Abstract:
An improved coin-receiving apparatus for vending machines is described which provides a tamper-proof locking mechanism in combination with a pivotally-detachable front panel for easy access to the coin-receiving station.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is an improvement of the invention described in copending application Ser. No. 476,423 filed June 5, 1974 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,337, incorporated herein by reference and relied upon. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     The present invention relates to coin-operated vending machines and, more particularly, the locking mechanism for the coin-receiving portion thereof. Vending machines have allowed purveyors to widely distribute their goods to consumers at numerous, often remote locations without the need to incur expenses relating to, for example, overhead and personnel. Such features are particularly attractive when the merchant desires to sell small, low profit-margin products widely used by numerous consumers who desire the convenience of obtaining these goods readily during their daily routines. 
     However, with such widespread use of coin-operated vending machines, the merchant must be able to rely upon the sturdiness of the apparatus to protect both the commodity to be dispensed and the currency deposited therein. This is particularly true for vending machines such as, for example, those used for the dispensing of newspapers which are typically located on numerous street corners throughout a city. Thus, vandalism and theft become real concerns for the merchant. 
     Those vending machines currently available have not proved satisfactory in providing a measure of safety to the merchant who must often rely upon rather inadequate locking mechanisms or modify the apparatus to render it tamper-proof. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide an extremely durable locking mechanism for a coin-operated vending machine, which locking mechanism provides tamper-proof security in a simple, yet efficient manner. 
     This and other objects of this invention will become apparent upon inspection of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the figures of drawing. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a positive locking mechanism comprised of a lock body member and an independent, cooperating lock shaft member adapted for insertion within the lock body and capable of effecting secure attachment therebetween. The lock shaft member is securely affixed integrally within the coin receptacle of the dispensing machine and is positioned in such a fashion that the shaft members protrude through the front panel of the coin receptacle cabinet. The front panel is provided with a recess closely correspondng to the external configuration of the lock body whereby the lock body may be firmly attached to the shaft member to achieve positive, tamper-proof securement of the front panel to the coin receptacle cabinet. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a dispensing device cabinet illustrating a modification of a removable front panel for receiving coins in payment for the merchandise to be dispensed therefrom; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken on line 2--2 of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded fragmentary vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the front coin-receiving panel unlocked and removed slightly from the cabinet; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 3 showing the location of the lock spring; 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view, taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 3; and 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the keeper elements for the staple of the lock. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     To more fully describe the essential features of the present invention, the following detailed description will be given as an exemplary, preferred embodiment. While the improved locking mechanism is capable of incorporation in numerous vending apparatus, the description will be made with reference to a newspaper vendng machine such as that described in copending application Ser. No. 476,423 filed June 5, 1974 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,337, it being appreciated that same is intended to be illustrative and in no way limitative. 
     FIG. 1 shows a coin-operated newspaper vending machine designated generally as 10 and comprised of a dispensing cabinet 12 and a coin receptacle cabinet 14. The cabinet 14 includes a pivotal coin-receiving panel 16 provided with a coin slot 18 for receiving currency required to actuate the latching mechanism (not shown) to effect release of the front panel of dispensing cabinet 12. Also provided on front panel 16 are a bent coin release button 20 and a bent coin return 22 as is conventional. 
     The pivotal coin-receiving panel 16 is further provided with a positive locking means indicated generally as 24 in FIG. 1 and comprised of a lock body member 26 which cooperates with a lock shaft member 28 as best viewed in FIGS. 2 and 4. The lock may be of any conventional design provided, however, the body and shaft members are capable of complete disengagement. Typically, the lock shaft member will be provided with notches 30 which cooperate with corresponding detents (not shown) carried within the lock body member. Usually, but not necessarily, the separation of the body member 26 from shaft member 28 is accomplished by a key 32. 
     The lock shaft member 28 is securely affixed within the coin-receptacle cabinet 14 by means of an offset bracket 34 fastened, for example, to an interior wall 36 by means of suitable fasteners 38. An outer wall 40 may then be provided to preclude tampering with fasteners 38. 
     As best viewed in FIG. 4, the coin-receiving panel 16 is provided with a recessed area 42 whose configuration closely corresponds to that of the cross-section of lock body member 26. The recess 42 is formed with holes 44 therein whereby the projecting, lock shaft member 28 may protrude outwardly from its position within receptacle cabinet 14 through holes 44 and into locking engagement with lock body member 26. Additionally, there is provided a spring member 46 which biases lock body member 26 outwardly to facilitate removal thereof. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2-4 and 7, lock shaft member 28 is securely affixed to offset bracket 34 by means of a semicircular inner guide member 48 in cooperation with an outer, concentric guide member 50, each of which is positioned by means of fastener 52 thereby defining a U-shaped annular channel adapted to receive and positively affix the U-shaped portion of shaft member 28. Should the skilled artisan desire to employ a lock whose shaft member differs from that of member 28, obvious modifications may be made to inner and outer guide members 48, 50 to ensure adequate attachment to offset bracket 34. 
     As noted above, the front, coin-receiving panel 16 is pivotal to facilitate entry to the coin-receptacle cabinet 14. Optionally, the front panel 16 may be entirely removed from cabinet 14. To achieve these results, the front panel 16 is provided with a tongue 54 adapted for insertion within a slot 56 formed at the lower edge of coin-receptacle cabinet 14. Accordingly, when lock body member 26 is removed from engagement with lock shaft member 28, the front panel 16 may be pivoted outwardly about the hinge formed by tongue 54 and slot 56. Complete removal of front panel 16, should it be desirable, is achieved by simply lifting the panel upwardly to disengage tongue 54 from slot 56, as shown in FIG. 4. It should be noted that the pivotally-detachable feature will not reduce the tamper-proof characteristics of the present invention since it is not possible to extract tongue 54 from slot 56 while the panel is locked. 
     While the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to a certan preferred embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, changes, omissions and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the scope of the following claims.