Method for operating a beverage vending machine and device for operating a beverage vending machine

Abstract

The present invention accordingly relates to a method and a device (1) for operating a beverage vending machine (2), where the beverage vending machine (2) is coupled to an operating instance (3), where the operating instance (3) receives operating information from a remotely located management instance (4), which management instance (4) is connectable to a payment instance (5) for payment of beverage purchases.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for operating a beverage vending machine.

[0002] The present invention further relates to an apparatus for operating a beverage vending machine.

[0003] It is known to operate a beverage vending machine, for example a fully automatic coffee machine, using a mobile operating instance such as a smartphone. Here, the mobile operating instance is configured to be wirelessly coupled to the beverage vending machine, for example via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth®, in order to trigger the purchase of a beverage from the beverage vending machine in which the beverages available for installation with the beverage vending machine are stored.

[0004] Therefore, the present invention endeavors to integrate a payment function into a system for wireless operation of a beverage vending machine.

[0005] According to the present invention, in order to solve this problem, the features of claim 1 are assumed. Therefore, in particular, according to the present invention, in a method for operating a beverage vending machine, the method uses a management instance, an operating instance, and a payment instance arranged at a distance from the beverage vending machine, where the management instance holds beverage-specific information, where in a selection step, a user selects a beverage in the operating instance, in an ordering step, an order for the selected beverage is transmitted from the operating instance to the management instance, in a payment step, the management instance initiates a payment process in the payment instance, and after successful payment, the management instance in a release step, transmits an order release to the operating instance, in a trigger step, it is proposed that the beverage delivery of the selected beverage be triggered at the beverage vending machine.

[0006] By creating a management instance and participating in the payment process, the present invention enables the realization of a payment function without the need to connect the beverage vending machine itself to the Internet for verifying the payment process. A further advantage is that there is no need to protect the operation instance in a special way to prevent the delivery of unpaid beverages.

[0007] The method described can be particularly advantageously used in fully automatic coffee machines where various specialty coffees, such as milk-containing or milk-free beverages, can be purchased.

[0008] For example, the management instance may be configured as a stationary type, particularly within a server. The advantage here is that the management instance can be maintained without depending on the operation instance, and in particular, it can be provided with updated information.

[0009] This updated information can then be simultaneously available in all operation instances without the need to change these operation instances. As an example, the selection of a specific payment method or a specific payment instance can be used.

[0010] The operation instance is preferably configured in a mobile manner, for example, as a smartphone, a tablet, or a similar mobile operation unit. The advantage here is that the user can use their own unique operation instance.

[0011] Preferably, the payment instance is configured as a stationary type. In this case, the payment instance can be a payment instance provided via the Internet using an appropriate interface from a payment service provider. Therefore, preferably, this payment instance is adjusted separately from the management instance.

[0012] For example, it may be assumed that the operation instance is wirelessly connected to the beverage vending machine and / or the management instance in at least one section of each communication path.

[0013] For example, it may be assumed that the payment instance is provided on the Internet as a cloud service or as a service that can be driven and controlled by other standardized interfaces.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, in the identification step, it may be assumed that the operation instance receives a machine-specific identifier from the beverage vending machine. The advantage here is that the operation instance can process the machine-specific identifier so that it can be set for each beverage vending machine to be operated.

[0015] For example, it may be assumed that this identification step is performed before the selection step. Thereby, the palette of selectable beverages can be adapted to each beverage vending machine to be operated for the failure step.

[0016] For example, it may be assumed that the identification step is performed before the ordering step.

[0017] Thereby, it is possible to achieve adapting the ordering step to the given conditions of each beverage vending machine to be operated.

[0018] Particularly here, it may be assumed that the machine-specific identifier is transmitted together with the order information. Thereby, the information on which beverage vending machine is being operated becomes available in the management instance.

[0019] For example, it may be assumed that a machine-specific identifier is optically read. The advantage here is that a wireless connection between the operating instance and the beverage vending machine is not required at the time of reading the machine-specific information. For example, outside the beverage vending machine, the machine-specific identifier may be provided persistently as a marking together with a machine-readable code, such as a QR code, or may be provided using a display unit temporarily.

