Patent ID: 8469229

Claim:
A product vending machine, comprising: a cabinet defining a space; a front door movable between an open and a closed position opening and closing the space, respectively; a number of trays, each of which is arranged inside the space to support respective numbers of products and is mounted to move, crosswise to the front door, between a product vending position completely inside the space, and a partly extracted product loading position; a locking device comprising a guide located in a fixed position inside the space and extending in a direction substantially parallel to the door, and a number of locking members fitted to the guide with sufficient play to move along the guide; and key means comprising a number of first wedge members each of which is selectively operated by a respective one of the trays moving into the respective loading position, to move into a locking position, in which the first wedge member is inserted between the locking members to eliminate the play and move the locking members into a compact configuration preventing insertion of the other first wedge members and locking all the other trays in the vending position; wherein the key means comprise: a second wedge member that is operated by the door moving into the closed position, to move into a locking position, in which the second wedge member is inserted between the locking members to eliminate the play and move the locking members into the compact configuration preventing insertion of the first wedge members and locking all the trays in the vending position.