Abstract: A method and system are provided for estimating consumer demand at remotely located equipment and establishing dispatch schedules for servicing the remotely located equipment. Data from the remotely located equipment may be classified into a hierarchy or various levels of reliability for use in calculating a consumer demand estimate for each product and/or each service available at the remotely located equipment. A full set of sales data for each product or service over multiple time intervals with no equipment problems, no out of stock conditions and no other operating problems may be classified as the highest level of reliability and predictability possible for calculating a consumer demand estimate. The lowest level of data used to calculate a consumer demand estimate may be a historical average of daily sales for all products or services sold over a long period of time at the remotely located equipment.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for collecting, storing and communicating vending machine transaction data. The system preferably includes an embedded data collection and storage device that, when placed inside a vending machine, will collect both DEX and MDB data using a combination of ad-hoc scheduling and trigger-based events. In addition, the embedded data collection and storage device may collect transaction data concerning handheld transactions as well as vending machine error transactions, including timestamps. Functionality operable to permit handheld computer communication with the vending machine, as well as at least a cashless media transaction device may also be included. Data transferred to the handheld computer may be subsequently communicated to one or more host applications or credit agencies.

Abstract: A controller may be provided to monitor and record various activities associated with remotely located equipment, e.g. a vending machine or a service vehicle. The controller may also be operable to communicate over multiple wireless communication paths with remotely located equipment, handheld devices and/or a network operations center over multiple wireless networks.

Abstract: A wireless adapter is provided with a universal plug or jack and a wireless RS232 serial interface. The wireless adapter may include a BLUETOOTH® wireless transmitter and receiver operable to communicate data using a DEX/UCS protocol. The universal plug may be satisfactory used with conventional sockets associated with a manual telephone exchange. Such sockets are often used as communication ports at fixed facilities to allow portable computers and other portable electronic equipment to gain access to computer networks associated with such facilities.

Abstract: A field asset suitable for use in a machine to machine environment includes a machine controller configured to function as a master of a shared bus (e.g. an MDB bus) and one or more slave peripheral devices connected to the bus. The field asset includes a snoop agent to capture packets transmitted on the shared bus. The snoop agent may be implemented as a microcontroller coupled to the MDB bus via a UART and isolation circuitry and controlled by appropriate packet capture firmware. The microcontroller may capture and buffer captured data and send the buffered data to a snoop application module. The application module may be implemented as part of an extended function adapter including an embedded processor in communication with the microcontroller.

Abstract: A wireless interface module interfaces a machine control system, such as a vending machine controller, with one of plural wireless networks through one of plural removably coupled wireless transceivers. Communication between geographically distributed vending machines and a desired wireless network is supported by coupling a transceiver associated with the desired network to the wireless interface module. This advantageously provides flexibility in selecting from one of plural wireless networks for a distributed vending machine so that communication between the control system and a distal operating center is supported over a preferred wireless network through a standardized wireless interface module incorporated in the vending machine by changing the wireless transceiver removably coupled to the wireless interface module.