FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure relates to vending machines and in particular, to a modular vending machine apparatus, housing for a vending machine apparatus has air vents and various functions that may be incorporated into a vending machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Vending machines allow various items to be sold to consumers automatically without the requirement for a sales person to be physically present.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention a vending machine housing comprises two side portions which form side walls of the vending machine and a rear portion which forms a rear wall of the vending machine. At least one corner where the rear portion joins one of the side walls comprises a truncated portion and an air vent is formed on the truncated portion.

Since the air vent is arranged on the truncated portion, vending machines can be placed against a wall or back to back without blocking air flow through the vent. The air vent may be elongate in the vertical axis of the vending machine and runs through substantially the height of the vending machine.

According to an aspect of the present invention a vending machine housing is configured to receive modular parts of a vending machine.

This allows parts of the vending machine to be interchanged independently. The vending machine housing may comprise runners or rails to receive modular parts of the vending machine. The modular parts may form one or more of the following: a vending module configured to provide products, a control module configured to control the vending module in response to a customer input, and a compressor module configured to control a temperature of at least part of the vending module.

In addition to the modular functional parts of the vending machine external surface panels may also be removable and replaceable independently of the modular parts of the vending machine.

According to an aspect of the present invention a control module for a vending machine comprises a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of at least one person in front of the vending machine. The control module may be configured to control a dispiay in response to the detection of the presence of the at least one person.

The control module may be configured to control the discharge of a scent in response to the detection of the presence of a person.

The control module may comprise a network interface configured to allow communication with a remote server or an intermediary device, and be configured to control a vending operation in response to signals received from the remote server or the intermediary device. This allows remote control of the vending operation. This could be implemented in vending machines which sell restricted items such as prescription drugs, alcohol and / or tobacco.

The control module may comprise a user interface to allow a user of the vending machine to interact with a remote user via the remote server and/ or the intermediary device.

The control module may be configured to control access to the interior of the vending machine, for example, via a remote control lock. This would allow access to the vending machine for servicing and restocking of the vending machine to be controlled.

A user requesting access to the interior of the vending machine may be verified by a password or a verification code sent to a mobile device. The verification code may ^¬ be sent as a QR code or other type of machine readable code and the control module of the vending machine may be configured to read such machine readable codes. The control module may be configured to allow a user to modify operation from the remote server or the intermediary device. The control module may comprise a data storage device configured to store price data, wherein the control module is configured to update the price data in response to signals received from the server or the intermediary device. The control module may be operable to determine a remaining stock of the vending machine in response to signals received from the server / intermediary device and to send signals to the server / intermediary device indicating the remaining stock. The control module may comprise a sensory which allows the control module to determine the remaining stock. The modular vending machine may comprise a frame and a plurality of modules which can be independently removed or detached from the frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described as non- limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a rear view of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 2a and 2b are a plan view and a rear view of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a front view of the housing of a modular vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a photograph showing the internal structure of a modular vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a front view of a modular vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 6 is a block diagram showing functionalities of a payment / control module of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figure 1 is a rear view of a vending machine 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine 100 dispenses chilled or frozen products such as drinks, snacks or ice cream. In order to maintain the products at their desired temperature, the vending machine comprises a refrigerator compressor which cools the interior of the vending machine. This cooling requires circulation of air to remove heat generated in the cooling process.

As shown in Figure 1 , the rear of the vending machine 100 comprises two air vents 1 10. The air vents 1 10 are located on recessed portions 108 formed on the corners where the sides 104 of the vending machine 100 meet the rear 106 of the vending machine 100.

The air vents 1 10 run vertically and include substantially all of the height of the vending machine 1 10 . Figure 2a is a top view of the vending machine shown in Figure 1 . As shown in Figure 2a the footprint of the vending machine is substantially rectangular. The vending machine 100 has a front 102, two sides 104 and a back 106. The two corners 108 where the sides 104 meet the back 106 are truncated to accommodate the air vents 1 10.

Figure 2b is a rear view of the vending machine shown in Figure 1 . As shown in Figure 2b, the vents 1 10 are arranged vertically and extend through substantially the full height of the vending machine 100. The vents 1 10 are formed from panels having holes or perforations and the panels are located within the surfaces formed by the truncations of the corners 108. The panels are arranged parallel to the rear face of the vending machine.

