CN119604908A

CN119604908A - Method for operating a beverage vending machine and device for operating a beverage vending machine

Info

Publication number: CN119604908A
Application number: CN202380056547.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: A·卡里米安
Original assignee: Jura Elektroapparate AG
Current assignee: Jura Elektroapparate AG
Priority date: 2022-06-03
Filing date: 2023-05-31
Publication date: 2025-03-11
Also published as: MX2024014983A; KR20250019724A; WO2023232846A1; JP2025523715A; AU2023281192A1; EP4533425A1; IL317423A

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device for operating a beverage vending machine (2), wherein the beverage vending machine (2) is connected to an operating entity (3), wherein the operating entity (3) obtains operating information from a remotely arranged management entity (4), and the operating entity (3) can be connected to a payment entity (5) to pay for the beverage.

Description

Method for operating a beverage dispenser and device for operating a beverage dispenser

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for operating a beverage vending machine.

The invention also relates to a device for operating a beverage vending machine.

Background

It is known to operate beverage vending machines (e.g. fully automatic coffee machines) with mobile operating entities (e.g. smartphones). In this case, the mobile operating entity is arranged to store beverages that can be made with the beverage vending machine, and the operating entity is wirelessly coupled to the beverage vending machine, for example by Wi-Fi or bluetooth, in order to trigger the purchase of beverages from the beverage vending machine.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to integrating payment functionality into a system for wirelessly operating a beverage vending machine.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the features of claim 1. In particular, in order to achieve this object, according to the invention a method for operating a beverage vending machine is proposed, which uses a management entity, an operating entity and a payment entity, which are arranged remotely from the beverage vending machine, wherein beverage specific information is stored in the management entity, wherein in a selection step a user selects a beverage at the operating entity, in a ordering step an order for the selected beverage is transmitted from the operating entity to the management entity, in a payment step the management entity initiates a payment procedure to the payment entity, and after a payment success the management entity in a release step transmits an order release to the operating entity to trigger the beverage vending machine to dispense the selected beverage in a triggering step.

By creating a management entity and participating in the payment process, the present invention can implement the payment function without the beverage vending machine itself having to connect to the internet to verify the payment process. Another advantage is that the operating entity does not have to be protected in a special way to prevent the output of unpaid beverages.

The described method can be used particularly advantageously in a fully automatic coffee machine in which a plurality of coffee-specific beverages, for example beverages with or without milk, can be provided.

For example, the management entity may be designed to be stationary, in particular provided in a server. The advantage here is that the management entity can be maintained independently of the operating entity, in particular by providing updated information.

The updated information can then be used by all of the operating entities simultaneously without modifying the operating entities. For example, a particular payment method or a particular payment entity may be selected.

The operating entity is preferably designed as a mobile device, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer or a similar mobile operating unit. The advantage here is that the user can use his own operating entity.

Preferably, the payment entity is designed to be fixed. Here, a payment entity may be provided by a payment service provider via the internet with a corresponding interface. Thus, the payment entity is preferably provided separately from the management entity.

For example, it may be provided that the operating entity is connected wirelessly to the beverage vending machine and/or the management entity at least in one section of the respective communication path.

For example, it may be provided that the payment entity is provided on the internet as a cloud service or other service that may be controlled with a standardized interface.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that, in the identifying step, the operating entity obtains a machine-specific identifier from the beverage vending machine. The advantage here is that the operating entity can process the machine-specific identifier in order to be set onto the respective beverage vending machine to be operated.

For example, it may be provided that the identification step is performed before the selection step. This means that the beverage options in the selection step can be adjusted according to the beverage vending machine to be operated.

For example, it may be provided that the identification step is performed before the ordering step. This means that it can be ensured that the ordering steps are adjusted in accordance with the circumstances of the beverage vending machine to be operated.

In particular, it may be provided that the machine-specific identifier is transmitted together with the order information. This means that information about which beverage vending machine is being serviced can be used in the management entity.

