Patent ID: 7278569

Claim:
A dual side-by-side refrigerator, comprising: a cabinet bounded about five sides; a partition for subdividing said cabinet into a courtesy section and a paid-vend section, said partition leaving an open passage between said courtesy section and a paid-vend section; at least one door mounted by hinges at the front of said cabinet and sized to cover the courtesy section and paid-vend section; insulating walls substantially lining each of the courtesy section and paid-vend section in said cabinet; insulating panels mounted interiorly on each of said doors for forming an insulating closure with the respective insulating walls in the courtesy section and paid-vend section of said cabinet; a cooling unit for cooling both of said courtesy section and a paid-vend section; a plurality of vend sensors in said paid-vend section; at least one door-open sensor mounted opposite the door hinge each for detecting when said door has been opened for access to the courtesy section and paid-vend section; a programmable controller connected to each of said vend sensors and door-open sensors for compiling data therefrom.