic user interface is provided with mechanical buttons, such as a touch-sensitive display screen, that activate micro-switches or electromechanical components of the machine. The user presses down to make a selection according to his preferences. Pressing the button causes the control unit to operate the machine according to the user's selection.

Other simple user interfaces include Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screens that present alphanumeric or graphical pictures. The frames presented to the user typically contain information relating to the available products, i.e. promotional advertisements relating to the type and quality of the available products, or ancillary instructions or information relating to the status of the machine, but the user needs to press the mechanical buttons described above to make the selection. Us patent application No. 2007/0018972 discloses a dispensing machine provided with a user visual interface. The interface includes a screen that displays appealing information to the user, but requires selection through a conventional button-type control panel provided with a number of buttons corresponding to commercially available selection items. Patent application WO 2004/036509 discloses a beverage dispensing machine provided with a conventional user interface comprising a control panel operated by a user. The control panel has a screen displaying instructions for dispensing the beverage. Promotional advertisements may also be displayed on the same screen.

More recently, more sophisticated interfaces have been provided to detect actions taken by a user to input specific instructions into the control unit of the machine. The interface is an optical interface and is provided, for example, with an infrared sensor to detect the position of the user himself with respect to the area searchable by the same sensor.

On the other hand, modern user interfaces may have a resistance sensor to detect the resistance by the user's body. The resistor triggers the control unit and acts according to a single selection of the user.

Existing dispensing machines are still limited by simple user interfaces or control panels that are not able to be customized or have a more accurate human-machine conversation with the user, and more efficient solutions are needed to improve the human-machine conversation with the user and at the same time are versatile to meet the expectations of numerous customers worldwide.

More recently, dispensing machines have been provided with graphical user interfaces or GUIs having touch screens. The user can make or confirm the selection by pressing a virtual button displayed on the touch screen. Such virtual buttons merely duplicate conventional mechanical buttons and do not improve the efficacy of the dispenser. Disadvantageously, this solution proves to be expensive, with touch screens being more expensive and more fragile than traditional push-button type control panels. Both capacitive and resistive sensors may operate under a transparent display screen of the graphical display, such as an LCD or plasma screen, to enable a user to input a particular command using, for example, his finger and pressing a virtual button. A graphical background is also provided to communicate with the user. WO 2007/003990 discloses a similar dispensing machine having a touch screen, providing the required function buttons, and including a range of adjustment in which a finger movement sensor is provided for adjusting, for example, the amount of sugar.

US-B-6759072 discloses a vending machine provided with a GUI presenting predetermined beverage selection icons corresponding to recipes stored by a user or to beverage recipes preferred by a user. On the other hand, each user is presented with the same recipe and may change according to the time of day, season, climate, and so forth.

WO 01/03087 discloses a vending machine of the above type in which there is a process in which a message is displayed on the display to promote certain products over others, for example the machine recommends another product to replace the product selected by the user. This is clearly a good way of annoying the user.

EP 0823696 discloses a vending machine having a display for displaying products, wherein non-purchasable products are not displayed on the screen of the display.

The use of complex GUIs in dispensing machines, such as LCD screens and multimedia content including moving images, is still considered disadvantageous because of the control panel with the traditional simple buttons, as in WO

98/16892, such GUIs are expensive and have not proven to improve business, i.e., they have not proven to attract customers and improve the sale of goods and products.

Another drawback of the known dispensing machine is that the user interface does not participate in the diagnostic process performed by the control unit. Recently, the manufacturers and the management of dispensing machines have experienced an increase in maintenance costs, the same dispensing machines often requiring repeated technical support at the workplace. In particular, dispensing machines for food and edible products such as hot or cold beverages require servicing of certain components, for example, because of clogging with food residues which rapidly deteriorate when in contact with air, lime scaling impediments, limited life, etc. Generally speaking, the control unit will perform a regular automatic diagnostic procedure to check that all the parts of the machine are operating correctly. The user cannot intervene through the relevant interface.

WO 2007/012949 discloses a method of monitoring the operation of a dispensing machine. When the control unit detects a failure or malfunction of one or more components, it controls the user interface to disable one or more selections (originally available to the user), i.e. one or more buttons, corresponding to the non-distributable goods.