For example, it can be provided that the machine-specific identifier is optically readable. The advantage here is that no wireless connection between the operating entity and the beverage vending machine is required when reading in the machine-specific information. For example, a machine-specific identifier with a machine-readable code (e.g., a QR code) may be provided on the exterior of the beverage vending machine, which may be a permanent marking or temporarily displayed by a display unit.

An advantage of providing and transmitting the machine specific identifier prior to the selection step is that the identifier can be transmitted to the management entity prior to the selection step, so that the management entity can transmit the beverage specific information to the operating entity prior to the selection.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that, in the coupling step, a control connection is established between the operating entity and the beverage vending machine. The advantage here is that wireless control can be performed via the control connection, for example via Wi-Fi or bluetooth, in particular bluetooth low energy or Web bluetooth.

This may be done, for example, after the identification step, such that the machine specific identifier is available at the time of setting up the operating entity.

This may also be done, for example, before the selection step, so that communication with the beverage vending machine is already possible when the beverage is selected.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that, in the setting step, the operating entity obtains from the management entity a beverage group available at the beverage vending machine and/or for the machine-specific identifier. Advantageously, the available beverages of the beverage vending machine may be altered by modifying the management entity without intervention of the operating entity or the beverage vending machine.

For example, the available beverage groups may be transmitted with the associated prices. This means that the price information can be changed without intervention of the beverage vending machine or the operating entity.

Alternatively or additionally, recipe parameters associated with the beverage group (e.g. the amount of milk or other ingredients to be added, the amount of water or water temperature, the type of coffee, the degree of grinding or similar parameters) may be transmitted, based on which the available beverages may be differentiated and/or personalized. Here, it is also an advantage that the behaviour of the beverage vending machine can be modified remotely without intervention of the beverage vending machine.

This may be done, for example, simply by modifying the management entity and/or beverage specific information. For this purpose, for example, a user interface may be provided on the management entity in order to read out and/or modify the database.

Preferably, provision is made for the setting step to be carried out before the selection step, so that an update of the information carried out on the management entity is available on the operating entity, in particular can be displayed, before the selection step is carried out.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that, in the verification step, the beverage vending machine transmits a verifier to the operating entity. The advantage here is that the actual information can be transmitted from the beverage vending machine to the management entity without the operating entity being set up in a special way. For example, the verifier may contain time information about its generation, e.g. as a random number.

It is particularly advantageous if the verification step is performed as part of the selection step. The advantage here is that when the verifier is generated, the beverage vending machine has already available an order or selection of the desired beverage. This may link the selected beverage to a verifier for subsequent verification.

In an embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that a verifier (e.g. the aforementioned verifier) is transmitted to the management entity in the subscription step or in the payment step as mentioned, for example. Thus providing a tool for securing the payment process. In particular, if the verifier is transmitted from the vending machine to the management entity via the operating entity, the management entity may process information from the beverage vending machine and such information cannot be changed by the intermediately accessed operating entity. In this case, the management entity may also sign the verifier, as described below.

In an embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that the management entity sends a verifier, such as the aforementioned verifier, to the operating entity in the release step. In this way, the management entity may be used, for example, to indicate that payment is complete and to enable the operating entity to trigger the purchase of the selected beverage. For this purpose, it is beneficial if the verifier is signed by the management entity. The signing may be done, for example, with a key of a key pair, for example, in the RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) method or in a general asymmetric encryption method, so that the beverage vending machine can verify the signature.

For example, it may be provided that the operating entity forwards the verifier to the beverage vending machine. Thus, information obtained on the beverage vending machine may be verified or processed by the management entity. The described signature may be used herein to perform this process. The signature may employ one of the signature methods known in the art or other signature methods.

This is particularly advantageous if such a transmission or forwarding of the verifier from the operating entity to the beverage vending machine takes place automatically, i.e. without any additional action on the part of the user.

