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Claims  |
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Having thus described my invention, I claim:
1. A facility for vending vehicle fuel and consumer merchandise comprising:
a circular building for storing consumer merchandise;
first conveyor means disposed around the exterior of said building and
extending from an entry location to an exit location, said first conveyor
means being operative to receive vehicles at parking positions thereon and
to transport each such vehicle around the exterior of said building from
said entry location to said exit location in a predetermined time
interval;
fuel dispensing means for delivering fuel, during said predetermined time
interval, to vehicles that are located on said first conveyor means, said
fuel dispensing means being mounted for movement in synchronism with the
movement of said vehicles on said first conveyor means around the exterior
of said building;
ordering devices accessible to the occupants of vehicles on said first
conveyor means for permitting the ordering of consumer merchandise stored
in said circular building; and
second conveyor means located within said building for use in assembling
merchandise that is ordered by the occupant of a given one of said
vehicles during said predetermined time interval, said second conveyor
means being operative to transport merchandise assembled within said
building to a position adjacent a delivery opening in said building at a
time synchronized with the time of arrival adjacent said delivery opening
of the vehicle from which said assembled merchandise was ordered.
2. The facility of claim 1 wherein said first conveyor means comprises a
continually moving track disposed in surrounding relation to said circular
building, means adjacent said entry location for transporting a vehicle
onto said moving track, and means adjacent said exit location for
transporting a vehicle off of said moving track.
3. The facility of claim 1 wherein said second conveyor means includes a
substantially circular conveyor that is coaxial with said circular
building, said second conveyor means moving in synchronism with said first
conveyor means.
4. The facility of claim 3 wherein said second conveyor means includes a
linear conveyor disposed between said circular conveyor and said delivery
opening in said building.
5. The facility of claim 3 including containers on said second conveyor
means in which the merchandise ordered from each of said vehicles is
individually assembled.
6. The facility of claim 1 wherein said ordering devices comprise a
computer ordering device located within at least one of the vehicles on
said first conveyor means, said computer ordering device including memory
means for storing (a) customer credit account numbers to be used to pay
for ordered merchandise, (b) a listing of merchandise offered for sale at
the facility, and (c) a standard order of merchandise that is ordered at
frequent intervals by the user of said computer ordering device, and said
computer ordering device further including means for entering data
relating to the identification and quantity of merchandise being ordered
for delivery to the vehicle in which said computer ordering device is
located.
7. The facility of claim 6 wherein said computer ordering device includes
display means for displaying stored information relating to the
merchandise that is offered for sale at the facility.
8. The facility of claim 6 wherein said computer ordering device includes
display means for displaying identification and quantity of merchandise
that has been ordered thereon.
9. The facility of claim 6 wherein said computer ordering device includes
means for transmitting data, relating to the identification and quantity
of merchandise that has been ordered thereon, from said computer ordering
device to a receiver at said building.
10. A facility for vending vehicle fuel and consumer goods and services
with increased efficiency comprising:
a circular building having an inventory of merchandise therein, said
building comprising a first portion which is stationary and a roof portion
which is mounted for rotational movement about said first portion;
a plurality of customer stations located on a movable track which is
arranged around the exterior of said circular building, each customer
station including a parking space for a single vehicle;
a plurality of merchandise ordering devices located respectively at said
plurality of customer stations, each of said ordering devices being usable
by a person located at an associated one of said customer stations to
order merchandise from said inventory;
said stationary first portion of said circular building including at least
one loading station for delivering merchandise, ordered by use of said
ordering devices, to a vehicle located in a parking space adjacent to said
loading station;
a plurality of fuel dispensing stations located respectively at said
plurality of customer stations for fueling vehicles that are located in
said parking spaces;
a plurality of merchandise displays disposed around the circumference of
said circular building, said displays being viewable by persons located
adjacent to said park spaces; and
means for moving said track along a continuous path that is disposed in at
least partially surrounding relation to said building so as to impart
relative rotation between said first portion of said circular building and
said customer stations thereby to cause each of said parked vehicles to
move relative to said first portion of said building from a starting
location parking space remote from said loading station to a finishing
location adjacent said loading station in a predetermined time interval,
said displays being cyclically exposed to persons at said customer
stations during said time interval so that, by use of said ordering
devices, a customer can select and order merchandise displayed by said
displays as said relative rotation proceeds, said relative rotation being
operative to successively position said loading station adjacent to each
customer station for the delivery of the selected merchandise to a vehicle
located adjacent to said loading station at the conclusion of said
predetermined time interval.
