5/12/2021
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`DEX and MDB: A Primer For Vendors | Vending Market Watch
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`DEX and MDB: A Primer For Vendors
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`Technology Basics 101: Both technologies are important but serve different functions.
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`Feb 7th, 2008
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`https://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/print/content/10272928
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`1/5
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`Petitioner Kiosoft Exhibit 1012
`Page 1
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`Two of the most oft-mentioned and misunderstood technologies in our industry are MDB
`(multi-drop bus) and DEX (digital exchange). It amazes me how frequently I hear people
`confuse MDB and DEX, as if they are related. Allow me to end that rumor right here. The
`only correlation between DEX and MDB is that they are two separate and distinct
`technologies that happen to reside in modern day vending machines.
`DEX BRINGS IMPROVED AUDIT
`DEX was brought to the industry in the late 1980s to provide better audit capabilities. The
`bottlers brought DEX, a uniform commercial code set up across many industries, to
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`5/12/2021
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`DEX and MDB: A Primer For Vendors | Vending Market Watch
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`https://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/print/content/10272928
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`2/5
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`Petitioner Kiosoft Exhibit 1012
`Page 2
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`vending when they implemented DEX for communications between a route handheld and a
`grocery store’s computer system. Since many bottler route drivers performed direct store
`delivery (DSD) as well as service of can/bottle machines, it made sense for their handheld
`to communicate with the vending machines they serviced as well as the stores. As often
`happened due to their size, resources and commitment to implementing technology, the
`bottlers took the leadership position, and the National Automatic Merchandising
`Association Technology Committee (made up mostly of engineers and industry suppliers)
`followed suit, adopting DEX as our industry standard.
`VENDING USAGE INFORMATION
`So what is DEX? DEX is our standard for an ASCII code-based electronic audit le, a way to
`communicate information such as sales, cash in bill validators, coins in coin boxes, sales of
`units by selection, pricing, door openings, and much more. It is created either locally by
`the VMC (Vending Machine Controller often called the “brain” of an electronic machine) or
`created by a retrot DEX device in older electromechanical (dip switch) machines.
`DEX is the result of the VMC storing information on an interval basis (the interval of time
`since the last DEX reading) and cumulative basis (since the VMC was rst installed or the
`machine went into service). The VMC accumulates the data and transmits it in DEX format
`(see sidebar) over the DEX port when requested.
`DEX data is quite useful and extensive. It eliminates the need for route people to write
`what they loaded into a machine on a route card. It also makes it unnecessary to manually
`input this information into a handheld. But the feature of DEX that gets most companies
`excited and starting to “DEX” their machines is the accuracy of cash accountability. There
`is no more second guessing what was to be collected out of the machine.
`DEX IMPROVES ROUTE ACCOUNTING
`DEX data is downloaded to a handheld device or transmitted via a remote monitoring
`device over to software that can parse the information into useful reports. DEX is
`downloaded using a 0.25-inch stereo plug (exactly like the one with your old stereo
`headphones from the 70s). When downloaded to a handheld, DEX is parsed and compared
`to planogram information unique to that machine that was stored in the handheld. This
`informs the route driver how many units of each product he/she has to load back into the
`machine to bring it back up to par.
`Remote monitoring devices (wireless, LAN or telephone) can forward DEX, usually via the
`Internet, to a central computer where the software performs the same tasks as the
`handheld, but from the headquarters. This gives vendors the opportunity to pre-assemble
`

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`5/12/2021
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`DEX and MDB: A Primer For Vendors | Vending Market Watch
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`https://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/print/content/10272928
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`3/5
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`Petitioner Kiosoft Exhibit 1012
`Page 3
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`items for locations before drivers leave and efciently pack route trucks with only the
`necessary products.
`Approximately 60 to 70 percent of the machines currently deployed have “native” DEX,
`meaning the machines come with a VMC that produces DEX. Sometimes a newer version
`of rmware for the VMC and a DEX download cable are required to be added to enable
`DEX.
`Older electronic and electromechanical machines not equipped with DEX can be
`retrotted with either a new VMC that provides DEX (and many of the features found in
`new machines) or with a retrot DEX audit device.
`DEX File Interpretation Chart - View this chart in PDF format.
`MULTI DROP BUS RELATES TO PAYMENT
`MDB (multi drop bus) relates to the different payment systems interfacing together. When
`vending machines were electromechanical (using dip switches), bill validators and cashless
`systems had to run through the coin mechanisms. There were a slew of different
`connectors to interface to all the different types of coin mechs on the market, and it was
`very confusing since there was no industry standard. Even early electronic machines,
`which had VMC, didn’t have standard connections. They used a serial interface (such as
`MicroMech), but additional devices, like bill validators or cashless systems, still had to be
`connected to and emulate the coin mechanisms.