The use of a verifier handled by the management entity to automatically trigger the selected beverage has the further advantage that the management entity can count the number of beverages dispensed by the beverage vending machine or machine-specific identifier almost without any error, without the need for feedback to the management entity by the beverage vending machine after the beverage has been completed. This is achieved in that after approval by the administrative entity, the output of the beverage is almost impossible to prevent, since all further steps can be automated in a short time.

In particular, it is therefore not necessary to connect the beverage vending machine to the internet to provide such feedback, regardless of the operating entity.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that the beverage vending machine checks the verifier forwarded by the operating entity in a triggering step before outputting the selected beverage. Thus, verification of the order flow may be implemented in the beverage vending machine. This is particularly advantageous if the verifier is created and processed as described. In particular, if the verifier contains time information about its creation time, it is practically impossible to trigger the purchase of the beverage twice in succession using the processed verifier.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that in the payment step, a payment request is transmitted from the payment entity to the operating entity. This means that the payment process can be performed on the operating entity.

This is particularly advantageous if such a transmission of the payment request is transmitted from the payment entity to the operating entity via the management entity. This means that the management entity can monitor the whole payment process.

Thus, there is no need to directly couple the operating entity to the payment entity. This has the advantage that the payment entity does not need to be modified in order to receive information about completed payments at a central location, such as a management entity, and that the information about completed payments does not have to be transmitted to the management entity via the operation entity.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that the management entity checks whether a payment procedure is necessary before the payment step. A means is thus provided by which it is possible to store in the management entity whether a payment for the beverage vending machine is required. For example, if the beverage vending machine is located in a non-public area or is intended to be provided for free to a particular group of people, payment may not be required. In this case, the management entity may skip the payment step based on its storage decision. The advantage here is that the management entity allows a flexible design of the operating procedure without modifying the beverage vending machine or the operating entity. Another advantage is that even in this case it is ensured that the purchased beverage is securely recorded in the management entity without the need for a direct internet connection between the beverage vending machine and the management entity.

For example, such information may be stored based on a beverage vending machine or machine specific identifier, so that a correct determination as to whether a payment process is required during operation can be easily made in the management entity.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that the execution of the releasing step is stored in a management entity. Thus, the beverage purchased at the beverage dispenser may be statistically and/or accounts analyzed without having to read the beverage dispenser, e.g., via a separate internet connection. This may simply reconcile the payment process with the beverage purchased at the beverage vending machine and set up predictive maintenance or other statistical and/or financial analysis.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that in the configuration step, the machine-specific identifier, in particular the aforementioned machine-specific identifier, is transmitted to the management entity. This enables the beverage dispenser to register with the management entity. It is preferably provided that the configuration step can be performed separately from the previously described operating entity, for example via another operating entity of the authorizer, and that this step is prohibited for the previously mentioned operating entity.

For example, it may be provided that the management entity generates a public/private key pair, which is transmitted to the vending machine. For example, the key pair may be generated by an asymmetric encryption method (e.g., an RSA method). This means that information can be provided on the beverage vending machine which can be used to generate a verifier or other information that cannot be modified by the operating entity. This enables secure communication between the beverage vending machine and the management entity via the operating entity without requiring a separate connection between the management entity and the beverage vending machine that is not guided via the operating entity.

For example, it may be provided that the public key is used for verifying a preferably signed verifier (in particular the aforementioned verifier) transmitted in the triggering step in the beverage vending machine, in particular for verifying the signature. This can verify that the payment process in the beverage vending machine has been completed correctly.

In one embodiment of the invention, the beverage vending machine and the operating entity may be coupled by a point-to-point connection. This allows easy establishment of a control connection between the beverage dispenser and the operating entity without the need to install the beverage dispenser into another communication network. The point-to-point connection may be established, for example, by Wi-Fi or bluetooth, in particular bluetooth low energy and/or bluetooth Web.

The advantage here is that the complete communication with the beverage vending machine, in particular between the beverage vending machine and the management entity, can be performed by the operating entity, which itself can be connected to the internet by means of a mobile data access.