11. The facility of claim 10 wherein each of said merchandise ordering
devices includes means for inputting data identifying merchandise being
ordered.
12. The facility of claim 11 wherein at least some of said merchandise
ordering devices are portable computer ordering devices that are located
within vehicles at said parking places.
13. The facility of claim 10 wherein said merchandise ordering devices are
mounted for movement about said building in synchronism with the movement
of said track.
14. The facility of claim 10 wherein said merchandise ordering devices are
mounted on said rotational roof portion of said building for movement
about said stationary first portion of said building in synchronism with
the movement of said track.
15. The facility of claim 10 wherein said fuel dispensing stations comprise
a plurality of fuel hoses mounted for movement with said rotational roof
portion of said building about said stationary first portion of said
building in synchronism with the movement of said track.
16. A facility for vending vehicle fuel and consumer merchandise
comprising:
a circular building for storing consumer merchandise;
a continually moving conveyor track extending from an entry location around
the exterior of said building to an exit location, said conveyor track
having a plurality of vehicle parking positions thereon for receiving
vehicles and for conveying said vehicles in succession around said
building from said entry location to said exit location in a predetermined
time interval;
said building comprising a stationary portion and a roof which is mounted
for rotation in synchronism with the movement of said track around said
stationary portion of said building;
fuel dispensing means for delivering fuel to vehicles located at each of
said plurality of parking positions;
a plurality of ordering devices associated respectively with said plurality
of parking positions, said ordering devices being arranged to move with
said vehicle parking positions thereby to permit merchandise to be ordered
from the vehicles during said predetermined time interval;
means within said building for individually assembling merchandise that is
ordered from each of said vehicles respectively; and
means for delivering each order of assembled merchandise to an exit opening
of said building located adjacent said exit location at a time
synchronized with the time of arrival at said exit location of the vehicle
from which said merchandise was ordered.
17. The facility of claim 16 wherein said fuel dispensing means comprises a
plurality of fuel dispensing hoses connected to a rotary joint structure
which is located at approximately the axial center of said circular
building adjacent to the rotating roof thereof, said hoses extending from
said rotary joint structure along said rotating building roof and thence
downwardly to said vehicle parking positions.
18. The facility of claim 16 wherein said ordering devices are keyboard
operated merchandise ordering devices disposed respectively adjacent said
plurality of vehicle parking positions.
19. The facility of claim 18 wherein said keyboard operated merchandise
ordering devices are suspended from the rotating roof of said building for
movement with said vehicles between said entry and exit locations.
20. The facility of claim 16 wherein said ordering devices are portable
computer ordering devices that are located respectively in at least some
of the vehicles at said vehicle parking positions.
21. The facility of claim 20 wherein each of said portable computer
ordering devices includes memory means for storing information relating to
merchandise that is offered for sale at said facility, display means for
displaying said stored information, and a keyboard for entering data
relating to the identification and quantity of merchandise that is being
ordered by the user of said computer ordering device, said display means
also being operable to display said keyboard entered data. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to facilities for vending consumer products,
services and automobile fuels. Specifically, a retail facility is
described which enhances the shopper's ease of purchasing consumer
products and services and automobile fuel from a single facility.