Therefore, even though recent dispensing machines have graphical user interface displays, there is a need to improve the manner in which conventional dispensing machines operate. There is also a need for a system of increased functionality that can be achieved through the GUI of the dispensing machine, in the interests of its user, who would like to benefit from the additional ease of use afforded by a high definition graphical display. There is a further need for a GUI that simplifies the programming and storage of several conditions that trigger a change in the visual appearance of the GUI in connection with the end user, as long as the dispenser owner deems appropriate.

There is also a need for a method of remotely directing information of such trigger conditions to a dispensing machine and for remotely monitoring the presence of such trigger conditions received from the dispensing machine.

A further problem faced by the prior art is to provide a system that can improve the revenue of a vending machine without affecting the ease of use of the machine.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks of the prior art in a simple and effective way by providing a dispensing machine with a graphical user interface, which is capable of improving the man-machine interaction with the user and possibly involving the same user in the machine diagnosis procedure, and of improving the management of the goods stored in the machine.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine and related method of operation that enable optimization of selections and user accessibility to information via a graphical interface based on the status or other parameters of the machine.

These and other objects are achieved by a dispensing machine according to the invention as claimed in claim 1.

In general, the dispensing machine of the present invention comprises means for dispensing packaged and/or unpackaged goods, in particular, at least some of which are edible goods/beverages, such as snacks, sandwiches, snacks, packaged foods, bottled or canned beverages, hot or cold beverages, water, juices, coffee, milk, and the like. The dispensing machine according to the invention is also provided with a control unit which is connected to one or more of the dispenser electric motors and is provided with memory means for storing and reading digital data. The control unit activates the various units/elements of the machine according to the software (resident or not) and the user's choice. Furthermore, the control unit can use sensors to detect the status and monitor the functioning of the machine.

The user interface is also used to present information to the user and to read input instructions (selections) from the user to be sent to the control unit.

In one embodiment, the user interface is a graphical user interface or GUI that includes a touch screen display in combination with a graphical screen, or monitor, capable of displaying multimedia content including sound and moving images. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the GUI includes a graphical screen and a mechanical button located outside and adjacent to the screen, whereby a selection of a selected item presented on an adjacent area of the screen can be made by pressing the associated mechanical button.

The content and/or form of the information presented on the screen is at least its position optionally dynamically varied by the control unit according to the owner or operator of the machine, or according to machine-related parameters.

The invention also relates to a method of operating a dispensing machine as described above according to claim 12.

Generally, the method comprises a step of dynamically varying the content and/or the form of the information presented on the screen of the machine according to the owner or operator of the machine, or according to the machine-related parameters.

According to the invention, said at least one "machine-related parameter" preferably comprises the profitability of the product. The profitability of a product means the economic benefit of the product and includes the percentage of profit from sales, as well as other revenue such as the money that the producer of an individual product is willing to pay to place the image of its product in a selected portion of the display.

In other words, icons for products that are more profitable are located in the area of the display that is directly visible to the user, possibly using a larger area of the display, while icons for other products are located in other areas of the display, or may not be displayed as icons at all but only by pressing a button.

The "dispenser-related parameters" may include other parameters in addition to or in lieu of profitability or revenue of the product. The parameters preferably also include the remaining shelf life of the product and may further include any parameter directly or indirectly related to the operating state of the machine, examples of which are the geographical location of the machine (when it is operating), the calendar date and/or the time of day indicating the previous selection of the item made by the user, statistics or log data (such as the frequency of use), individual user specific profiles (what beverages are free and are to be paid for, or the purchaseability of certain products: wine and cigarettes are not sold to minors) or based on signals provided by at least one sensor of the machine detecting the approach of the user, the ambient temperature and the temperature of the machine elements (such as the cold beverage storage temperature), the ambient humidity, information of the product dispensed such as the quantity and shelf life, i.e. the remaining shelf life, the state of the machine elements, for example, a failure of a component.

