Importance

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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. The vend machine can replenish its stock of activated PIN numbers by modem from a remote location.

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First Claim