The invention makes use of the fact that an operating entity, in particular a smart phone, is technically established for a data connection, for example with the internet and thus with a management entity via a mobile radio network or WLAN, without the user having to make any modifications to the beverage vending machine to operate.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that in a configuration step, for example the aforementioned configuration step, information about a machine-specific identifier (for example the aforementioned machine-specific identifier) is stored in the management entity to indicate whether a payment process is required. The advantage here is that the configuration step can be performed by an authorized person separately from the operating entity, for example with a separate operating entity. Thus, the information may be designed such that the operating entity cannot access it during normal operation, so that an unauthorized user is hardly able to modify the information.

In one embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that the manual input unit on the beverage vending machine is disabled when the method is to be performed. This has the advantage that the management entity can achieve complete control of the beverage vending machine.

Alternatively or additionally, it may be provided that the optical output unit (e.g. the aforementioned output unit) presents a machine-specific identifier, e.g. the aforementioned machine-specific identifier. This enables a simple optical reading of the identifier without the need to establish a control connection between the beverage vending machine and the operating entity at this point. Preferably, it may be provided that such presentation of the machine-specific identifier also contains information about the establishment of a control connection to the beverage vending machine.

For example, it can be provided that an error message is displayed by means of an identifier. This can prevent the user from operating the malfunctioning beverage vending machine in a safe manner.

In order to achieve the above object, there is also provided according to the present invention an apparatus for operating a beverage vending machine, in particular comprising a beverage vending machine, an operating entity and a management entity, wherein the apparatus is provided with means for performing the method according to the present invention, in particular as described above, and/or with means according to the method-related claims.

The present invention will now be described in more detail using exemplary embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments. Further exemplary embodiments result from combining the features of the single or multiple protection claims with each other and/or with the single or multiple features of the exemplary embodiments.

Drawings

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of configuration steps;

FIG. 2 shows, in a second part, a continuation of the configuration step of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 shows a flow chart of a method for operating a beverage vending machine according to the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the detail of FIG. 3, and

Fig. 5 shows in a highly schematic view an apparatus for operating a beverage vending machine.

Detailed Description

Fig. 5 shows a device, generally designated 1, for operating a beverage vending machine 2.

Thus, the device 1 has a beverage vending machine 2 (e.g. a fully automatic coffee machine), a mobile operating entity 3 (e.g. a smart phone), a management entity 4 (e.g. a database 11 accessible via the internet), and a payment entity 5 (e.g. a cloud service).

The beverage vending machine 2 has a display unit 6 on which a machine readable code, for example a QR code, can be presented.

The machine readable code contains a machine specific identifier and information for launching an application on the operating entity 3.

The operating entity 3 has a reading unit 7 with which information presented on the display unit 6 can be read for further mechanical processing.

The information read is used to establish a control connection 8 between the communication unit 9 of the beverage dispenser 2 and the operating entity 3. In this example, the control connection 8 is a Web bluetooth connection or a BLE (bluetooth low energy) connection.

The operating entity 3 is connected to the management entity 4 via a data connection 10, for example at least partly via the internet.

The data connection 10 may also be established based on information transmitted from the beverage vending machine 2 via the reading unit 7 (e.g. based on a machine-specific identifier).

The management entity 4 has the above-mentioned database 11 with beverage-specific information, in particular information associated with machine-specific identifiers.

The beverage specific information may for example comprise recipe parameters and/or price information.

The management entity 4 also has a manual user interface for maintaining, managing and updating the database 11.

The user interface 12 may also be operated by remote access.

The management entity 4 may be at least temporarily connected to the payment entity 5 via a further data connection 13.

Fig. 1 and 2 show the various sub-steps of the configuration step 14.

The devices and entities involved are arranged in columns.

"KVA" refers to a beverage vending machine (e.g., KVA = full-automatic coffee machine) having a wireless connector ("Frog"). The wireless connector forms the communication unit 9 of the beverage dispenser 2 in fig. 5.