In my previous patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,111,282; 4,189,031; and 4,169,521,
I described a drive-in, single stop, nonautomated shopping facility
capable of vending numerous retail products, services and fuel to a
customer while the customer remained at a fixed purchase station, e.g.,
sitting within a parked automobile. The drive-in facility of the
aforementioned patents permitted, during the fueling of an automobile, the
vending of all weekly purchase requirements for the average household,
such as groceries, beverages, bank service, bill paying, laundry/dry
cleaning, fast food, and other commodities and services (hereinafter
referred to individually and collectively as "merchandise"). The type of
merchandise offered, larger order size, volume of customers, low percent
labor, store attractiveness, and low shrinkage/losses, improved the total
profitability of the drive-in shopping facility beyond those facilities
which merely sold fuel or some other single product or service, or which
required the individual to depart from his automobile to select and pay
for other commodities.
The shopping facility described in these earlier patents, and the method of
vending which they implemented, was so successful with the consuming
public that the prior nonautomated facility could not handle, on a
continuous basis, the number of customers who sought to purchase both
gasoline and household commodities. Lines would occasionally form in the
street leading to the facility, causing traffic problems and complaints
from the responsible traffic officials. Also, during peak operating hours,
the customers using the nonautomated facility of my prior patents
encountered delays as a result of the fuel attendant's inability to man
the gasoline pumps as well as make the required transfer of goods from the
facility to the automobile.
Thus, the market success of the nonautomated facility described in these
earlier patents created bottlenecks which interfered with customer
throughput. In time, these bottlenecks, which were anticipated to a lesser
degree, became so severe that they discouraged patronization of the
facility by customers. The present invention obviates these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved facility
that can be used by a vehicle operator to select, order, pay for and
receive merchandise, i.e., services, commodities, and fuel, in a fixed
amount of time which I refer to as a "timed purchase cycle".
It is a more specific object of this invention to increase throughput in a
single stop shopping facility, which vends both automotive fuel and
consumer goods and services, by use of time-cycle purchasing arrangements.
These and other objects of the invention are provided by the examples of
the improved facility which will be described hereinafter. Each of the
single stop shopping facilities of the present invention incorporates a
plurality of ordering devices which are used by customers at their
respective "fixed purchase stations". The said ordering devices may be
fixed in position adjacent to the fixed purchase stations, or they may
take the form of portable devices which are located within the vehicles of
customers that patronize the facility. The fixed purchase stations are
arranged circumferentially with respect to the exterior of a circular
building, the building containing merchandise for sale. The circular
building further includes at least one loading station for the delivery of
merchandise ordered by customers. A plurality of fuel dispensing hoses are
located around the circumference of the circular building, and permit a
customer, situated in or near his/her vehicle at the respective fixed
purchase station, to receive a selected quantity of fuel. Also located
around the walls of the building are a plurality of display sections, all
of which are viewable during the fixed time cycle by any customer at any
one of the fixed purchase stations. A customer situated in or near a
vehicle parked in an appropriate parking space is capable of ordering and
paying for any merchandise, whether or not displayed in the said display
sections.
To expedite the ordering, paying for and receipt of merchandise, means are
provided for imparting relative rotation between the circular building and
the fixed purchase stations that substantially surround said building.
Each of the displays is exposed to the customers located at their
respective fixed purchase stations as the aforementioned relative rotation
proceeds. Customer selection of, and payment for, merchandise shown by the
displays occurs as the relative rotation proceeds. Further, the relative
motion causes a loading station in the circular building to be positioned
next to the customer or his vehicle at the conclusion of the fixed
purchase time cycle for delivery of the customer's selected and paid-for
merchandise.
In one embodiment of the invention, the fixed purchase stations are
stationary and the circular building rotates relative to said stations to
provide the desired relative motion, the building having the
aforementioned merchandise display located around its circumference. As a
customer remains in or near his or her vehicle, the display sections pass
by the vehicle at a rate sufficiently slow to permit him or her to view
the display and to select consumer merchandise for purchase by use of the
ordering device at his/her fixed purchaser station. At the conclusion of
the timed purchase cycle, that is characteristic of all the embodiments of
the present invention and during which all of the customer's selections
are made, the loading station arrives at a proper position relative to the
fixed purchase station, i.e., parking space, to permit purchased products
to be transferred from the facility to the customer's vehicle.
