Patent ID: 9640014
Date: 2017-05-02
CPC Classifications: G07F

Claim:
1. A method of vending products comprising: a. storing vendible products at various horizontal positions across a width of and at various vertical heights in an enclosed vending machine with a locked access door; b. receiving in a moveable receiving tray or bin from a dispenser a vendible product from anywhere across the width and at or near its stored vertical height upon customer selection with the access door locked, wherein the receiving tray or bin spans a substantial part of the width of the vending machine and the steps of receiving and moving comprise elevating and lowering the receiving tray or bin over and elevator pathway having a vertical range in the vending machine; c. automatically providing an assurance of receipt of the vendible product in the receiving tray or bin with the access door locked; d. moving the receiving tray or bin with the received product along the elevator pathway down to at or near the access door with the access door locked; e. moving a security baffle separately from the receiving tray or bin from a retracted position relative the elevator pathway into blocking position across at least a portion of the elevator pathway above the received product in the receiving tray or bin when the receiving tray or bin is at or near the access door; f. unlocking the access door to enable access to the receiving tray or bin and to deter reaching past an unlocked access door to the dispensers; and g. locking the access door and removing the security baffle from a position across the pathway and above the receiving tray or bin upon an indication that either (1) the received product has been removed or (2) a parameter is met.