Customer-operated ordering system and method that issues admission tickets but does not dispense products

Abstract

A customer-operated ordering system and method that issues admission tickets but does not dispense products. The system may include an input device, an output device, an admission ticket dispenser, product information storage media, admission ticket information storage media, customer profile storage media and a processing system.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A customer-operated ordering system that allows a customer to select and consummate a sale himself comprising: 
 an input device configured to be operated by the customer during the selection and consummation process;    an output device configured to communicate with the customer during the selection and consummation process;    an admission ticket dispenser configured to dispense admission tickets for the customer to take;    admission ticket information storage media configured to store admission ticket information about admission tickets that may be dispensed by the admission ticket dispenser;    product information storage media configured to store product information about products that the customer may purchase that are not dispensed by the customer-operated ordering system; and    a processing system configured to: 
 communicate with the input device, the output device, the admission ticket dispenser, the admission tickets storage media and the product information storage media;  
 obtain product information about a product not dispensed by the customer-operated ordering system from the product information storage media;  
 provide the obtained product information to the customer thorough the output device;  
 consummate a sale of the product to the customer using the input device;  
 obtain admission ticket information about an admission ticket; and  
 cause the admission ticket dispenser to dispense an admission ticket to the customer based on the obtained admission ticket information.  
   
     
     
         2 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 1  wherein the admission ticket is dispensed as part of a customer reward program.  
     
     
         3 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 1  wherein the system charges the customer for the admission ticket.  
     
     
         4 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 3  wherein the admission ticket information specifies the charge that should be made to the customer for the admission ticket.  
     
     
         5 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 3  wherein the charge specified by the admission ticket information is a function of a profile of the customer.  
     
     
         6 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 5  wherein the charge for at least one customer profile is zero.  
     
     
         7 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 5  further including customer profile storage media configured to store customer profiles about a plurality of customers and wherein the processing system is configured to: 
 obtain the identity of the customer from the input device; and  
 query the customer profile storage media for a customer profile of the customer based on the obtained identify.  
 
     
     
         8 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 1  wherein the input device includes a touch screen.  
     
     
         9 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 1  wherein the input device includes a keyboard.  
     
     
         10 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 1  wherein the output device includes a display.  
     
     
         11 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 1  wherein the output device includes a loudspeaker.  
     
     
         12 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 1  wherein the admission ticket dispenser prints an admission ticket.  
     
     
         13 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 12  wherein the admission ticket includes a code.  
     
     
         14 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 1  wherein the admission ticket dispenser dispenses the admission ticket as an electronic signal to the customer.  
     
     
         15 . The customer-operated ordering system of  claim 14  wherein the electronic signal includes a code.  
     
     
         16 . A customer-operated ordering process that allows a customer to select and consummate a sale himself comprising: 
 obtaining product information about a product not dispensed by the customer-operated ordering system from product information storage media;    providing the obtained product information to the customer thorough an output device;    consummating a sale of the product to the customer using an input device;    obtaining admission ticket information about an admission ticket from admission tickets storage media; and    causing an admission ticket dispenser to dispense an admission ticket to the customer based on the obtained admission ticket information.    
     
     
         17 . A customer-operated ordering system that allows a customer to select and consummate a sale himself that includes a processing system configured to: 
 communicate with an input device, an output device, an admission ticket dispenser, admission ticket information storage media and product information storage media;    obtain product information about a product not dispensed by the customer-operated ordering system from the product information storage media;    provide the obtained product information to the customer thorough the output device;    consummate a sale of the product to the customer using the input device;    obtain admission ticket information about an admission ticket from the admission tickets storage media; and    cause the admission ticket dispenser to dispense an admission ticket to the customer based on the obtained admission ticket information.    
     
     
         18 . A customer-operated ordering system that allows a customer to select and consummate a sale himself that includes a processing system configured to: 
 obtain product information about a product not dispensed by the customer-operated ordering system;    provide the obtained product information to the customer;    obtain admission ticket information about an admission ticket; and    cause an admission ticket to dispense to the customer based on the obtained admission ticket information.    
     
     
         19 . A customer-operated ordering system that includes a processing system configured to: 
 provide product information about a product not dispensed by the customer-operated ordering system to the customer; and    cause an admission ticket to dispense to the customer.    
     
     
         20 . A customer-operated ordering process implemented by a customer-operated ordering system comprising: 
 providing product information about a product not dispensed by the customer-operated ordering system to the customer; and    causing an admission ticket dispenser to dispense an admission ticket to the customer.    
     
     
         21 . A customer-operated ordering system comprising: 
 a display;    an admission ticket dispenser; and    a processor configured to cause the display to provide information about a product not dispensed by the customer-operated ordering system and for causing the admission ticket dispenser to dispense an admission ticket.