The information displayed via the GUI interface also includes what is referred to hereinafter as "virtual buttons" and "virtual shelves"; the term "virtual button" refers to each device comprising information presented on the GUI display and a button for transmitting an instruction to the control unit, said instruction being related to the presented information. In the most common case, the information is related to the products that can be dispensed by the dispensing machine and the instruction is the type of said products and/or products that are dispensed: for example, the button shows information on the brewing of coffee (espresso) and the amount of sugar in the coffee.

The displayed information and the button may coexist, i.e. the virtual button is a display command button, and the user presses or touches the command button to select or confirm the screen area.

On the other hand, the screen is not a touch screen and, as mentioned above, the virtual buttons include the same "item" or information presented on the touch screen, as well as the real buttons located outside the screen, which give the instructions shown in the screen; such virtual buttons are used in some Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) for withdrawal.

The invention allows, through the control unit or by means of previous selections made by the owner of the machine, to vary, depending on the analysis parameters, at least the position of said virtual buttons, and possibly also the number and/or the content and/or the appearance (size, colour, background, pattern, etc.). In other words, the virtual buttons on the screen of the GUI interface are always optimized with respect to the available choices and other information from said at least one parameter, at least in position and possibly also in terms of available space and appearance.

This means that the virtual buttons corresponding to the products to be sold are located in one part of the display and not in another, depending on the parameters, preferably on the profitability or the shelf life. The buttons corresponding to products with short shelf lives are ideally located in the most prominent position of the display to improve their sale and to maintain profitability (to avoid waste after the product's useful life).

The content and form of the displayed information is coordinated with the operational state of the dispensing machine. For example, when a module or element of the machine fails to operate due to a malfunction, the shortage of some ingredients, the end of an expected shelf life, etc., the control unit changes the virtual buttons accordingly, for example, deleting the buttons normally used to operate the malfunctioning element or moving them to the "no go, no use" portion of the display, or changing the buttons to show that the corresponding product has sold out. Furthermore, the control unit may inform the user by displaying corresponding information on a screen or monitor, which in the case of the shelf life of the product concerned may be a "big discount advertisement", i.e. a method of promoting the product before the shelf life of the product has expired, e.g. reducing the selling price of the product.

Because the GUI is capable of displaying multimedia content, the content of the information may be dynamically changed, which may include movies, drawings, animations, and the like. The number, appearance, position and content of the virtual buttons are adapted to the available space on the screen of the machine via the control unit without adversely affecting the other information to be displayed. In one embodiment, the virtual button is a more complex portion of an image on the display.

The content and form of the displayed information may relate to the geographical location of the dispensing machine in addition to the virtual buttons for selection. For example, the machine is provided with a positioning device (for example a GPS module, i.e. a global positioning system that detects the geographical position, or via an internet or ethernet connection) that communicates with a control unit where the machine is located. In this example, the control unit is provided with data on statistical information about the location preferences of the user. The control unit changes the form and content of the information displayed on the GUI based on the statistical data deemed most relevant to the location confirmed by the user. Alternatively, such statistical data may be stored in an electronic key available to the user or to the owner/manager of the machine.

The dispensing machine of the invention may also be provided with a proximity sensor which is able to detect the presence of a person around the machine, for example, beside the front display of the machine. The sensors transmit signals to the control unit which can alter the form and content of the information displayed. For example, when no one is in the vicinity of the machine, the control unit sets the machine to a standby mode, for example a low energy consumption mode, in which the GUI is closed. Upon receiving such a signal, the control unit turns on the GUI, i.e. sets the machine in the vending mode of operation, and displays information which may draw the attention of the person whose presence is detected.

The touch display screen includes a resistive or capacitive sensor to detect pressure applied by a user's finger to confirm a selected item corresponding to a virtual button displayed on the screen. When the form and/or content of the information displayed on the screen changes, for example because a new virtual button or selectable image is displayed, touching the display enables the user to make a selection on the new image, button, etc.

The graphical screen is preferably an LCD monitor or a plasma monitor with a minimum resolution of 320x1024 pixels, preferably 768x1024 pixels.