The operating entity 3 is presented in the third column "Setup App". The operating entity 3 does not necessarily correspond to the operating entity in the normal operating mode, but may also be an operating entity 3 of a special authorized user.

The column "Operator Frontend" indicates the management entity 4.

Each user intervention is marked by a horizontal dashed line.

It can be seen that the communication unit 9 is first activated in a substep marked with a1 in a circle.

Then, the beverage vending machine 2 displays a QR code on its display unit 6, which is scanned with the operating entity 3 in order to provide a link to the setting routine.

With this link the user can now start the setup application on the operating entity 3 in the substep marked with 2 in the circle and log on to the managing entity 4 or register a new user.

The user then selects at the operating entity 3 that a new beverage vending machine 2 should be registered.

Then, a control connection 8 is established between the beverage vending machine 2 and the operating entity 3.

The beverage vending machine 2 then sends via the communication unit 9a machine-specific identifier containing a unique name of the machine ("machine ID") and an indication of the device type (e.g. "product name"). In the substep marked with 3 in the circle, the user first selects the operation mode to be selected on the operation entity 3. The mode in fig. 4 is alternative.

Here are an "authorized" mode, a "paid" mode, and an "open access" mode.

In the "open access" of the open mode, the user sees the QR code on the beverage vending machine 2 (on the display unit 6), but everything is available without payment. In this case, the payment step 20, described in more detail below, is skipped.

This mode is used to obtain statistics of the vending machine 2 and is displayed in the management entity 4.

The second mode is "payment" of the payment mode, wherein the user scans a QR code, makes a payment in a payment step 20, described in more detail below, and receives the beverage.

The third mode is referred to as "authorization" for authorized access, wherein the user of the beverage dispenser 2 may be dispensed through the operator front end 24 (with manual operating elements such as a touch screen, switches, etc.), that is, when the user is dispensed to the beverage dispenser 2, he may use the beverage dispenser 2 and if not, he may not use the beverage dispenser 2. For this purpose, the user must log in the coffee application on the operating entity 2 in order for the system to recognize who can use the beverage vending machine 2.

Returning to fig. 1, the operating entity 3 now sends a machine-specific identifier and further information (e.g. the selected operating mode "selected mode", and possibly a protocol version of the data communication, a MAC address of the communication unit 9 and a related version number) to the managing entity 4 in order to register the beverage vending machine 2 with the managing entity 4.

This data is now stored in the database 11 of the management entity 4.

The management entity 4 now generates a key pair with a public key and a private key.

The public key is now transferred to the operating entity 3 and from there further to the beverage vending machine 2 or its communication unit 9 for storage in the beverage vending machine 2.

Thus, the public key is independent of the operating entity 3 and remains available in the beverage vending machine 2 for further use.

At the end of the substep marked with 3 in the circle, the beverage vending machine 2 provides feedback to the operating entity 3 via the control connection 8 and switches the display unit 6 such that local operations on the beverage vending machine 2 are no longer possible and are no longer displayed.

In the substep marked with 4 in the circle, the user can still choose to assign a separate name ("Frog's name") to the beverage vending machine 2 on the operating entity 3, which name is stored in the communication unit 9. Once the beverage vending machine 2 has transmitted a successful name change to the operating entity 3, this newly defined name of the beverage vending machine 2 is transmitted to the management entity 4 for storage in the database 11.

This completes the configuration step 14.

Fig. 3 shows a normal operation mode for performing the method according to the invention.

Here, the "Frog" column represents the communication unit 9 of the beverage vending machine 2 and thus the beverage vending machine 2, the "coffee application" column represents the operating entity 3, the "operator front end/server" column represents the management entity 4, and the "payment provider" column represents the payment entity 5. The horizontal dashed line again represents an input on the operating entity 2.

