Patent · US10726246B1 · B1 · US

Automated vending machine with customer and identification authentication

(11) Publication number

US10726246B1

(21) Application number

16/785,872

(22) Filing date

2020-02-10

(30) Priority date

2019-06-24

(43) Publication date

2020-07-28

(45) Date of grant

2020-07-28

(51) IPC

B67D 1/00; G06K 9/00; G06N 20/00; G07F 7/12

(52) CPC

G06V Image or video recognition or understanding: 40/173, 40/166, 40/172, 40/178, 40/20
B67D Dispensing, delivering or transferring liquids, not otherwise provided for: 1/0022
G06K Graphical data reading; presentation of data; record carriers; handling record carriers: 2009/00322, 9/00255, 9/00295, 9/00335
G06N Computing arrangements based on specific computational models: 20/00
G06Q Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes; systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not otherwise provided for: 20/18, 20/4014, 20/40145, 20/409
G07F Coin-freed or like apparatus: 7/12, 9/002, 9/026

(73) Assignee

Accenture Global Solutions Ltd

(72) Inventors

Christopher J. McClellan; Jon C. Carder; Kevin D. McCann; Benjamin Scott Rogers; Christopher Bryan Paul Barr; Josef Salyer; Michael James Smith; David W. Nippa

(54) Title

Automated vending machine with customer and identification authentication

(57) Abstract

Implementations include actions of receiving consumer-specific data and ID-specific data from an identification presented by a consumer to a vending machine, processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data to determine one or more of whether the identification is unexpired and whether the identification is authentic, and serving the consumer from the vending machine at least partially in response to determining that the identification is unexpired and that the identification is authentic and determining that the consumer is authentic relative to the identification.

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Claims (20)

A computer-implemented method for selectively serving a consumer from a vending machine, the method comprising: receiving consumer-specific data and ID-specific data from an identification presented by a consumer to a vending machine, the consumer-specific data being absent personally identifiable information (PII), such that PII of the consumer is absent from storage within the vending machine and is absent from transmissions from the vending machine; determining a type of the identification based on the ID-specific data; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data to determine one or more of whether the identification is unexpired; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data based on the type of the identification to determine whether the identification is authentic; and serving the consumer from the vending machine at least partially in response to determining that the identification is unexpired and that the identification is authentic and determining that the consumer is authentic relative to the identification.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises comparing features of the identification to known features of the type of the identification.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises providing an image of the identification to a machine learning (ML) model and receiving an indication from the ML model indicating whether the identification is authentic.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the consumer is authentic relative to the identification comprises providing image data and/or video data depicting the consumer and an image from the identification to a facial recognition system that processes the data to determine whether the consumer matches the image provided with the identification.
The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a state of the consumer, serving the consumer being further in response to the state of the user.
The method of claim 5, wherein the state comprises sober.
The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that a person is physically present at the vending machine, serving the consumer being further in response to determining that a person is physically present at the vending machine.
The method of claim 7, wherein determining that a person is physically present is at least partially based on a depth determined using one or more images generated by at least one camera of the vending machine.
A system, comprising: a beverage dispenser; and a computer-readable storage device coupled to the one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for selectively serving a consumer from a vending machine, the operations comprising: receiving consumer-specific data and ID-specific data from an identification presented by a consumer to a vending machine, the consumer-specific data being absent personally identifiable information (PII), such that PII of the consumer is absent from storage within the vending machine and is absent from transmissions from the vending machine; determining a type of the identification based on the ID-specific data; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data to determine one or more of whether the identification is unexpired; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data based on the type of the identification to determine whether the identification is authentic; and serving the consumer from the vending machine at least partially in response to determining that the identification is unexpired and that the identification is authentic and determining that the consumer is authentic relative to the identification.
The system of claim 9, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises comparing features of the identification to known features of the type of the identification.
The system of claim 9, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises providing an image of the identification to a machine learning (ML) model and receiving an indication from the ML model indicating whether the identification is authentic.
The system of claim 9, wherein determining whether the consumer is authentic relative to the identification comprises providing image data and/or video data depicting the consumer and an image from the identification to a facial recognition system that processes the data to determine whether the consumer matches the image provided with the identification.
The system of claim 9, wherein operations further comprise determining a state of the consumer, serving the consumer being further in response to the state of the user.
The system of claim 13, wherein the state comprises sober.
The system of claim 9, wherein operations further comprise determining that a person is physically present at the vending machine, serving the consumer being further in response to determining that a person is physically present at the vending machine.
The system of claim 15, wherein determining that a person is physically present is at least partially based on a depth determined using one or more images generated by at least one camera of the vending machine.
Non-transitory computer-readable storage media coupled to one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for selectively serving a consumer from a vending machine, the operations comprising: receiving consumer-specific data and ID-specific data from an identification presented by a consumer to a vending machine, the consumer-specific data being absent personally identifiable information (PII), such that PII of the consumer is absent from storage within the vending machine and is absent from transmissions from the vending machine; determining a type of the identification based on the ID-specific data; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data to determine one or more of whether the identification is unexpired; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data based on the type of the identification to determine whether the identification is authentic; and serving the consumer from the vending machine at least partially in response to determining that the identification is unexpired and that the identification is authentic and determining that the consumer is authentic relative to the identification.
The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises comparing features of the identification to known features of the type of the identification.
The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises providing an image of the identification to a machine learning (ML) model and receiving an indication from the ML model indicating whether the identification is authentic.
The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein determining whether the consumer is authentic relative to the identification comprises providing image data and/or video data depicting the consumer and an image from the identification to a facial recognition system that processes the data to determine whether the consumer matches the image provided with the identification.