[0020] For the supply and transmission of the machine-specific identifier before the selection step, there is an advantage that this identifier can be transmitted to the management instance before the selection step, so that the management instance can transmit beverage-specific information to the operating instance before the selection is made.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, in the coupling step, it may be assumed that a control connection path is constructed between the operating instance and the beverage vending machine. The advantage here is that wireless drive control can be executed via this control connection path, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark), particularly Bluetooth Low Energy or Web-Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0022] This can be done, for example, after the identification step, so that the machine-specific identifier is available during the adjustment of the operating instance.

[0023] This can be done, for example, before the selection step, so that communication with the beverage vending machine is already available during the selection of the beverage.

[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, it may be assumed that the operating instance receives, in the adjustment step, from the management instance a set of beverages available in the beverage vending machine and / or in the machine-specific identifier. Advantageously here, the beverages available for the beverage vending machine are used by modification of the management instance and can be changed without the need to intervene in the operating instance or the beverage vending machine.

[0025] For example, a set of available beverages may be transmitted along with their respective prices. Thereby, price information can be changed without the need to access a beverage vending machine or an operating instance.

[0026] Alternatively or additionally, it may be assumed that prescription parameters belonging to a set of beverages, such as the amount of milk, water or water temperature for additives or other ingredients, coffee type, grind degree, etc., can be transmitted. Based on these parameters, available beverages can be distinguishable and / or individually adaptable. Here too, the advantage is obtained that the characteristics of the beverage vending machine can be remotely modified without the need to intervene in the beverage vending machine.

[0027] This can be easily done, for example, by modifying the management instance and / or beverage-specific information. For this purpose, the management instance may be configured with a user interface for reading and / or modifying a database, for example.

[0028] Preferably, the setting step is performed before the selection step so that the information update performed in the management instance is already available in the operating instance, and in particular visible, before the execution of the selection step.

[0029] In one embodiment of the present invention, in the verification step, it may be assumed that the beverage vending machine transmits a verification identifier to the operating instance. The advantage here is that genuine information can be transmitted from the beverage vending machine to the management instance without the need to specially adjust the operating instance. For example, the verification identifier can include time information regarding its generation, for example as a nonce.

[0030] Particularly advantageously, the verification step is carried out as part of the selection step. The advantage here is that in a beverage vending machine, at the time of generating the verification identifier, the order or selection of the desired beverage is already available. Thus, it is possible to combine the selected beverage with the verification identifier for later inspection.

[0031] In one embodiment of the invention, it may be assumed that in the ordering step or, for example, in the payment step described above, a verification identifier, for example the verification identifier described above, is transmitted to the management instance. Thereby, an instrument for reliably configuring the payment process is provided. Thus, in particular, when the verification identifier is transmitted from the beverage vending machine to the management instance via the operating instance, the management instance can process information originating from the beverage vending machine and not modifiable by the intermediate operating instance. In this case, the management instance can also sign the verification identifier, as will be explained below.

[0032] In one embodiment of the invention, it may be assumed that in the release step, the management instance transmits a verification identifier, for example the verification identifier described above, to the operating instance. Thereby, the management instance is provided with a means, for example, indicating that the payment has been completed, and enables the operating instance to trigger the purchase of the selected beverage. For this purpose, advantageously, the verification identifier is signed by the management instance. This can be done by means of a key of a key pair, for example by the RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) method or generally by an asymmetric encryption method, thereby enabling the beverage vending machine to check the signature.

[0033] For example, it may be assumed that the operating instance transfers the verification identifier to the beverage vending machine. Thereby, in the beverage vending machine, information that was verifiable or processable by the management instance is available. This processing can be done here by means of the signature described. As the signature, one of the signature methods already known in the prior art or other signature methods can be used.

[0034] Particularly advantageously, such transmission or transfer of the verification identifier from the operating instance to the beverage vending machine is performed automatically, i.e., without additional action by the user.

[0035] The use of the verification identifier for automatically triggering the selected beverage, processed by the management instance, has the further advantage that the management instance can count, with little error, the number of beverages dispensed for the beverage vending machine or for the machine-specific identifier without the need for a response notification to the management instance after completion of beverage preparation. This is achieved because, by doing so, it becomes practically impossible to prevent the release of beverages after release by the management instance. This is because all further steps can be automatically flowed through in a short time.