In an identification step 15 at the beginning of the sub-step marked with 5 in the circle in fig. 3, the operating entity 3 reads machine-readable information on the display unit 6, which machine-readable information in particular also contains a machine-specific identifier of the beverage vending machine 2 and a link to an application to be executed on the operating entity 3. This application ("coffee application") is typically different from the application described previously in the configuration step 14.

The entity 2 can now query the management entity 4 for the set mode as shown in fig. 4.

In the "open access" mode, the payment step 20 described later is skipped, in the "payment" mode the method described below is fully run, and in the "authorization" mode the authorized user can operate the beverage vending machine locally without the need for beverage purchase recorded in the management entity 4.

The flow when setting the "payment" mode is described below.

Using the aforementioned identifiers, the operating entity 3 then queries the available beverages and the associated prices from the beverage vending machine 2 in the management entity 4 in a setting step 16 and, if necessary, parameters of the recipe.

If this is stored in the operating entity 3, the operating entity 3 is ready to select a beverage and can establish the control connection 8 with the information from the identification step 15.

At the beginning of the substep marked with 5 in the circle, i.e. in the identification step 15, a part of the information transmitted from the beverage vending machine 2 can be used to establish a data connection 10 between the operating entity 3 and the management entity 4, for example by means of a mobile radio data connection, to establish a data connection 10 and to establish a subsequent internet connection to the management entity 4.

At the end of the setting step 16, the operating entity 3 now displays to the user a menu structure of the beverages available at the beverage vending machine 2 ("coffee menu" in fig. 4).

Thus, this information is not from the beverage vending machine 2, but can be changed and updated by the management entity 4 without having to access the beverage vending machine 2.

In the substep marked with 6 in the circle, the user selects the desired beverage in the selection step 17 on the operating entity 3. The beverage is then transmitted by the operating entity 3 to the beverage vending machine 2, whereby a verifier ("random number") is requested.

The verifier is generated in a verification step 18 in the beverage vending machine 2 and transmitted to the operating entity 3.

In a subsequent ordering step 19, the operating entity 3 transmits the order and the validator with details of the selected drink as a payment request to the management entity 4.

The management entity 4 invokes the payment entity 5 in order to initiate a payment procedure. Feedback from the payment entity 5 is returned by the management entity 4 to the operating entity 3.

In the payment step 20, the user inputs to the operating entity 3 the data required to trigger the payment process at the beginning of the sub-step marked with 7 in a circle. This data is now transmitted to the management entity 4 together with the verifier, which forwards the payment data to the payment entity 5 to trigger the payment.

If the payment process can be completed correctly, the payment entity 5 sends feedback to the management entity 4.

The management entity 4 then signs the verifier with the key pair already mentioned and sends it back to the operating entity 3.

If the "open access" mode is selected, the management entity 4 skips the invocation of the payment entity 5 and the payment step 20 and sends the verifier signature directly to the operating entity 2.

Thus, in the "open access" mode and the "payment" mode, the signed verifier is transferred to the operating entity 3 in a release step 21.

In a triggering step 22, the signed verifier is transmitted from the operating entity 3 to the beverage vending machine 2 without further intervention by the user.

The beverage dispenser 2 verifies the signed verifier with its public key and, after successful verification, triggers the dispensing of the selected beverage at the dispensing unit 23 of the beverage dispenser 2.

The application may then end on the operating entity 3 or may be executed again starting from the sub-step marked with 6 in the circle to obtain another beverage.

The invention thus relates to a method and an apparatus 1 for operating a beverage vending machine 2, wherein the beverage vending machine 2 is coupled to an operating entity 3, wherein the operating entity 3 obtains operating information from a remotely arranged management entity 4, which management entity 4 can be connected to a payment entity 5 for payment of a beverage purchase fee.