Description

Vending machines enable provisioning of goods and/or services to customers. In some instances, goods and/or services requested by customers can be restricted. For example, a customer may be required to be of a minimum age and/or have appropriate licensing, credentials, or other approval (e.g., prescription) to obtain particular goods and/or services. Using alcohol as a non-limiting example, a customer may be required to be at least 21 years of age to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages. Using tobacco as another non-limiting example, a customer may be required to be at least 18 years of age to purchase tobacco products. Using rental vehicles as still another non-limiting example, access to a rental vehicle can be limited to customers having a valid driver license and being of at least a certain age (e.g., 18 years old, 24 years old).

While vending machines provide numerous advantages, provisioning of restricted goods and/or services requires particular functionality in order to be fully-automated. For example, the vending machine itself is required to authenticate documentation provided by the customer (e.g., license, identification, prescription) as well as the customer (e.g., verify that the customer requesting the goods/services matches the person associated with the documentation). Although systems have been developed to perform such functionality, traditional systems can suffer from disadvantages.

Citations (16)

US5722526A
US6109524A
US20020087413A1
US20040069590A1
WO2003033397A1
US6711465B2
US20090210240A1
US20100078290A1
US20190251562A1
US20110320037A1
US20160098882A1
US20160155127A1
US10252900B2
US20190050921A1
US20190206174A1
US20190340418A1