[0036] Therefore, in particular, it is not necessary to connect the beverage vending machine to the Internet without depending on the operating instance in order to provide such a response notification.

[0037] In one embodiment of the present invention, it may be assumed that the beverage vending machine checks the verification identifier transmitted from the operating instance before the selected beverage is dispensed in the trigger step. Thereby, a means for checking the ordering process in the beverage vending machine becomes possible. Here, it is particularly advantageous when the verification identifier is generated and processed as described above. In particular, when the verification identifier includes time information regarding its own generation time, it becomes practically impossible to trigger the beverage purchase twice, before and after, using the processed verification identifier.

[0038] In one embodiment of the present invention, it may be assumed that in the payment step, a payment request is transmitted from the payment instance to the operating instance. Thereby, the operating instance can handle the payment process.

[0039] Particularly advantageously, this transmission of the payment request is transmitted from the payment instance to the operation instance via the management instance. Thereby, the management instance can monitor the entire payment process.

[0040] Therefore, a direct coupling between the operation instance and the payment instance is not necessary. This has the following advantages, namely, at a central location such as the management instance, modification of the payment instance to obtain information on completed payments is not required, and there is no need to transmit information on completed payments to the management instance via the operation instance.

[0041] In one embodiment of the present invention, it may be assumed that in the management instance, before the payment step, it is inspected whether a payment process is necessary. Thereby, means are provided for storing in the management instance whether a payment for the beverage vending machine is necessary. This would not apply, for example, to beverage vending machines installed in non-public spaces or to beverage vending machines that should be provided free of charge to a specific membership group. In such cases, the management instance can determine to skip the payment step if such a case is stored. Here advantageously, the management instance enables a flexible configuration of the operation process without the need to modify the beverage vending machine or the operation instance. Even more advantageously, in such cases as well, reliable capture of the received beverage is available in the management instance, and in that case, a direct Internet connection between the beverage vending machine and the management instance would not be necessary.

[0042] For example, since this information may be stored based on the beverage vending machine or for a machine-specific identifier, an appropriate assignment of whether a payment process is necessary in the operation process can be easily made in the management instance.

[0043] In one embodiment of the present invention, it may be assumed that the execution of the release step is stored in the management instance. Thus, the beverage vending machine can perform statistical and / or accounting evaluations on the beverages received in the beverage vending machine without the need to be read via a separate Internet connection, for example. This enables a simple comparison between the payment process in the beverage vending machine and the received beverages, preventive maintenance, or adjustment of other statistical and / or accounting evaluations.

[0044] In one embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration step, it may be assumed that the machine-specific identifier, particularly the machine-specific identifier described above, is transmitted to the management instance. This enables the application of the beverage vending machine in the management instance. Preferably, it may be assumed that the configuration step can be executed separately from the operation instance described above, for example, via a further operation instance of an authorized person, and is locked with respect to the operation instance described above.

[0045] For example, it may be assumed that the management instance generates a public key / private key pair and transmits its public key to the beverage vending machine. For example, this key pair can be generated in an asymmetric encryption method, such as the RSA method. Thus, it is possible to provide the beverage vending machine with information that can be used for generating a verification identifier or generating other information that cannot be modified by the operation instance. This enables secure communication between the beverage vending machine and the management instance via the operation instance, and in this case, a separate connection of the management instance to the beverage vending machine that is not induced via the operation instance will not be necessary.

[0046] For example, it may be assumed that the public key is transmitted in the trigger step described above, particularly for verifying the signature of the verification identifier, and is preferably used for verifying the signature in the beverage vending machine. This enables verification of the proper completion of the payment process in the beverage vending machine.

[0047] In one embodiment of the present invention, it may be assumed that the beverage vending machine and the operation instance are coupled to a point-to-point connection path. This enables a simple adjustment of the control connection path between the beverage vending machine and the operation instance, and in that case, it may not be necessary to connect the beverage vending machine to other communication networks. For example, this point-to-point connection path may be adjustable via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark), particularly Bluetooth Low Energy and / or Web-Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0048] Advantageously here, full communication with the beverage vending machine, particularly full communication between the beverage vending machine and the management instance, can be performed via an operation instance that may itself be connected to the Internet via mobile data access.