List of reference numerals

1 Device for operating a beverage vending machine

2. Beverage vending machine

3. Operation entity

4. Management entity

5. Payment entity

6. Display unit

7. Reading unit

8. Control connection

9. Communication unit

10. Data connection

11. Database for storing data

12. User interface

13 (Further) data connection

14. Configuration step

15. Identification step

16. Setting step

17. Selection step

18. Verification step

19. Ordering step

20. Payment step

21. Release step

22. Triggering step

23. Dispensing unit

24. Operator front end

Claims

1. A method for operating a beverage vending machine (2), the beverage vending machine (2) being in particular a fully automatic coffee machine, the beverage vending machine comprising a preferably fixed management entity (4) arranged away from the beverage vending machine (2), a preferably mobile operating entity (3) and a preferably fixed payment entity (5), wherein beverage-specific information is stored in the management entity (4), wherein in a selection step (17), a user selects a beverage at the operating entity (3), in an ordering step (19), an order for the selected beverage is transmitted from the operating entity (3) to the management entity (4), in a payment step (20), the management entity (4) initiates a payment process to the payment entity (5), and after successful payment, in a release step (21), the management entity (4) transmits the order release to the operating entity (3) to trigger the dispensing of the selected beverage on the beverage vending machine (2) in a triggering step (22).

2. The method according to claim 1 is characterized in that, in an identification step (15), preferably before a selection step (17) or before an ordering step (19), the operating entity (3) obtains a machine-specific identifier from the beverage vending machine (2), in particular, wherein the machine-specific identifier is transmitted together with the order information and/or wherein the machine-specific identifier is optically read.

3. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that in a connection step, in particular after an identification step (15) and/or before a selection step (17), a control connection is established between the operating entity (3) and the beverage vending machine (2).

4. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in a setting step (16), in particular before a selection step (17), the operating entity (3) obtains from the management entity (4) a group of beverages available at the beverage vending machine (2) and/or available for a machine-specific identifier, in particular the group of beverages having an associated price and/or having at least one associated recipe parameter.

5. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that in a verification step (18), in particular as part of a selection step (17), the beverage vending machine (2) transmits a verification symbol, in particular a random number, to the operating entity (3).

6. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the authenticator or an authenticator is transmitted to the management entity (4) in the ordering step (19) and/or in the payment step (20) or a payment step (20).

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the management entity (4) sends the authenticator or preferably the signed authenticator to the operating entity (3) in a release step (21), in particular, wherein the operating entity (3) preferably automatically forwards the authenticator to the beverage vending machine (2).

8. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, before dispensing the selected beverage, the beverage vending machine (2) verifies the or an authenticator forwarded by the operating entity (3) in a triggering step (22).

9. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in the payment step (20), a payment request is transmitted from the payment entity (5) to the operating entity (3), in particular via the management entity (4).

10. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, before the payment step (20), in the management entity (4), it is checked whether a payment process associated with the beverage vending machine and/or a machine-specific identifier is necessary, in particular wherein if no payment is required, the payment step (20) is skipped.

11. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the execution of the releasing step (21) is stored in the management entity (4) in order in particular to be used for statistical and/or accounting analysis.

12. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in a configuration step (14), the machine-specific identifier or a machine-specific identifier is transmitted to the management entity (4), in particular, wherein the management entity (4) generates a public/private key pair, the public key of which is transmitted to the beverage vending machine (2) and/or used to verify the authenticator or an authenticator in the beverage vending machine (2) transmitted in a triggering step (22).

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims is characterized in that the beverage vending machine (2) and the operating entity (3) are connected via a point-to-point connection, in particular via Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth (BLE, Web Bluetooth), in particular wherein complete communication is carried out between the operating entity (3) and the beverage vending machine (2).

14. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in the configuration step (14), information related to the machine-specific identifier or a machine-specific identifier is stored in the management entity (4) for indicating whether a payment operation is required.

15. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a manual input unit on the beverage vending machine (2) is disabled and/or an optical output unit presents the machine-specific identifier or a machine-specific identifier, in particular wherein an error message is displayed via the identifier.

16. A device for operating a beverage vending machine (2), in particular a fully automatic coffee machine, having a device for carrying out the method according to any of the preceding claims.