Record as JSON

{
  "publication_number": "US10726246B1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B1",
  "title": "Automated vending machine with customer and identification authentication",
  "abstract": "Implementations include actions of receiving consumer-specific data and ID-specific data from an identification presented by a consumer to a vending machine, processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data to determine one or more of whether the identification is unexpired and whether the identification is authentic, and serving the consumer from the vending machine at least partially in response to determining that the identification is unexpired and that the identification is authentic and determining that the consumer is authentic relative to the identification.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A computer-implemented method for selectively serving a consumer from a vending machine, the method comprising: receiving consumer-specific data and ID-specific data from an identification presented by a consumer to a vending machine, the consumer-specific data being absent personally identifiable information (PII), such that PII of the consumer is absent from storage within the vending machine and is absent from transmissions from the vending machine; determining a type of the identification based on the ID-specific data; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data to determine one or more of whether the identification is unexpired; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data based on the type of the identification to determine whether the identification is authentic; and serving the consumer from the vending machine at least partially in response to determining that the identification is unexpired and that the identification is authentic and determining that the consumer is authentic relative to the identification.",
    "2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises comparing features of the identification to known features of the type of the identification.",
    "3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises providing an image of the identification to a machine learning (ML) model and receiving an indication from the ML model indicating whether the identification is authentic.",
    "4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the consumer is authentic relative to the identification comprises providing image data and/or video data depicting the consumer and an image from the identification to a facial recognition system that processes the data to determine whether the consumer matches the image provided with the identification.",
    "5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a state of the consumer, serving the consumer being further in response to the state of the user.",
    "6. The method of claim 5, wherein the state comprises sober.",
    "7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that a person is physically present at the vending machine, serving the consumer being further in response to determining that a person is physically present at the vending machine.",
    "8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining that a person is physically present is at least partially based on a depth determined using one or more images generated by at least one camera of the vending machine.",
    "9. A system, comprising: a beverage dispenser; and a computer-readable storage device coupled to the one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for selectively serving a consumer from a vending machine, the operations comprising: receiving consumer-specific data and ID-specific data from an identification presented by a consumer to a vending machine, the consumer-specific data being absent personally identifiable information (PII), such that PII of the consumer is absent from storage within the vending machine and is absent from transmissions from the vending machine; determining a type of the identification based on the ID-specific data; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data to determine one or more of whether the identification is unexpired; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data based on the type of the identification to determine whether the identification is authentic; and serving the consumer from the vending machine at least partially in response to determining that the identification is unexpired and that the identification is authentic and determining that the consumer is authentic relative to the identification.",
    "10. The system of claim 9, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises comparing features of the identification to known features of the type of the identification.",
    "11. The system of claim 9, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises providing an image of the identification to a machine learning (ML) model and receiving an indication from the ML model indicating whether the identification is authentic.",
    "12. The system of claim 9, wherein determining whether the consumer is authentic relative to the identification comprises providing image data and/or video data depicting the consumer and an image from the identification to a facial recognition system that processes the data to determine whether the consumer matches the image provided with the identification.",
    "13. The system of claim 9, wherein operations further comprise determining a state of the consumer, serving the consumer being further in response to the state of the user.",
    "14. The system of claim 13, wherein the state comprises sober.",
    "15. The system of claim 9, wherein operations further comprise determining that a person is physically present at the vending machine, serving the consumer being further in response to determining that a person is physically present at the vending machine.",
    "16. The system of claim 15, wherein determining that a person is physically present is at least partially based on a depth determined using one or more images generated by at least one camera of the vending machine.",
    "17. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media coupled to one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for selectively serving a consumer from a vending machine, the operations comprising: receiving consumer-specific data and ID-specific data from an identification presented by a consumer to a vending machine, the consumer-specific data being absent personally identifiable information (PII), such that PII of the consumer is absent from storage within the vending machine and is absent from transmissions from the vending machine; determining a type of the identification based on the ID-specific data; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data to determine one or more of whether the identification is unexpired; processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data based on the type of the identification to determine whether the identification is authentic; and serving the consumer from the vending machine at least partially in response to determining that the identification is unexpired and that the identification is authentic and determining that the consumer is authentic relative to the identification.",
    "18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises comparing features of the identification to known features of the type of the identification.",
    "19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein determining whether the identification is authentic comprises providing an image of the identification to a machine learning (ML) model and receiving an indication from the ML model indicating whether the identification is authentic.",
    "20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein determining whether the consumer is authentic relative to the identification comprises providing image data and/or video data depicting the consumer and an image from the identification to a facial recognition system that processes the data to determine whether the consumer matches the image provided with the identification."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "Vending machines enable provisioning of goods and/or services to customers. In some instances, goods and/or services requested by customers can be restricted. For example, a customer may be required to be of a minimum age and/or have appropriate licensing, credentials, or other approval (e.g., prescription) to obtain particular goods and/or services. Using alcohol as a non-limiting example, a customer may be required to be at least 21 years of age to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages. Using tobacco as another non-limiting example, a customer may be required to be at least 18 years of age to purchase tobacco products. Using rental vehicles as still another non-limiting example, access to a rental vehicle can be limited to customers having a valid driver license and being of at least a certain age (e.g., 18 years old, 24 years old).\n\nWhile vending machines provide numerous advantages, provisioning of restricted goods and/or services requires particular functionality in order to be fully-automated. For example, the vending machine itself is required to authenticate documentation provided by the customer (e.g., license, identification, prescription) as well as the customer (e.g., verify that the customer requesting the goods/services matches the person associated with the documentation). Although systems have been developed to perform such functionality, traditional systems can suffer from disadvantages.",
  "cpc": [
    "G06V 40/173",
    "B67D 1/0022",
    "G06K 2009/00322",
    "G06K 9/00255",
    "G06K 9/00295",
    "G06K 9/00335",
    "G06N 20/00",
    "G06Q 20/18",
    "G06Q 20/4014",
    "G06Q 20/40145",
    "G06Q 20/409",
    "G06V 40/166",
    "G06V 40/172",
    "G06V 40/178",
    "G06V 40/20",
    "G07F 7/12",
    "G07F 9/002",
    "G07F 9/026"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B67D 1/00",
    "G06K 9/00",
    "G06N 20/00",
    "G07F 7/12"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Accenture Global Solutions Ltd"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Christopher J. McClellan",
    "Jon C. Carder",
    "Kevin D. McCann",
    "Benjamin Scott Rogers",
    "Christopher Bryan Paul Barr",
    "Josef Salyer",
    "Michael James Smith",
    "David W. Nippa"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2020-02-10",
  "publication_date": "2020-07-28",
  "grant_date": "2020-07-28",
  "priority_date": "2019-06-24",
  "application_number": "US-202016785872-A",
  "family_id": "71783406",
  "cited_by_count": 27,
  "citations": [
    "US5722526A",
    "US6109524A",
    "US20020087413A1",
    "US20040069590A1",
    "WO2003033397A1",
    "US6711465B2",
    "US20090210240A1",
    "US20100078290A1",
    "US20190251562A1",
    "US20110320037A1",
    "US20160098882A1",
    "US20160155127A1",
    "US10252900B2",
    "US20190050921A1",
    "US20190206174A1",
    "US20190340418A1"
  ]
}

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