[0049] The present invention here utilizes the fact that when the operation instance is, in particular, a smartphone, it is technically adjusted to connect to the Internet and thus to the management instance via, for example, a mobile radio network or WLAN without the user having to make modifications for operating the beverage vending machine.

[0050] In one embodiment of the present invention, in a configuration step, for example, in the aforementioned configuration step, it may be stored in the management instance whether a payment process is required for a machine-specific identifier, for example, the aforementioned machine-specific identifier. Advantageously here, this configuration step can be performed separately from the operation instance, for example, by an authorized person having a separate operation instance. Thereby, this information can be configured such that the operation instance cannot access it in the normal operation method, so an unauthorized user cannot actually modify this information.

[0051] In one embodiment of the present invention, it may be assumed that when the method is to be executed, the manual input unit in the beverage vending machine is deactivated. Here, advantageously, it is possible to achieve complete control of the beverage vending machine by the management instance.

[0052] Alternatively or additionally, it may be assumed that an optical output unit, for example the above-mentioned output unit, presents a machine-specific identifier, for example the above-mentioned machine-specific identifier. This enables easy optical reading of the identifier at this point without the need to already establish a control connection between the beverage vending machine and the operating instance. Preferably, it may be assumed that such a presentation of the machine-specific identifier also includes information regarding the establishment of a control connection path to the beverage vending machine.

[0053] For example, here it may be assumed that an error notification is inserted via the identifier. Thereby, in this way, the user is prevented from starting an operation of the faulty beverage vending machine.

[0054] To solve the above problems, furthermore, a device for operating a beverage vending machine is assumed. In particular, here the device comprises a beverage vending machine, an operating instance and a management instance. According to the present invention, here it is assumed that the means for executing the method according to the present invention are configured in particular as described above and / or in accordance with one of the protection claims directed to the method.

[0055] Here, the present invention will be described in more detail based on one example, but this is not intended to be a limitation to the example. Further examples result from combining the features of the individual or multiple protection claims with each other and / or with the features of the individual or multiple examples.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0056]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

[0057] FIG. 5 shows a device for operating a beverage vending machine 2, which is entirely designated by reference numeral 1.

[0058] Accordingly, the device 1 has a beverage vending machine 2, for example, a fully automatic coffee machine, a mobile operation instance 3, for example, a smartphone, a management instance 4, for example, a database 11 accessible via the Internet, and a payment instance 5, for example, a cloud service.

[0059] The beverage vending machine 2 has a display unit 6, and a machine-readable code, for example, a QR code, can be presented on this display unit 6.

[0060] This machine-readable code includes a machine-specific identifier and information for starting an application in the operation instance 3.

[0061] The operation instance 3 has a reading unit 7, and using this reading unit 7, the mechanically further processable information presented on the display unit 6 can be read.

[0062] The read information is used for constructing a control connection path 8 between the communication unit 9 of the beverage vending machine 2 and the operation instance 3. This control connection path 8 is, in this example, a Web-Bluetooth connection path or a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) connection path.

[0063] The operation instance 3 is connected to the management instance 4 via the data connection path 10, for example, at least partially via the Internet.

[0064] Similarly, the data connection path 10 can be constructed based on the information transmitted from the beverage vending machine 2 via the reading unit 7, for example, based on a machine-specific identifier.

[0065] The management instance 4 has the aforementioned database 11, and this database 11 has beverage-specific information assigned particularly to a machine-specific identifier.

[0066] These beverage-specific information can include, for example, parameters of prescription and / or price information.

[0067] The management instance 4 further has a manual user interface for the maintenance, servicing, and updating of the database 11.

[0068] This user interface 12 can also be called via remote access.

[0069] The management instance 4 can be connected to the payment instance 5 at least temporarily via a further data connection path 13.

[0070] Figures 1 and 2 show the individual sub-steps of the configuration step 14.

[0071] Here, the devices and instances involved are arranged in a column.

[0072] "KVA" represents a beverage vending machine having a wireless connector ("frog") (for example, KVA = fully automatic coffee machine). This wireless connector forms the communication unit 9 of the beverage vending machine 2 in Figure 5.