In another embodiment of the invention, a track containing a number of
fixed purchase stations, i.e., parking spaces, is provided around a
stationary circular building having a rotating roof, and the track rotates
around the stationary portion of the building. The fueling hoses in this
particular embodiment are connected through a central hub at the rotating
roof of the building, which hub is coaxial with the building and with the
center of rotation of the track. Thus, the fueling hoses rotate with each
vehicle as the vehicle's fixed purchase station progresses around the
building circumference. The ordering devices are fixed to the rotating
roof and/or the track, and progress with the vehicle on the track,
permitting customer purchases to be selected and payment made therefor as
the customer progresses through the "timed purchase cycle".
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention
wherein relative motion between the shopping facility and each customer is
provided by rotating a circular building structure while the customer's
vehicle remains stationary.
FIG. 1B is a front view of a display case which is visible to a customer
using the shopping facility.
FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of the display console available to each
customer illustrating the merchandise offered to and purchased by the
customer.
FIG. 1D illustrates a computer ordering device used at the customer's
ordering station to select purchases.
FIG. 2 illustrates a portable computer ordering device.
FIG. 3 is a section view of a support and motor drive structure for
imparting rotary motion to the building.
FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the invention wherein relative
motion is imparted between the shopping facility and customer by the
rotation of a track on which the customer's vehicle is positioned.
FIG. 5 is a section view of one example of a rotary track which may be
utilized to impart motion to vehicles supported on the track.
FIG. 6 diagrammatically illustrates a technique for enabling fueling hoses
to remain in position relative to a moving vehicle in the FIG. 4
embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1A, there is shown a perspective of an embodiment of
a one-stop convenience shopping center in accordance with the present
invention. The convenience shopping center comprises a circular building
11 which rotates at a rate of one revolution approximately every three to
five minutes. The rotating building 11 includes a roof 11a which remains
fixed, and an exterior wall surface 11b that rotates within fixed
stanchions 11c. The stationary roof and stanchions of the building 11 are
supported on a fixed cement slab support 11d shown in a rectangular
configuration. The slab 11d may be hexagonal or otherwise multi-faceted,
to facilitate the provision of more than four vehicle positions around the
circumference of the building 11.
Around the circumference of the circular building 11 and its cement slab
11d are located a plurality of fixed purchase stations, i.e., parking
spaces, two of which 12 and 13, are shown in FIG. 1A. While FIG. 1A
depicts an arrangement wherein each vehicle is so parked that its length
is tangential to the building, the parking spaces can be so arranged that
each vehicle parks radially, or at a desired angular orientation, relative
to the circular building to increase the number of vehicles, i.e.,
customers, that can be served at any given time. Associated with each of
the fixed purchase stations is a fueling station 15, display monitor 21,
and a computer ordering device, hereinafter referred to as a COD, which
can be a fixed unit of the type indicated at 20. Entrance and exit to the
facility is made through one or more common entrances/exits 9 and 10.
The rotating circular wall surface 11b has a plurality of merchandise
displays thereon, two of which, 18 and 19, are identified in FIG. 1A.
Referring to FIG. 1B, an enlarged view of a display 18 is shown, which
includes subsections 18a, 18b, 18c, etc. These displays show some of the
products which are available for purchase by customers. As the displays
rotate with the building wall 11b, each customer views each display during
a timed purchase cycle. The customer may use COD 20 to order any items,
whether or not displayed, in any quantity, including fuel, while the
customer remains at his fixed purchase station, e.g., in or near his
vehicle. All purchases are consolidated into a single bill.
