Vending Machine Audit Module Consolidating Controller and Payment Data
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current vending machine data collection systems require separate access to the vending machine controller and payment device to obtain comprehensive operational data, leading to inefficiencies and fragmented data records, especially when not all data is stored within the controller.
Innovation Solution
An audit module integrated within the vending machine, capable of communicating with both the vending machine controller and payment devices via local and wide area networks, consolidates data from multiple sources into a single record, facilitating the extraction and processing of operational and transactional data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If separate access to vending machine controller and payment device is used to obtain comprehensive operational data, then data completeness is improved, but system complexity and retrieval difficulty worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple data sources (vending machine controller and payment device) into a single consolidated data structure that can be accessed through one retrieval operation. The audit data includes both product dispensing information from the controller and transaction information from the payment device, unified under a single access point rather than requiring separate accesses to multiple devices.
2Loss of information
If separate access to multiple data sources is required, then comprehensive data collection is improved, but retrieval time and operational efficiency worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary consolidation of data from multiple sources into a unified audit record structure. The audit data is pre-assembled to include all necessary information (product data, transaction data, timestamps) in a single accessible location, eliminating the need for sequential retrieval operations during actual data collection.
3Reliability
If data is stored in multiple separate locations, then data integrity for each source is improved, but data fragmentation and processing complexity worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments audit data into distinct functional categories (product dispensing data, transaction data, timestamp data) while maintaining their unified access. Each data type retains its integrity and source attribution, but all segments are accessible through a single consolidated audit record rather than being scattered across multiple devices requiring separate processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A vending machine audit system includes a vending machine including a vending machine controller configured to generate device data representative of the operations of the vending machine. At least one peripheral device is operatively coupled to the vending machine and is configured to generate device data representative of the operations of the peripheral device. An audit module includes a data storage component and is operatively coupled to the vending machine controller and the at least one peripheral device. The audit module is configured to receive device data from each of the vending machine controller and the at least one peripheral device and to perform a merging operation to generate a single merged audit data record representative of the operations of the vending machine and the at least one peripheral device.