Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Information location or remote operator actuated control – Selective addressing of storage medium
Patent
1990-12-06
1993-02-09
Shepperd, John W.
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Information location or remote operator actuated control
Selective addressing of storage medium
369 36, 360 9811, 360 9804, 360 9805, G11B 1722, G11B 1708
Patent
active
051857278
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a coin or token operated machine for playing pre-recorded record discs.
A machine of this type is usually referred to as a "juke box", in which, as is well known, the customer makes a selection of one or more discs to be played, from a list of titles, and on payment of an appropriate amount by coin or token to operate the machine, the juke box automatically extracts a selected disc from a magazine store and places it on a turntable to be played. At the end of play, the record disc is returned to the magazine, ready for a next selection to be made. The record discs used in juke boxes can be either digital or analogue discs.
Typically, a juke box may employ a system for recording the number of plays or selections made on each disc, and therefore has some means for transferring this information to the owner or his representative, who can then use this information to remove the discs which are less popular, and to make a note of the type of music which is found to be most popular, and therefore to introduce more record discs of that more popular type at some convenient time e.g. upon a routine inspection or servicing of the juke box.
Due to the large number of discs which are used, this recordal process is often automated, and the data relating to the number of selections or plays of each disc is transferred via a solid state memory, hard copy print or other means to a computer, which is usually situated at a central control point and which is capable of receiving information from a number of juke boxes under its control. Thus, at the central point, the data can be analysed with more or less human interference, as is thought desirable by the owner. This computer control at the central point is therefore a remote computer. The data collected is used to decide both the discs which should be removed owing to their indicated unpopularity, as well as which discs should replace the removed discs as being likely to be more popular. This is effectively programming of the juke box.
Usually, each juke box is inspected and information collected every two weeks. The data is usually collected from the juke box by persons who have no particular skills, and who are not in the best position to decide which discs should be removed from the juke box, and which discs should replace them. Furthermore, the data is not usually available in a form which is readily readable by the person collecting the data, until the information is processed by the remote computer.
With these existing techniques, the identity, and location within the disc or magazine store, of the discs to be removed having been identified by the remote computer, can be removed at the next inspection of the juke box. Usually, the method of identifying each disc is by its location within the disc store or magazine. Thus, the number of plays or selections relates to magazine position of each disc, and it is therefore necessary to have the title of each disc and its magazine position stored in the remote computer.
The present invention therefore seeks to provide an improved coin or token operated machine for playing pre-recorded discs in which the advantages of remote programming may be retained, but delays introduced by the intervals between subsequent inspections of the machine can be made to have less effect.
According to the invention there is provided a coin or token operated machine for playing pre-recorded record discs and which comprises: each disc having its own distinctive coding extracted; store; place it on a turntable or other playing device; discs which are selected for playing; and, memory, and operative upon each periodic inspection of the machine to initiate indication of the least popular record disc since the previous inspection.
Thus, upon each routine inspection e.g. monitoring/servicing of the machine, typically at fortnightly intervals, the machine can be interrogated so as automatically to indicate the least popular record disc i.e. the least used or nil used record since the previous interrogation. The person carrying
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Blakeway Ian
Holmes Frank
Nguyen Tan
Shepperd John W.
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