[0073] In the third column, "Setup App", an operation instance 3 is presented. This operation instance 3 does not have to match the operation instance in the normal operation mode and may be an operation instance of a specially authorized user.

[0074] The column "Operator Front End" represents the management instance 4.

[0075] User intervention is marked by horizontal dashed lines respectively.

[0076] First, it is clear that the communication unit 9 is activated in the sub-step with "1" in the circle.

[0077] Subsequently, the beverage vending machine 2 shows a QR code on its display unit 6, and this QR code is scanned using the operation instance 3, thereby providing a link to the setup routine.

[0078] With this link, the user can start the setup app in the sub-step with "2" in the circle here, in the operation instance 3, and can apply or register a new user in the management instance 4.

[0079] Here, the user selects whether to apply for a new beverage vending machine 2 in the operation instance 3.

[0080] Here, the control connection path 8 between the beverage vending machine 2 and the operation instance 3 is established.

[0081] The beverage vending machine 2 transmits here, via the communication unit 9, a machine-specific identifier including the unique name of the machine ("Machine ID") and information on the device type (e.g., "Product Name"). In the sub-step with "3" in the circle, the user selects in the operation instance 3 which operation mode is selected first. For this selection, the mode in Figure 4 is launched.

[0082] Here, there are an "authentication" mode, a "payment" mode, and an "open access" mode.

[0083] In the open mode of "open access", the user recognizes the QR code on the beverage vending machine 2 (display unit 6), and all can be used without payment. In this case, the payment step 20, which will be described in more detail below, is skipped.

[0084] This mode is used to obtain the statistics of the beverage vending machine 2 and display them on the management instance 4.

[0085] The second mode is the payment mode of "payment", where the user scans the QR code and makes a payment in the payment step 20, which will be described in more detail below, and receives the beverage.

[0086] The third mode is called authorized "authentication" access. Here, the user of the beverage vending machine 2 can be assigned via the operator front end 24 (which has manual operation elements such as a touch screen, a switch, etc.), that is, if the user is assigned to the beverage vending machine 2, the user can use the beverage vending machine 2, otherwise, the user cannot use the beverage vending machine 2. For this purpose, the user needs to log in to the coffee application in the operation instance 3, so that the system can recognize and the user can use the beverage vending machine 2.

[0087] Returning to FIG. 1, the operation instance 3 here sends a machine-specific identifier and further information (such as the selected operation mode "selection mode", and optionally also the protocol version of the data communication, the MAC address of the communication unit 9, and the associated version number) to the management instance 4 in order to generate an application for the beverage vending machine 2 in the management instance 4.

[0088] These data are stored here in the database 11 of the management instance 4.

[0089] The management instance 4 generates here a key pair having a public key and a private key.

[0090] Such a public key is transmitted here to the operation instance 3 and from there further to the beverage vending machine 2 or its communication unit 9 in order to be stored in the beverage vending machine 2.

[0091] Therefore, this public key is prepared for further use in the beverage vending machine 2 without depending on the operation instance 3.

[0092] Upon completion of the sub-step with "3" in the circle, the beverage vending machine 2 gives a response notification to the operation instance 3 via the control connection path 8 and switches the display unit 6 so that local operations in the beverage vending machine 2 are no longer possible and are no longer displayed.

[0093] In the sub-step with "4" in the circle, there arises a means for giving, for the user in the operation instance 3, an individual name ("frog name") for the beverage vending machine 2 stored in the communication unit 9. As soon as the beverage vending machine 2 transmits the success of the name change to the operation instance 3, this operation instance 3 transmits this newly determined name for the beverage vending machine 2 to the management instance 4 for storage in the database 11.

[0094] Thereby, the configuration step 14 ends.

[0095] Figure 3 shows a normal operation mode for executing the method according to the invention.

[0096] Here, a column of "Frog" for the communication unit 9 of the beverage vending machine 2, thus a column of "Frog" for the beverage vending machine 2, a column of "Coffee App" for the operation instance 3, a column of "Operator Front End / Server" for the management instance 4, and a column of "Payment Provider" for the payment instance 5 are started. The dashed horizontal line also represents the input in the operation instance 3 here.

