The invention concerns a method for remotely setting and updating prices of goods and services in a local unit for sale of goods and services, especially a vending machine, according to the introduction of claim 1, together with a method for generating and displaying messages in a local unit for sale of goods and services, especially a vending machine, according to the introduction of claim 2.

A decentralized system for supplying goods and services, wherein the system comprises a number of local units, especially vending machines, for supplying goods and services, is described in international patent claim

PCT/NO95/00060 which concerns a method for monitoring such a decentralized system for supplying goods and services and generating messages concerning the state of the system.

The methods which are employed today for setting prices in vending machines are based on the fact that if the vending machine has an intelligent coin validator or coin changer, the prices in the vending machine unit are set by the use of keys provided on the vending machine or the door thereof or by connecting a hand-held terminal to an input on the vending machine and setting the new prices via the keyboard on the terminal. If the vending machine is equipped with electronic control devices and has a non-intelligent coin unit connected to the control device, the prices can also be set in the control unit in approximately the same fashion as described above.

A drawback with both of these methods is that the prices can only be altered when a person is physically present at the machine. Consequently such methods are both expensive and inflexible.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a method which permits remote setting of the prices and thereby gives maximum flexibility at the lowest possible cost. A second object of the invention is to provide a method for generating and displaying messages in a local unit or a vending machine, especially in a situation where the prices have been altered or reset, thus enabling a customer to obtain immediate information concerning a commodity or service.

The above-mentioned objects are achieved with a method which is characterized by the features which are disclosed by the characterizing part of claim 1 and a method which is characterized by the features which are disclosed by the characterizing part of claim 2 respectively.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to embodiments.

An operator specifies on the host computer the products, i.e. goods and ser¬ vices, which are offered by the vending machine. The price of each product is also specified. Data for product specification and price are downloaded to a system control unit in the vending machine every time a change is made in the product selection or the prices have to be changed. The data in this system control unit will therefore reflect the data which are stored in a data base in a host computer which monitors the vending machine or the local units.

In the local unit or in the vending machine the system control unit is connected to an intelligent coin unit and/or an electronic control device via a serial interface or bus interface. In the system control unit there is stored a program which emulates the method for setting the price for each individual product in either the coin unit or in the electronic control unit. When new prices are transferred to the system control unit via a data communication network which is employed by the system in order to connect the local units to the host computer, the emulator program starts and the prices in the coin unit or the electronic control unit or both are automatically updated. A wireless data network may advantageously be used as the communication network.

An additional advantage with this method is that the operator can react quickly to market requirements. An example of this is the case where a vending machine is located at a place where special events are taking place, e.g. a sports arena, the operator may wish to offer one or more products at a special price while the event is in progress, or during a short period in the course of the event. This can easily be implemented by using the above- mentioned method.

When a price is altered in a local unit or a vending machine, it will be desirable to make the price known to the public. The same will be the case when the product selection has changed or when a completely new product is offered.

A number of local units will be equipped with a display device which informs the buyer of the sales prices. The display device can work in various ways. The buyer can, e.g., press a selector key in order to obtain information on the sales price for a specific product. In other cases the vending machine has a display device with a finite number of characters, thus enabling the text to be scrolled over the display unit. In this case the system control unit can be connected to the display device via a serial interface or bus interface in order to transfer information via this interface in a format determined by the display unit. If the local unit or the vending machine does not have a display device which permits scrolling, an external display unit can be mounted on the local unit and connected to the system control unit in a similar manner.

The system control unit in the local unit will contain a message library with messages which can be displayed on the display device, the message library being remotely updated from the system's host computer. Each message in the message library is assigned a reference number. When a message or a number of messages have to be displayed in the local unit, the operator at the host computer will download a data block to the system control unit in the local unit, the data block containing the message's reference number or reference numbers for more messages, as well as starting and stopping times for when the message or messages have to be displayed. The operator can preset the time for transfer of the data block and also to which local units the data have to be transferred, thus making the physical presence of the operator unnecessary at the host computer to perform this task. Examples of messages which can be mentioned are "New flavour, Coke Light in selection one" and "All products 75 cents until 7 p.m.". In the latter case the operator will download a data block with new prices when the sales promotion starts and thereafter the data block which contains the message's reference number and the starting and stopping times for the message. At the end of the sales promotion the system control unit will reset the prices to the prices before the sales promotion in the intelligent coin unit and/or in the local unit's control device which validates the prices.