Furthermore, the information displayed via the GUI may also be related to parameters indicative of the operational status of the dispensing machine. As mentioned above, such parameters are related to the fault status or remaining life of the dispenser components/parts/modules, the available quantity of goods/ingredients/water, the temperature of the goods to be dispensed, the temperature of the site where the dispenser is placed, the granulometry of the ingredients, the pressure and/or temperature of the water to be used for preparing the beverage. The information displayed on the screen may also be related to details of selections made by the user, time remaining to complete the sale, number and types of selected items available, prices of goods/products available, promotional advertisements on which selected items are available, and the like.

Other types of information, such as weather forecasts, up-to-date messages and advertising, can also be displayed, this information being strictly independent of the operation of the dispensing machine.

The dispensing machine, for example, its control unit, is preferably connected (directly or wirelessly) to a remote management server to exchange operating information about the dispensing machine itself or to obtain statistics about sales.

The machine and the method relating to its operation according to the present invention advantageously enable the optimization of the man-machine conversation between the machine and the user. The information presented on the GUI interface is dynamically changed based on the actual status of the machine, statistics regarding sales, the location of the machine, etc.

Virtual buttons are displayed on the GUI screen, and pressing the buttons enables the user to make/confirm the selection. The touch display screen combined with the screen transmits an electric signal indicating a virtual button pressed by a user to the control unit.

Advantageously, by adapting at least the position of the virtual buttons, but also the number, content and appearance of the virtual buttons, the available space on the screen is dynamically changed by the control unit to meet the momentary need or to improve the sales.

The control unit may display the virtual menu by reprogramming at least one of the position of the virtual button and the number, content and appearance of the virtual button. In this case, the display of the machine will function as a "virtual shelf" for the sale of goods, i.e. a shelf that can be dynamically changed by the owner or operator of the machine by setting or sending instructions to the control unit to modify the way in which the machine operates, in particular with respect to the way in which the user (customer) operates. In other words, the GUI is used by the control unit as a programmable visual sales area where the "on the shelf" goods in the morning, i.e. the goods displayed, are oriented differently than the "on the shelf" goods in the afternoon, in a way similar to the display in a bar, for example, there are crescent shaped bread and sweet snacks that are matched with coffee in the morning and olives, chips and savory snacks that are matched with cold drinks in the evening.

Furthermore, the invention enables an improved man-machine interaction between the user and the dispensing machine, in particular in the case of a malfunction or when technical support is required. For example, when a module of the machine fails to operate due to a lack of certain ingredients or due to a malfunction, the control unit may create a new virtual button to assist the user in performing diagnostic steps on the machine. In other words, the virtual menu may guide the user through the diagnostic step, which may assist the control unit in detecting what problem/malfunction has occurred, thus enabling effective feedback.

Other information strictly unrelated to the operation of the dispenser, such as up-to-date messages, television channel broadcasts, weather reports or commercials, can be displayed on the screen of the GUI interface. Images, videos, drawings, articles, etc. that are deemed effective to attract a user to purchase goods/beverages may be displayed at a given time.

For example, the information presented on the GUI interface screen may change over time. The GUI displays images, videos, pictures related to beverages such as hot coffee, white coffee, chocolate, hot tea, etc. at about the time of breakfast in the morning, or during winter or when the room temperature is below a preset value. The GUI displays images, videos, pictures associated with cold beverages such as sodas, juices, sodas, colas, and the like, at about the time of lunch, during the summer season, or when the room temperature is above a preset value.

Drawings

The invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the attached drawings, included as non-limiting examples, wherein:

figure 1 is a schematic view of a dispensing machine according to the invention;

figures 1A and 1B are block diagrams of the dispensing machine of figure 1, shown in greater detail;

figures 2-5 are block diagrams of the operating steps of the dispensing machine according to the invention; and

figures 6 and 7 are schematic views of two configurations of the display of the dispensing machine according to the invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a dispensing machine 1 for dispensing beverages according to the invention, the dispensing machine 1 comprising, in a manner known per se, a soluble group 2, an espresso group 3 and a cold drink module 4. The three modules are connected via a BUS 6, e.g. BUS RS-485, to a Central Processing Unit (CPU)5, which acts as a control unit for operating the group and modules.