[0097] In the identification step 15 at the start of the sub-step with "5" in a circle in FIG. 3, the operation instance 3 reads in the display unit 6, and this machine-readable information particularly includes the machine-specific identifier of the beverage vending machine 2 and also includes a link to the app to be executed in the operation instance 3. This app ("Coffee App") is usually different from the app described in the above-described configuration step 14.

[0098] Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation instance 3 can inquire about the mode set in the management unit 4.

[0099] In the "Open Access" mode, the subsequent payment step 20 is skipped. In the "Payment" mode, the method described below is fully executed. In the "Authentication" mode, local operations on the beverage vending machine by authorized users are taken without recording beverage purchases in the management unit 4.

[0100] Below, the flow when the "Payment" mode is set will be described.

[0101] Subsequently, using the above-described identifier, in the adjustment step 16, the operation instance 3 inquires about the available beverages of the beverage vending machine 2 in the management instance 4, the corresponding prices, and possibly the prescription parameters.

[0102] If this is stored in the operation instance 3, the operation instance 3 is prepared for the selection of the beverage and can construct the control connection path 8 using the information from the identification step 15.

[0103] At the start of the sub-step with "5" in the circle, that is, in the identification step 15, part of the transmitted information can be used by the beverage vending machine 2, whereby the data connection path 10 between the operation instance 3 and the management instance 4 can be formed up to the management instance 4 via, for example, a mobile wireless data connection path and a subsequent Internet connection path.

[0104] Upon completion of the adjustment step 16, the operation instance 3 displays to the user, here, the menu structure of the available beverages in the beverage vending machine 2 ("Coffee Menu" in FIG. 4).

[0105] Thereby, these information do not originate from the beverage vending machine 2 and can be changed and updated via the management instance 4 without accessing the beverage vending machine 2.

[0106] In the sub-step with "6" in the circle, the user selects the desired beverage in the selection step 17 in the operation instance 3. This beverage is transmitted here from the operation instance 3 to the beverage vending machine 2, and in this case, a verification identifier ("Nonce") is queried.

[0107] This verification identifier is generated in the verification step 18 in the beverage vending machine 2 and transmitted to the operation instance 3.

[0108] In the subsequent ordering step 19, the operation instance 3 transmits an order with the data of the selected beverage and the verification identifier to the management instance 4.

[0109] The management instance 4 calls the payment instance 5 to start the payment process. The response notification of the payment instance 5 is returned from the management instance 4 to the operation instance 3.

[0110] In payment step 20, the user inputs, in the operation instance 3, the data required for triggering the payment process at the start of the sub-step with a "7" in the circle. These data are here transmitted together with the verification identifier to the management instance 4, and this management instance 4 transfers the said payment data to the payment instance 5 for triggering the payment.

[0111] If the payment process can be completed properly, a response notification of the payment instance 5 is made to the management instance 4.

[0112] Subsequently, the management instance 4 signs the verification identifier using the key pair described above and returns this verification identifier to the operation instance 3.

[0113] If the "open access" mode is selected, the management instance 4 skips the call of the payment instance 5 and the payment step 20, signs, and directly transmits this verification identifier to the operation instance 3.

[0114] Therefore, the signed verification identifier is transmitted to the operation instance 3 in the release step 21, whether in the "open access" mode or in the "payment" mode.

[0115] In trigger step 22, the signed verification identifier is transmitted from the operation instance 3 to the beverage vending machine 2 without further intervention by the user.

[0116] The beverage vending machine 2 checks the verification identifier signed with its public key and, after the check is successful, triggers the release of the selected beverage in the release unit 23 of the beverage vending machine 2.

[0117] Subsequently, the application on the operation instance 3 can be terminated, or it can be newly executed from the sub-step with a "6" in the circle for the purchase of additional beverages.

[0118] The present invention accordingly relates to a method and an apparatus 1 for operating a beverage vending machine 2, where the beverage vending machine 2 is coupled to an operation instance 3, where the operation instance 3 receives operation information from a remotely located management instance 4, and this management instance 4 is connectable to a payment instance 5 for the payment of beverage purchases.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0119] 1 Apparatus for operating a beverage vending machine 2 Beverage vending machine 3 Operation instance 4 Management instance 5 Payment instance 6 Display unit 7 Reading unit 8 Control connection path 9 Communication unit 10 Data connection path 11 Database 12 User interface 13 (Additional) data connection path 14 Configuration step 15 Identification step 16 Adjustment step 17 Selection step 18 Verification step 19 Order step 20 Payment step 21 Release step 22 Trigger step 23 Output unit 24 Operator front end

Claims

1. A method for operating a beverage vending machine (2), comprising: a stationary management instance (4) located at a distance from the beverage vending machine (2); Operation instance (3); a payment instance (5), The management instance (4) holds beverage-specific information; In a selection step (17), the user selects a beverage in the operation instance (3), In an ordering step (19), an order for the selected beverage is transmitted from the operation instance (3) to the management instance (4), In the payment step (20), the management instance (4) initiates the payment process in the payment instance (5), which, after successful payment, In a release step (21), an order release is transmitted to the operation instance (3); In a triggering step (22), beverage delivery of the selected beverage is triggered in the beverage vending machine (2); The method, wherein the management instance (4) sends a verification identifier to the operation instance (3) in the releasing step (21), and the operation instance (3) automatically forwards the verification identifier to the beverage vending machine (2).

2. A method for operating a beverage vending machine (2), comprising: a stationary management instance (4) located at a distance from the beverage vending machine (2); Operation instance (3); a payment instance (5), The management instance (4) holds beverage-specific information; In a selection step (17), the user selects a beverage in the operation instance (3), In an ordering step (19), an order for the selected beverage is transmitted from the operation instance (3) to the management instance (4), In the payment step (20), the management instance (4) initiates the payment process in the payment instance (5), which, after successful payment, In a release step (21), an order release is transmitted to the operation instance (3); In a triggering step (22), a beverage delivery of the selected beverage is triggered in the beverage vending machine (2). In the ordering step (19) and / or the payment step (20), a verification identifier is transmitted to the management instance (4), In the releasing step (21), the management instance (4) sends the signed verification identifier to the operation instance (3), which then automatically forwards the verification identifier to the beverage vending machine (2).

3. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the identification step (15), before the selection step (17) or before the ordering step (19), the operation instance (3) receives a machine-specific identifier from the beverage vending machine (2), the machine-specific identifier being transmitted together with the order information and / or the machine-specific identifier being optically read.

4. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the coupling step, a control connection is established between the operation instance (3) and the beverage dispenser (2).

5. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in a setting step (16) the operation instance (3) receives from the management instance (4) a set of beverages available in the beverage vending machine (2) and / or the machine-specific identifier, each together with an associated price and / or at least one associated recipe parameter.

6. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein in a verification step (18), the beverage dispenser (2) transmits a verification identifier to the operation instance (3).

7. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the management instance (4) transmits the signed verification identifier to the operation instance (3) in the releasing step (21).

8. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the beverage dispenser (2) checks a verification identifier transmitted from the operation instance (3) in the triggering step (22) before the selected beverage is dispensed.

9. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein in the payment step (20), a payment request is transmitted from the payment instance (5) to the operation instance (3).

10. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the management instance (4), before the payment step (20), it is checked whether a payment process is required for the beverage vending machine and / or the machine-specific identifier, and if this is not the case, the payment step (20) is skipped.

11. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein in the management instance (4), the execution of the release step (21) is stored.

12. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the configuration step (14), a machine-specific identifier is transmitted to the management instance (4), and the management instance (4) generates a public / private key pair and transmits the public key to the beverage dispenser (2) and / or uses it in the beverage dispenser (2) for checking the verification identifier transmitted in the triggering step (22).

13. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the beverage dispenser (2) and the operation instance (3) are coupled to a point-to-point connection via Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth (BLE, Web-Bluetooth), and the entire communication with the beverage dispenser (2) proceeds via the operation instance (3).

14. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein in the configuration step (14) a machine-specific identifier is stored in the management instance (4) as to whether or not a payment process is required.

15. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a manual input unit in the beverage dispenser (2) is deactivated and / or an optical output unit presents a machine-specific identifier and an error notification is inserted via said identifier.

16. 16. A device for operating a beverage dispenser (2), comprising means for carrying out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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