Patent ID: 8109410

Claim:
A method for use with a vending machine comprising a product storage area, a product dispensing chamber from which a customer may retrieve a vended product, and a passage from the product storage area to the product dispensing chamber through which a vended product travels during vending, the method comprising: configuring an anti-pilfer plate to move, in response to and concurrently with shifting of a product access door from a closed position blocking customer access to the product dispensing chamber to an open position allowing customer access to the product dispensing chamber, wherein the product access door has an upper end and a lower end and the anti-pilfer plate is pivotally coupled to at least one point at the lower end of the product access door, from a first position leaving at least a portion of the passage unobstructed to allow passage of a vended product from the product storage area to the product dispensing chamber to a second position wherein the anti-pilfer plate obstructs the passage, wherein movement of the product access door from the closed position to the open position laterally shifts the anti-pilfer plate in a direction parallel to a major surface of the anti-pilfer plate across the passage.