The machine of the invention also comprises a peripheral module 7 comprising a Graphical User Interface (GUI)8 connected to the BUS 6 and having a graphical screen capable of displaying virtual buttons at least partially operating the machine and multimedia content. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)9 is provided to process multimedia content and virtual buttons on the display; a suitable GPU has a 200MHz clock, 32Mb Random Access Memory (RAM) and 32Mb Flash memory (Flash) and, therefore, the CPU of the dispensing machine is basically a standard CPU commonly used in known dispensing machines, for example, provided with a 1MHz clock, 2Kb RAM and 64Kb Flash.

Fig. 1 shows two possible GUI types. The left side of the GUI 8 shows a touch display screen 10; in this embodiment, the virtual buttons are located entirely on the screen, i.e. on the display, and are generated and modified by the GPU9 in the manner described above, i.e. in accordance with control unit commands and/or detection of dispenser-related parameters.

The left side of element 8 shows other GUI types that may be used with the present invention and, as mentioned above, is comprised of a screen 11 and a plurality of conventional buttons 12 (i.e., "mechanical" buttons) located on the side of screen 11. Indications or information corresponding to the buttons are presented on the screen 11 and can be selected by pressing the adjacent button.

Fig. 1A and 1B are two block diagrams illustrating the "virtual shelf" management that can be obtained by the present invention, which controls the "virtual buttons" by means of a control unit, preferably a CPU and/or a GPU, which alters or changes the virtual buttons according to the instructions of the control unit and/or one or more parameters related to the dispensing machine.

In fig. 1, it is emphasized that the virtual shelf management is implemented by the owner or operator of the dispensing machine in an off-line or on-line manner, for example, in response to statistical data provided by the control unit. The term "shelf", i.e. displayed on the GUI screen, comprises virtual buttons which can be changed either by the user by entering a selection or changing the screen in a known manner, or by the owner or operator of the machine when it is operating. In fig. 2, it is emphasized that the virtual shelf management sends a corresponding signal to the control unit via the sensor (1 … n) and changes the virtual shelf according to the data received by the sensor. As an additional benefit, the control unit may use the data received by the sensors to operate the engine, module or similar elements of the dispensing machine in addition to the virtual shelf.

As described above, the present invention enables the location of the virtual buttons to be changed and the virtual buttons preferably display all of the products available from the dispenser. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the display serves as a window display for displaying products, and the location of each product available from the dispenser is selected based on dispenser-related parameters, i.e., profitability.

Fig. 6 and 7 illustrate the method of the present invention.

Fig. 6 shows a display configuration in which 9x9 virtual buttons are provided on a touch display screen GUI. The buttons are denoted a1, a2, … I8, I9 and each button corresponds to a product; it is also possible to have more than one button to represent the same product, for example, product x is represented by buttons D4, D5, E4, E5. According to the invention, the position of the buttons a1, a2, … I8, I9 is selected according to the profitability as defined above, so that the most profitable product x is located at the most prominent button, or buttons directly visible to the user, for example D4, D5, E4, E5. It should be noted that the buttons D4, D5, E4 and E5 may have a larger screen area than the buttons of other products. The less profitable product y is then located at button I9 in the lower right hand corner of the GUI.

If the profit of product x is reduced, for example the manufacturer is no longer willing to pay the rental of the highlighted buttons D4, D5, E4, E5, product x may be moved to another location on the display.

The result of the scheme is shown in fig. 7, discussed below with reference to fig. 4, where the near expiration of the shelf life of product y is detected. In this case, the control unit (CPU) of the machine is informed by the expiry label present on the product and, therefore, product y is moved from the small button I9 to the button F6 (previously corresponding to product z); the button I9 then indicates the product z until further instructions are issued by the CPU.

Thus, a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of:

providing a plurality of virtual buttons on a GUI touch screen display; assigning at least one button to each product available from the machine, said button being assigned to the corresponding product according to at least one machine-related parameter including the profitability of the product and the location of the button; when necessary or necessary, the position of the product is changed by assigning the product to another button (i.e., another position) according to the parameter.

Visually, each product is preferably represented by an icon. When a product is assigned to another button, the position of the icon representing product y will move from an initial position, e.g., F6, to a final (but temporary) position I9. Thus, the button/icon of product z will "move" from the initial position to another position. The same happens for product y.

