A machine is disclosed which includes an enclosure with selection and payment means on the outside thereof and with storage and handling means on the inside thereof, all coupled to computer equipment which is on the inside of the enclosure. The computer equipment is programmed to facilitate a customer's creation from among types of products to be delivered and the desired mode of personalization thereof and to deliver a completed personalized product to a receptacle from which it may be removed by the customer. The machine of the invention improves customer service and availability by periodically reporting sales and other information. In addition, the machine self detects errors of operation and provides the capability of stocking new products or software programming revisions via data transmission from a remote location.

Computer controlled system for vending personalized products

A system and method for combining a first digital generated image and one or more prestored digital images. The system include means for selecting one of the prestored digital images for and the steps of selecting an output format for printing the first digital generated image and the selected prestored image, providing the first digital generated image, combining the first digital generated image with the selected prestored digital image such that the generated image is placed in the predetermined location so as to form a merged image in accordance with the requirements of the selected output format, and for printing out the merged image in a desired format.

System for custom imprinting a variety of articles with images obtained from a variety of different sources

A method and apparatus is provided for a search system based in software running on a personal computer. The personal computer is housed in a kiosk having a touch monitor and a printer. With the search system, selection features are selected and a search based upon these search features is performed. Each item in a database is examined to determine if an item has a given search feature. These search features are categorized into primary and non-primary search features. Items neither satisfying nor closely satisfying a given primary search feature are eliminated from the search. In contrast, items not satisfying a given non-primary feature may remain in a search pool. For both primary and non-primary features, if an item in a database is an exact match to a given search feature, then that item is assigned full points. If an item closely satisfies the search feature then that item is assigned full or partial points. After completion of comparing each primary and non-primary search features with each item in the search pool, predetermined number of items remaining in the search pool with the highest total points are displayed to the user of the search system.

Real-estate method and apparatus for searching for homes in a search pool for exact and close matches according to primary and non-primary selection criteria

A distinctive estimating method using a concise depiction, organization, and presentation of time, related to the number of items accomplished, to produce a Historical Data Block of information, that is a stable inference base. These Blocks of information can be stored, referenced, anatomized, multiplied or divided and restacked, to create other accurate totals and estimates. This stable Block easily allows the accurate calculation of future duration times and item quantity totals. The calculated item quantities can be used to calculate current item costs and totals, by using a current item cost database. Or the item totals can be printed and sent out, requesting a quote, or sent out as purchase orders. The accurate duration times can be used to automatically produce a schedule, concurrently with the estimate, by using a predefined templet. These duration times can also be used to calculate accurate: duration costs, employee goals for profit sharing, payroll, and insurance premiums, all of which increase the efficiency of management and the estimating processes.

System and method for estimating construction project costs and schedules based on historical data

A vending machine for displaying and dispensing personalized products includes apparatus for sequentially displaying personalized products of a given type in accordance with prior viewing and sales of each personalized product. The machine includes an enclosure with selection means on the outside thereof and with storage and handling means on the inside thereof, all coupled to computer equipment which is on the inside of the enclosure. The computer equipment is programmed to facilitate a customer's creation from among designs of products of a given type by ranking each of the designs and thereafter sequentially displaying the designs in accordance with its ranking.

Method and apparatus for display sequencing personalized social occasion products

In publishing listings of real estate properties, photographed (or videotaped) images are converted to digital graphics at the "front end" of the publishing process. This image conversion ("capture") process includes cropping, contrast adjustment using statistical techniques, and generation of control information needed later in the process. A library of digital graphics and associated information is maintained. Graphics selected from this library and a conventional "multiple listing service" text database are then merged during a text composition process to provide a stream of digital data including text and embedded graphics to be printed in the listing book. Because all image operations (e.g., sizing, cropping, and digital image quality enhancement) are performed when the images are captured, no time consuming post processing steps are requird. Image capture is performed in a single step, and once an image is captured it can be used "as is" in the printing process without further review, modification or post processing.

Leendert M. Bijnagte

Papers

Method and apparatus for optimizing and storing contone images for subsequent half-toning and merging with text