One advantage of the arrangement of air vents 1 10 in the manner described above is that it allows multiple vending machines to be placed side by side against a wall or back to back without blocking the airflow through the vents 1 10. Figure 3 shows a housing for a modular vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The housing 300 comprises a frame 310 into which trays or modules may be inserted. The trays and / or modules may be mounted on rails so that they can be removed and transferred onto a trolley or similar support. The exterior of the vending machine may be formed by attaching side panels to the housing. The side panels may comprise images or displays for displaying images or video sequences.

As shown in Figure 3, the housing 300 has a space for a vending module 320, a space for a payment / control module 330 and a space for a compressor module 340. The housing 300 may comprise ducting to link a compressor in the space for a compressor module to vents at the rear of the housing 300. These vents may be of the form described above in relation to Figures 1 , 2a and 2b.

A vending module or a plurality of vending modules may be placed in the space for a vending module 320. The vending module may comprise a conveyer mechanism to move products to a dispensing draw or drop box. The vending module may include food preparation modules such as a microwave oven and / or a toaster. The vending module may include a conveyer belt or other apparatus to move food from a chilled food storage to the food preparation modules and from the food preparation modules to the dispensing drawer or drop box.

The modular construction of the vending machine allows the modules and / or front cover panels to be removed and replaced without the need to access all of the modules. For example, the payment/control module could be replaced to allow payment with a new payment method without the requirement to remove or access the products in the vending module. This would allow such updates to be made quickly and efficiently, thus minimizing the down time for the vending machine.

Figure 4 is a photograph showing more detail of the housing for a modular vending machine.

As shown in Figure 4, modular parts of the vending machine can be inserted or removed from the frame 310 of the vending machine. The frame 310 of the vending machine comprises runners and the modular parts of the vending machine may be provided with wheels. As shown in Figure 4, a movable frame portion 312 is provided with wheels 314 which run on rails 316 to allow the movable frame portion 312 to be moved into and / or out of the frame 310 for ease of removal and insertion of the vending machine modules.

Figure 5 is a front view of a vending machine having a modular construction. As shown in Figure 5, a display covers 350 and a front cover 360 are located in front of the space for the vending module. A video camera and screen 372, a payment processing module 374 and a dispensing drawer 376 are located in front of the payment / control module. A front cover 370 is also located in front of the payment / control module.

Embodiments of the present invention allow the design, color, material etc of the front covers to be easily changed without the requirement to change the modules located behind the front cover. As discussed above, this allows updates and repairs to be made while minimizing down time of the vending machine. The display 350 shown in Figure 5 may be semi-transparent display which allows the products behind the display in the vending module to be viewed. The display 350 may be a touch screen display which allows a customer to input controls and select information, for example information on the products for sale.

The video camera and display 372 allow a customer to communicate with a person located at a remote location, for example a customer service advisor or controller of the vending machine. The payment processing module 374 may comprise a coin slot or paper currency slot configured to receive and identify cash payments. Alternatively or additionally, the payment processing module 374 may be a payment card reader or a radio frequency identification device (RFID) reader configured to communicate with mobile devices to implement mobile payments. In some embodiments, the payment processing module 374 may be operable to read optical codes such as QR codes or bar codes displayed on a mobile device or printed on paper to process payments for products on sale in the vending machine via a mobile app or internet based payment scheme. The dispensing drawer 376 may be connected to the vending module via a conveyer belt or robotic apparatus to move present purchased products to a customer.

Figure 6 shows the functions of the payment / control module 600 of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 6, the payment / control module 600 comprises an external camera 602. In some embodiments, the external camera 602 may allow communication and interaction between a customer and a customer service operator. This communication may also involve the microphone 606 and network connection 624 of the payment / control module 600. The network connection 624 may be a wired connection to the internet via a telephone line. Alternatively, the network connection 624 may be a wireless connection such as a wi-fi connection or a connection to a mobile telephone network. In some implementations, the network connection 624 is a connection via an intermediary device such as a smart phone, tablet device or handheld device which may have an internet connection. The intermediary device may connect to the network connection 624 via a wireless network protocol such as Bluetooth low energy (BLE).