The following discusses, with reference to figures 2-5, possible solutions for the above-described operating mode of the dispensing machine according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a method of operating a dispensing machine according to the invention, wherein the machine-related parameter is daytime. According to this embodiment, the control unit detects the time of day, i.e. determines whether the time is the morning or afternoon or evening, etc. Once the time is detected, the control unit checks what "shelved" goods are, i.e. on the display, and determines whether the shelved goods coincide with the detected time, i.e. whether they are suitable for sale in the morning or in the evening, etc. The control unit also checks whether the position of the products is consistent with their "profitability" parameter and with the shelf/life parameter. The shelf life information of the product is preferably obtained from a tag or RFID located on the product via the CPU as disclosed in WO 2006/016241, incorporated herein by reference.

As described above, the "on shelf" products in the morning (i.e., the associated images or information displayed by the GUI) are different from the "on shelf" products in the afternoon. Thus, if it is detected, for example, during the morning (or at any other time, for example late at night, according to the instructions of the dispenser owner/operator on the control unit), the control unit checks whether crescent bread, cookies and sweet snacks, coffee and breakfast goods and general drinks are displayed on the GUI and whether the screen area for displaying these goods is large enough. This means checking whether the virtual button is displayed in the required way; in addition, it is checked whether the multimedia contents displayed on the GUI are displayed according to instructions set by software.

If the answer is "yes," the virtual button remains in that form until a further different instruction is received. This means that the machine is able to dispense the item through direct command of the user, i.e. the user presses one or more buttons displayed on the GUI, and the buttons for savoury snacks are not displayed at all and are only available through a series of commands.

If the answer is "no", for example, because the GUI presents an "evening menu" of only, for example, olives, chips and savory snacks, the control unit will alter the buttons and multimedia content on the display to make them coincide with the detected daytime, as described above.

Thus, the control unit gives instructions to modify the operation of the machine with respect to the previous situation (dispensing savory snacks) because savory snacks cannot be dispensed at all or can only be dispensed when the user has opened the menu showing the relevant buttons. This condition then remains all the way until further instructions are received by the control unit.

The block diagram of fig. 3 illustrates a similar manner of controlling and modifying the operation of a dispensing machine, wherein the machine related parameter is ambient temperature. According to this control step, the control unit checks whether the virtual shelf, i.e., the buttons (and multimedia contents) displayed on the GUI, coincides with the detected temperature, i.e., is the proper temperature. As an example, the area, form and number of buttons for dispensing cold beverages should be, for example, 90% of the total area of the display. If the answer is yes after detecting the temperature and checking the button/multimedia content on the display, the checked display remains in said condition until further instructions are issued by the control unit.

If the answer is "no", the display is modified as required by adding the appropriate number of buttons and, if necessary, adding a new button, for example, a "cold coffee" button. The modified display then remains in the new mode or condition until further instructions are given by the control unit.

Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of further steps for changing the operating mode of the machine.

In this embodiment of the invention, the machine related parameter is the remaining life of a product (or more than one).

Initially, the control unit detects the remaining life of the perishable product stored in the machine. This detection may be performed in any known manner, for example by providing an identification device such as an RFID or tag on the product. One way of making such identification is disclosed in WO 2006/016241, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Upon identifying the product having the shortest life, the control unit modifies operation of the machine to promote prior to expiration of the life of the identified product. To do this, the control unit checks whether the buttons of the identified product are sufficient and whether the positions of the buttons are in appropriately protruding positions to improve the sales. If the answer is "yes", the display remains in said configuration until further instruction; if the answer is "no," the buttons for the identified product are moved or incremented or new buttons are added. It is also possible to present multimedia content on the GUI to promote the expired product.

Fig. 5 shows a flow chart of another step, where the parameter is the user profile or its statistical log.

As shown, if the user is identified, the GUI displays a main selection menu screen according to the user profile or the statistical log of the selections previously made by the user. The same approach of "about the user" is followed when the dispenser prepares a product (e.g., a hot beverage) for dispensing. If no user is identified, a default display is used.

