Patent Application
20080148793
The present invention relates generally to locking devices to secure enclosures such as vending machines.
A man was purportedly asked why he robbed banks. His reply was direct, “because that is where the money is”. For much the same reason, machines used in the vending machine industry have been under constant attack from theft and vandalism. First, the machines were padlocked to provide security. The locks were easy to break so the venders used stronger locks. When the locks became too hard to easily break, the thieves began attacking other parts of the lock assembly. What is needed is a lock design that successfully deters any vandalism while still allowing the goods contained in the vending machines to be easily accessible to consumers.
Several approaches have been tried to protect vending machines used to sell newspapers. Early newspaper racks were not even closed and a metal tube was used to hold the coins. Payment was based on the honor system. The honor system failed and more secure locking devices were required. Newspapers were then placed in enclosed stands and padlocked. Vandals rose to the challenge and easily broke the locks off. The padlock was modified by being attached to a metal rod having the padlock at one end and a plug at the other. The plug was slightly larger in circumference than the rod. So the plug end held the bar secure at one end and the padlock held the rod secure at the other end. Again, vandals rose to the occasion. Shielding was placed around the lock with much the same result.
The locking device was modified again to place a plug lock at one end of the rod and placing the other end within the coin housing. Soon, vandals were again able to break through the protection.
One method of protecting such a vending machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,106 (the '106 patent) issued to Chalabian. This provided a housing for protecting a coin sorting and control mechanism and a coin storage box for use with a vending machine, such as a newspaper stand. The housing included a body for a coin sorting and control mechanism and a vending machine door latch to lock the door. A cover that fit closely over its top enclosed the body. The cover and body were provided with heavy steel flanges through which a padlock can be passed to lock them together. This device became a standard in the industry and vandals yet again arose to the occasion.
Therefore, what is needed is a method of protecting newspaper magazines and their contents in a inexpensive and effective manner. Therefore, the goal of the present invention is to economically and efficiently protect vending machines.
It is an object of the present invention to protect a vending machine and vending machine lock from vandalism. Some embodiments of the invention provide a device for the protection of vending machines from vandalism by providing a stronger locking mechanism. In some instances, the lock will protect a vending machine that is designed to hold newspapers and the like. For some embodiments, it is the object of the present invention to protect vending machines from attack by providing a locking device having a tubular member with an enlarged proximate end, angled holes for setscrews and a shackle hole at the proximate end
In accordance with these objects and with others that will be described and which will become apparent, an exemplary embodiment of a locking device in accordance with the present invention is described herein. While the most commonly used application is expected to be the protection of vending machines, the invention may be used on any enclosure that requires a padlock. Thus, both vending machines and other enclosures will simply be referred to as “enclosures”.
The novel features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. However, for purpose of explanation, several embodiments of the invention are set forth in the following figures.
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specific component arrangements and constructions and other details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known manufacturing methods and structures have not been described in detail so as to refrain from obscuring the present invention unnecessarily.
Referring first to
The '106 Patent to Chalabian provides a description of an enclosure typically used to protect newspapers (FIG. 1) as well as a description of a coin box (FIG. 5). One embodiment of the present invention 1 is designed to fit into and through a coin box of an enclosure such as described in FIG. 5 of the '106 Patent.
Referring next to
Referring now to both
Located on the exterior surface 38 of the cylinder lock housing 30 is a gasket 46. When the locking mechanism 1 is installed and operational, the gasket 46 is flush with the exterior surface of the coin box housing sheath 62. Also located on the exterior surface 38 of the cylinder lock housing 10 are openings 42 that pass from the exterior surface 38 to the interior surface 36. The openings 42 are positioned such that they are located between the gasket 46and the distal end of the cylinder lock housing 34. When the locking mechanism 1 is installed and fully cooperating with the coin box housing 60, the openings 42 are positioned within the interior of the coin box housing 60. In one embodiment of the present invention, the openings 42 are slanted such that the opening on the exterior surface 38 is closer to the distal end 34 of the cylinder than the openings on the interior surface 36. The positioning of the openings 42 in this manner prevents vandals from prying in between the sheath 62 and the plug lock to unscrew the setscrews placed in the openings 42 to secure the plug lock in place.
The distal end of the cylinder 22 includes a shackle hole 24. The shackle hole allows the passage of a padlock shackle through the hole 22. When the locking mechanism 1 is installed and fully cooperating with the coin box housing 60, the padlock is secure against the distal end of the coin box housing 50 and is further protected by a coin box housing sheath (not shown). At the other end, the cylinder lock housing 10 rests firmly within, and flush with, the coin box housing sheath 62. Further, locking mechanism 1 is installed and fully cooperating with the coin box housing 60, the plug lock is cooperating with the threaded interior surface 36, the set screws, the coin box housing sheath 62, and the set screw openings 42, to prevent the unauthorized removal of the lock.
While the invention has been described with reference to numerous specific details, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the invention is not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details, but rather is to be defined by the appended claims.
