Gimme Vending™, the leading provider of vending data integrity tools, announced today the issuance of its first patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The utility patent addresses a primary data challenge faced by the vending industry and covers a communication device for vending machines and the method of using it for bi-directional transmission of data from vending machine and computing device.
The patent for invention number 9,153,089 B1 is for the method of wirelessly communicating data from vending machines — even those without a network connection — using a reporting device, to computing devices.
“Vending management systems require consistent and accurate DEX data from the field to perform crucial back-office functions for vending operators,” says Cory Hewett, co-founder and CEO of Gimme Vending. “Existing tools that pull and transmit data to these systems are costly and unreliable. Some are limited by network connectivity. In all cases, data integrity is negatively impacted, affecting sales, commissions and other VMS calculations. The Gimme Vending system solves this problem.”
The 20 allowed claims in this patent cover the technology in the award-winning Gimme Vending system wherein DEX is automatically and wirelessly pulled when a route driver is in close proximity to a Gimme Key™-equipped vending machine, without the need for Internet connectivity, and transmitted live to the operator’s existing vending management system. The patent also covers the Gimme Key’s plug ‘n’ play installation and battery life optimization technology.
“We have invested and continue to invest in research and development to ensure that operators achieve the fastest path to data integrity and by extension, higher margins,” says Hewett. “Connecting one Gimme Key to one machine is foundational to these goals as it ensures that drivers, even temporary drivers, can easily locate machines in a building and that data is always being pulled from the right machines,“ he added.
