Patent ID: 8579100

Claim:
A method of retro-fitting a coin-operated vending machine, where the coin-operated vending machine has a cap, a globe, a hopper attached to the globe, a body aligned with the hopper, a coin retainer plate securely attached to the body, a base and a center rod passing through the globe, hopper, body, and coin retainer plate, the coin retainer plate being defined to prevent inserted coins from falling onto the base and requiring the flipping of the vending machine over to retrieve inserted coins from the body, and the center rod having threaded ends to secure the cap to the base, the method comprising: removing the base and coin retainer plate; and connecting an improved base unit to a lower end of the center rod, said improved base unit comprising a bottom for collecting coins and an opened section for access to the bottom, wherein when the improved base unit is connected to the center rod, the body is movable relative to the improved base unit into at least two configurations, a first configuration defined such that the opened section is hidden within the body preventing access to the bottom, and a second configuration defined such that at least a portion of the opened section is exposed whereby access to the bottom, and any coins, is granted through the exposed opened section.