Patents Assigned to Darrell G. Rademacher
  • Patent number: 5868236
    Abstract: A phone card vending machine has a secure, locking cabinet; a card dispenser; a bill acceptor or similar cash acceptor; a printer for printing slip receipts containing an activated PIN; and a controller board within the cabinet and connected to the dispenser, printer, and cash acceptor. The card dispenser contains a supply of zero-value telephone cards. The controller board has a PIN memory that stores PIN numbers for each of several amounts of long distance calling time. The customer purchases a card by inserting paper currency or coins, and making a selection from a keypad on the cabinet. The customer can select from eight (or more) different values, and then presses a select button to dispense the card. At the time the card is dispensed, the printer also prints and dispenses a paper receipt that shows the purchase price, including any relevant taxes, the amount of long distance service time purchased, and the PIN number.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: Darrell G. Rademacher
    Inventor: Darrell G. Rademacher
  • Patent number: 5868237
    Abstract: An escrow vending machine has a secure, locking cabinet; a dispenser for cards or other merchandise; a bill acceptor, coin acceptor or similar cash acceptor; and a controller board within the cabinet and connected to the dispenser and to the cash acceptor. The dispenser contains a supply of prepaid telephone cards or other merchandise, and dispenses them one at a time in response to a control signal. The cash acceptor accepts and registers units of cash, e.g., dollars, and generates a pulse or other signal for each unit accepted. The controller board has an input that receives the cash signal from the cash acceptor and an output supplying the control signal to the dispenser. An escrow counter or register accumulates an escrow count of the pulses or cash signals. This enables the controller board to supply the control signal when the count in the escrow register equals or exceeds a preset number that represents a price or value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: Darrell G. Rademacher
    Inventors: Darrell G. Rademacher, Douglas A. Hoyt