Claims (17)

1. Dispensing machine comprising a control unit connected to the electric components of one or more dispensing machines and provided with memory means for storing and reading digital data, a user interface for presenting information to a user and for reading input commands to be sent by the user to the control unit, characterized in that said user interface is a graphical user interface GUI comprising a graphical screen capable of displaying at least part of the virtual buttons and multimedia content for operating said machine, said machine comprising means for dispensing packaged and unpackaged products, the goods to be sold of said machine being presented by the virtual buttons such that the display acts as a window display screen for presenting said products, the user being able to modify the content presented on the GUI screen by input selection or modifying the screen in a known manner, thereby obtaining on-screen displayed information relating to the details of the selections made by the user and in that said control unit comprises means for commanding the control unit to display on the basis of the control unit And/or means for altering or changing at least part of said virtual buttons in relation to one or more parameters associated with said machine.

2. Dispensing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said control unit comprises means for altering or changing at least the position of at least part of said virtual buttons according to control unit instructions as a function of machine-related parameters.

3. Dispensing machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said parameter is chosen from the profitability of the product and/or the shelf life of the product.

4. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said GUI comprises a touch-sensitive display screen comprising a sensor to detect pressure applied by a user, and said graphical screen is selected from a liquid crystal display monitor or a plasma monitor.

5. The dispensing machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the dispensing machine-related parameters are selected from the group consisting of fault conditions or remaining life of the dispensing machine elements/parts/modules, the available quantity of product/ingredient/water, the temperature of the product to be dispensed, the temperature of the location of the dispensing machine, the granulometry of the ingredients, the pressure and/or temperature of the water to be used for preparing the beverage.

6. The machine according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises user identification means and means for changing said virtual buttons and multimedia content according to the instructions of said user identification means.

7. The machine according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises means for informing the control unit of the goods to be sold and the status of the machine elements.

8. The machine according to claim 7, wherein said means for informing the control unit of the status of the items to be sold and the machine elements are selected from the group consisting of tags and RFIDS.

9. The dispensing machine according to claim 1, wherein the multimedia content comprises weather forecasts, latest messages and advertisements.

10. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the multimedia content includes a specific profile of selections made by the user, time remaining to complete the sale, number and type of selection items available, price of goods/products available, promotional advertising of selectable items.

11. The dispensing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said control unit is connected to a remote management server.

12. Method for operating a dispensing machine comprising a control unit connected to one or more electric components of the machine and provided with memory means for storing and reading digital data, a user interface for presenting information to a user and for reading input commands to be sent by the user to the control unit, characterized in that said user interface is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) comprising at least part of virtual buttons enabling the display of operations of said machine and multimedia contents including moving images, and in that said control unit alters or changes at least part of said virtual buttons in accordance with control unit commands and/or one or more parameters related to said machine, said machine comprising means for dispensing packaged and unpackaged products, the products to be dispensed of said machine being presented by the virtual buttons such that the display acts as a window display screen for presenting said products, the user may alter what is presented on the GUI screen by entering a selection or otherwise altering the screen in a known manner, thereby obtaining information displayed on the screen relating to the details of the selection made by the user.

13. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that at least the position of the virtual button is changed according to preset instructions of the control unit and/or according to the detection of the dispenser-related parameters.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the parameter is selected from the group consisting of profitability of the product and/or shelf life of the product.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the parameters related to the machine are selected from the group consisting of geographical location of the operating machine, calendar date, time of day, statistics or log data indicating previous selections made by the user, signals provided by at least one sensor of the machine detecting user proximity, ambient temperature, temperature of machine components, ambient humidity, information of products being dispensed, status of machine components, fault condition or remaining life of machine components/parts/modules, available quantity of goods/ingredients/water, temperature of goods to be dispensed, temperature of the place where the machine is placed, granulometry of ingredients, pressure and/or temperature of water to be used for preparing beverages, selection specific gear made by the user, remaining time to complete vending, number and type of available selections, and the like, The price at which the good/product is available.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the form and/or content of the information is dynamically changed over a period of time, wherein the user is enabled to make selections via the touch screen display.

17. A method according to claim 12 or 14, characterized in that information of at least the shelf life of the product is obtained from a tag or RFID provided on the product.