At the conclusion of the timed purchase cycle, an opening 11e in the wall
11b is positioned adjacent to a customer's fixed purchase station to
facilitate the loading of purchased goods into the customer's vehicle. The
building includes another similar opening, not shown, which is angularly
displaced from opening 11e by approximately 45.degree.-60.degree., for use
in replenishing comparatively heavy inventory items. Payment for the goods
may be by any appropriate means, including entry of an appropriate credit
card into a credit card reader, or by use of the COD 20.
The customer may, before arrival at the facility, prepare his order in
advance by use of a portable COD (to be described by reference to FIG. 2)
or by other means, e.g., telephone communication, sense marked paper,
magnetic card, or punch card. The pre-prepared order can then be entered
for processing when the customer arrives at the facility, or prior to the
customer's arrival at the facility by remote transmission via telephone or
radio transmitter.
Referring now to FIG. 1C, there is shown an enlarged view of the split
screen monitor 21, located at each ordering position. The left screen
provides the customer with a list of items for sale, the price per item,
and other descriptive material in order to facilitate a purchase. The
right-hand portion of the split screen illustrates those items which have
been ordered by the customer and which will be delivered to him when the
loading station of the building arrives at the position used for supplying
ordered goods to the customer. A third screen (not shown) can also be
provided for displaying promotional information and/or video entertainment
for the customer and/or the passengers in his vehicle.
COD 20 is shown more particularly in FIG. 1D. It comprises a keyboard
operated terminal which conveys an item number, e.g., by hard wiring, to a
computer within the facility for each selection made by the customer, and
the quantity of the selection. Instead of using a keyboard, COD 20 can be
voice activated, i.e., item and quantity requests can be presented orally,
and deciphered by a voice decoder into appropriate data signals which are
temporarily stored in the COD, whereafter said data signals are dumped
from the COD into the facility computer for processing. Equipment within
the building 11, with or without active participation by facility
personnel, then assembles the order for delivery to the customer.
The COD can also take the form of a portable, hand-held device 20a (FIG. 2)
which is purchased or leased by the customer to prepare and store an order
prior to the customer's arrival at the single stop shopping facility of
the present invention. Such a portable COD 20a may comprise a storage
memory containing three banks of information: (a) the customer's various
credit account numbers entered by the customer and permanently stored for
use in paying for purchases by entry of a memorized identification number;
(b) a listing of all items carried and services offered by the shopping
facility, which may be loaded and/or updated by radio transmission or
other means from a central computer at the shopping facility to a receiver
in the COD; and (c) a standard order of merchandise purchased, or desired
to be purchased, by the customer at frequent intervals. COD 20a includes a
display 22 (LEDs, LCDs or the like) for paging through information banks
(b) and (c) above; a keyboard 23 or, alternatively, a voice actuated
device of the type referred to previously, for entering data relating to
merchandise being ordered by item identification and quantity; a further
display 24 for displaying the current entry; and various control keys
25a-25e for controlling the entry operation and/or for revising
information that is permanently stored to permit customization of an
order, and also to permit unloading of a completed order into the
facility's computer, while the customer is at the fixed purchase station.
When the customer arrives at the shopping facility he or she depresses an
appropriate one of the control keys to transmit (by a transmitter included
in COD 20a) a credit account number to the central computer for purposes
of prequalification, i.e., credit check, and to enter the current order of
items and services to be purchased. The transmitter used for this purpose
may include a beam-projecting and receiving device permanently mounted on
the customer's vehicle, e.g., on the windshield or visor, and
plug-connectable to the COD 20a, to avoid interference with COD
transmissions and/or receptions elsewhere, e.g., at other fixed purchase
positions. As the customer proceeds through the timed purchase cycle
additional items can be ordered by entry on the keyboard 23.
If the customer is not an owner or lessee of a portable COD the customer
may prequalify for entry into the purchase cycle by inserting an
appropriate credit card into a card reader or by providing pertinent
credit and identification information to an attendant who may be stationed
at a position preceding the facility entrance.
FIG. 3 is a partial section view of the circular building 11, showing in
particular a drive means for imparting relative motion between the
building and customer to realize the f | | |