`If it wasn’t for the NAMA and European Vending Association (EVA) getting together in the
`1990s and working in a cooperative spirit to write the MDB specication, we would
`probably still be struggling through proprietary interfaces and the nightmare of
`connectors. MDB is an international standard co-authored by NAMA and EVA, and is
`present in almost every vending machine worldwide except for the Far East, which has its
`own standards.
`MDB = ELECTRICAL BUS FOR INTERFACING
`MDB was the rst attempt by the industry to come up with a standard interface for all
`transactional electronic devices (i.e., coin mechanism, bill validator or cashless system) to
`be able to interface through an electrical bus to the VMC. This electrical bus provides one
`standard male and female connector, both of which are found on all MDB vending
`transactional electronic devices. An MDB device should have a y-MDB connection,
`providing for a piggyback connection from one MDB device to another.
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`5/12/2021
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`DEX and MDB: A Primer For Vendors | Vending Market Watch
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`https://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/print/content/10272928
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`Petitioner Kiosoft Exhibit 1012
`Page 4
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`I typically like to compare MDB to the USB port on a personal computer (PC). USB is an
`international electrical bus standard which supplies an electrical connection and protocol
`for connecting peripheral devices (such as a mouse) to a PC. Likewise, the MDB is the
`vending industry’s international standard for providing an electrical connection with
`protocol for peripheral devices (in this case, an example would be a coin mech) to the
`VMC.
`The one thing MDB does that USB doesn’t do is that MDB provides sufcient power to
`operate the transactional device. (USB can power very low draw devices, but it wasn’t
`designed to power most PC peripheral devices.)
`When an MDB device is connected to an MDB machine, the device identies itself to the
`machine as to the type of device it is (coin mech, bill validator or cashless system) and the
`currency for which the MDB device is programmed to receive. The VMC recognizes and
`enables the MDB device for operation, after which the MDB device and VMC communicate
`constantly.
`The dialogue establishes that a machine is active for taking in currency or cashless,
`transmitting each activity that occurs with the MDB device, such as each occurrence of a
`coin being accepted into a coin mechanism; a bill being accepted into a bill validator; or a
`credit card, tap-and-go device or keyfob being accepted by a cashless system). The
`machine establishes a monetary credit and shows the credit on the display.
`Since the VMC is the brains of the machine, it determines if enough credit is present in the
`machine to enable a vend. When a vend occurs, the VMC communicates back to the
`transactional device MDB to complete the transaction. For a coin mech, it means pay back
`change; for a bill validator, stack the bill from escrow; for a cashless device, it means
`transmit the vend price and transactional information over to the processor or local card
`server (college); and for a stored value cashless system, it means writing new stored value
`back to the magnetic card or smart token or keyfob.
`ERROR MESSAGE COMMUNICATION
`One of the very nice features of MDB is that MDB devices communicate status to the VMC.
`This means if there is a problem with a device, the device communicates a message to the
`VMC indicating the error. Examples of this are bill jams, bill stacker capacity status, coin
`mech problems, etc. This feature is particularly useful when used with remote data
`collection systems, where error messages can be forwarded to eld service personnel via
`text messages or email.
`TRACKING VENDING ACTIVITY THROUGH MDB
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`5/12/2021
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`DEX and MDB: A Primer For Vendors | Vending Market Watch
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`Source URL: https://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/home/article/10272928/dex-and-mdb-a-
`primer-for-vendors
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`5/5
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`Petitioner Kiosoft Exhibit 1012
`Page 5
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`When MDB was originally conceived, MDB communications was limited to transaction
`device identication and operational communications between the device and the VMC.
`Information such as vend selection was not available, mainly because it is internal to the
`VMC and does not need to be transmitted on the MDB.
`Eventually, cashless device suppliers lobbied NAMA/EVA to change the specications for
`the MDB to accommodate transmission of selection information on the MDB, so that
`information is now available.
`Some cashless and remote data communication providers choose to bypass DEX and
`derive audit information from MDB communications. While it is possible to derive sales
`and selection choices, the information produced by MDB is not as detailed as DEX, because
`it was never intended to be.
`DEX and MDB are clearly distinct technologies. DEX allows product auditing, cash
`accountability and possible pre-kitting, while MDB is the means in which various
`transactional devices operate and communicate with the brains of the vending machine.
`DEX is used with a handheld unit or remote monitoring, of which the MDB is an internal
`component. Both DEX and MDB were meant to make it easier to deploy useful technology
`in vending equipment.
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