It is envisaged that some embodiments will allow the dispensing of products where the customer has to be authenticated. For example, the products may be prescription medicines. In such embodiments, the customer may be required to authenticate their identity by providing an optical code such as a QR code to the QR code reader 616. There may be a photographic identity used to authenticate their identity using an image captured by the video camera 602. In some embodiments, the authentication may be made by an operator at a remote location. The vending machine may dispense age restricted products such as tobacco and alcohol. In such embodiments, the vending machine may authenticate the age and identity of the customer again using photographic facial recognition or by scanning an identity document such as a passport.

As shown in Figure 6, the payment control module 600 also comprises an internal camera 604. The internal camera 604 is positioned to capture and monitor the activity of a person restocking the vending machine and collecting money deposited in the vending machine. In some embodiments, the remote control lock 614 may be operated by a controller at a remote location and a person visiting the vending machine to perform a restock may validate themselves with the remote operator. This validation may comprise facial recognition as discussed above, additionally or alternatively, the restocker may use a token such as a QR code or other type of code which is presented to the vending machine. In response to the correct code being presented and / or the restocker being successfully verified, the remote control lock may be unlocked and the restocker allowed access to the interior of the vending machine.

As shown in Figure 6, the payment / control module 600 comprises a proximity sensor 608. The proximity sensor 608 is operable to detect the presence of people in front of the vending machine or the movement of people past the vending machine. Advertisements displayed on the display 610 may be controlled in response to the detection of people in front of the vending machine. Alternatively, or additionally, the perfume / olfactory dispenser 612 may be controlled in response to the detection of a person in front of the vending machine to release a smell in response to the presence of a potential customer. For example if the vending machine sells coffee, a coffee smell may be released when a person is detected, or if the vending machine sells perfume, the smell of the perfume may be released when a person is detected.

The QR code reader 616 and the QR code display 618 may be used to interact with a smart phone or similar device owned by a customer. For example, a user may present a QR code to the device and the device may verify the user by connecting to a server using the network connection 624. This would allow a user to have an account with the amount of credit stored. In other embodiments, the user may scan a QR code displayed on the display 618 and verification may take place via the user device connection to a mobile or wi-fi network.

The coin/card payment module 622 allows payment to be made by cash or credit card. The credit card payment may be authenticated using the network connection 624.

The vending control 620 is coupled to the vending module of the vending machine and controls the dispensing and /or preparation of products.

The payment / control module 600 further comprises a data storage module 630 which stores stock data 632 and price data 634. The stock data 632 indicates the stock within the vending machine. The stock data 632 may be updated each time a sale is made by the vending machine. In some embodiments a stock sensor 626 is used to determine the remaining stock and then an indication of the remaining stock is stored in the data storage device 630 as stock data 632. In some embodiments, the remaining stock may be determined remotely by an operator using the network connection 624 to access the stock sensor 626 and determine an indication of the remaining stock. In some embodiments, the stock sensor 626 is a RFID tag reader which is configured to read RFID tags attached to the products which are on sale at the vending machine. Thus, by reading all of the RFID tags located within the vending machine, the remaining stock can be determined. The price data 634 indicates the price for each of the products on sale in the vending machine. The price data 634 may be displayed on the display 610 and may be used by the vending control 620 to determine the correct price for the products on sale. In some embodiments, the price data 634 may be updated remotely by a user accessing the data storage device 630 though the network connection 624. The update of the price data 634 and reading of the stock data 632 may take place through a network connection to an intermediary device such as a smart phone, handheld device or tablet device via a wireless interface such as BLE, alternatively, the updates may be made via a network connection with a remote server.

In some embodiments, a user may be able to stop the vending machine from operations remotely via the network connection 624. Such embodiments may be operable to allow the user to switch the vending control 620 to a stop mode. It is envisaged that vending machines incorporating some or all of the features described above may sell a wide variety of products such as food products which may require preparation such as heating, drinks, high value products such as gold, perfume and jewelry. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that some of the individual features described above may be implement separately. Whilst the foregoing description has described exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many variations of the embodiments can be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention.