Communication Terminal Push Notification for Vending Machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vending machines currently operate passively, requiring users to access them to make purchases, and lack the ability to actively recommend products to users based on their preferences, leading to inefficient sales and user experience.
Innovation Solution
A communication terminal method that uses short-range wireless communication to acquire identification and type information from vending machines, transmits user IDs to a server for preference data, and generates push notification screens to recommend matching drinks to users, displayed on their terminal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If vending machines operate passively requiring users to access them for purchases, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity and sales efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by transmitting push notifications to users' communication terminals before they reach the vending machine. The notification includes product information and purchase instructions, allowing users to prepare for purchase in advance. This shifts the initiation of the sales process from the vending machine to the user's terminal, improving sales efficiency without requiring complex changes to the vending machine itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a communication terminal (smartphone or similar device) as an intermediary between the user and the vending machine. The terminal receives push notifications, displays product information, and facilitates the purchase process. This intermediary handles the complexity of active recommendation and purchase coordination, allowing the vending machine to remain relatively simple while achieving improved sales efficiency.
2Adaptability or versatility
If vending machines display all available products, then user choice is maximized, but information overload and unnecessary menu displays increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by customizing the information displayed on the user's communication terminal based on their preferences and the specific context. Instead of displaying all products uniformly, the push notification selectively presents relevant product information tailored to the user's profile and current situation. This ensures information efficiency while maintaining adaptability to individual user needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by providing only the necessary product information in the push notification rather than displaying the complete product catalog. The notification includes essential details (product name, image, purchase instruction) sufficient for the user to make a purchase decision, avoiding information overload while still enabling informed choice.
3Adaptability or versatility
If user preference data is collected and processed, then personalized recommendations are enabled, but personal information security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into distinct components with separated functions: the vending machine transmits basic product information, the communication terminal receives and displays push notifications, and a server manages user preference data. This segmentation allows personalized recommendations to be generated through coordinated processing across multiple components, reducing the security risk concentration in any single system while maintaining personalization capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables vending machines to actively recommend drinks to users based on their preferences, improving sales efficiency and user experience by reducing unnecessary menu displays and ensuring secure personal information handling.
Implementation Method 1
acquiring, in response to receipt of a beacon signal from a vending machine of drinks, from the vending machine by using short-range wireless communication
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes causing a computer of a communication terminal to perform a process including acquiring, in response to receipt of a beacon signal transmitted from a vending machine, identification information and type information of a plurality of drinks from the vending machine by using short-range wireless communication; acquiring preference information on drinks of a user of the communication terminal; generating, based on the identification information, the type information, and the preference information, a push notification screen that recommends at least one drink that matches a preference of the user indicated by the preference information from among the plurality of drinks stored in the vending machine indicated by the identification information; and displaying the push notification screen on a display of the communication terminal.