Claims
- 1. A tamper-resistant door for an enclosure such as a vending machine, said door including:a front face having upper and lower halves and comprising: a product delivery port positioned in said lower half of said front face, said product delivery port including an upper wall; a coin slot positioned in said upper half of said front face; a cash box vault positioned adjacent said delivery port for receiving a cash box, said cash box vault including a top having an opening therein; a coin changer positioned above said delivery port, said coin changer having opposed front and back faces, opposed top and bottom faces, and opposed side faces, an inlet for receiving coins, and an outlet for communication with said opening in said cash box vault for depositing change into a cash box in said cash box vault; means for protecting at least three sides of said coin changer; and a coin chute connecting said coin slot with said inlet of said coin changer, said coin chute having an inlet in communication with said coin slot and an outlet in communication with said coin changer, a vertical drop between said inlet and said outlet of said coin chute so that said inlet and said outlet of said coin chute lie in different horizontal planes, a sideways bend between said inlet and said outlet of said coin chute so that said inlet and said outlet of said coin chute lie in different vertical planes, and said coin chute also having drainage means therein for discharging material introduced into said coin slot into a lower area of said door in which it cannot contact said coin changer, and said drainage means and said sideways bend being sized and configured to permit coins inserted into said coin slot to roll freely through said coin chute, and thence down into said inlet of said coin changer.
- 2. The door of claim 1, wherein said coin chute includes a first section adjacent said inlet thereof and a second section adjacent said outlet thereof, said sideways bend being incorporated in said first section and said vertical drop being incorporated in said second section.
- 3. The door of claim 2, wherein said first section has an outlet and said second section has an inlet, and said outlet of said first section is connected to said inlet of said second section, said second section being generally linear, and angling downwardly to provide said vertical drop between said outlet of first section and said inlet of said coin changer.
- 4. The door of claim 3, wherein said drainage means is formed in said first section of said coin chute.
- 5. A tamper-resistant door for an enclosure such as a vending machine, the door including a front face having upper and lower halves and comprising:a product delivery port positioned in the lower half of said front face; a coin slot positioned in the upper half of the front face; a coin return control located adjacent the coin slot; a cash box vault positioned adjacent the delivery port for receiving a cash box, the cash box vault including a top having an opening therein; a coin changer positioned above the delivery port, the coin changer having opposed front and back faces, opposed top and bottom faces, and opposed side faces, an inlet for receiving coins, and an outlet for communication with the opening in said cash box vault for depositing change into a cash box in the cash box vault; means for protecting at least three sides of the coin changer; and a coin chute connecting the coin slot with the inlet of the coin changer, the coin chute having an inlet in communication with the coin slot and an outlet in communication with the coin changer, a vertical drop between the inlet and the outlet of the coin chute so that the inlet and the outlet of the coin chute lie in different horizontal planes, first and second sections positioned relative to each other between the inlet and the outlet of the coin chute so that the inlet and the outlet of the coin chute lie in different vertical planes, drainage ports for discharging material introduced into the coin slot into a lower area of the door, the first and second sections being sized and configured to permit coins inserted into the coin slot to roll freely through the coin chute, and thence down into the inlet of the coin changer.
- 6. The tamper-resistant door of claim 5, wherein the drainage ports are located in the first section.
- 7. The tamper-resistant door of claim 6, wherein the drainage ports are located in the first section so that drainage takes place before any discharged material reaches the second section.
- 8. A tamper-resistant door for an enclosure such as a vending machine, the door including a front face having upper and lower halves and comprising:a product delivery port positioned in the lower half of the front face; a coin slot positioned in the upper half of the front face; a cash box vault positioned adjacent the delivery port for receiving a cash box, the cash box vault including a top having an opening therein; a coin changer positioned above the delivery port, the coin changer having opposed front and back faces, opposed top and bottom faces, and opposed side faces, an inlet for receiving coins, and an outlet for communication with the opening in the cash box vault for depositing change into a cash box in the cash box vault; means for protecting at least three sides of the coin changer, and a coin chute connecting the coin slot with the inlet of the coin changer, the coin chute having an inlet in communication with the coin slot and an outlet in communication with the coin changer, a vertical drop between the inlet and the outlet of the coin chute so that the inlet and the outlet of the coin chute lie in different horizontal planes, a bend section between the inlet and the outlet of the coin chute so that the inlet and the outlet of the coin chute lie in different vertical planes, a drainage section for discharging material introduced into the coin slot into a lower area of the door, and the drainage section and the bend section being sized and configured to permit coins inserted into the coin slot to roll freely through the coin chute, and thence down into the inlet of the coin changer.
- 9. The tamper-resistant door of claim 8, wherein the drainage ports are located in the first section.
- 10. The tamper-resistant door of claim 9, wherein the drainage ports are located in the first section so that drainage takes place before any discharged material reaches the second section.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/413,484, filed Oct. 6, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,276, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/110,394, filed Jul. 7, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,989, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/790,864, filed Feb. 3, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,450, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/262,053, filed Jun. 17, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,177.
US Referenced Citations (18)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
37 02 611 |
Aug 1988 |
DE |
85 109 753.5 |
Mar 1986 |
EP |
88 402 903.4 |
May 1989 |
EP |
2 202 983 |
Oct 1988 |
GB |
Continuations (4)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/413484 |
Oct 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/820348 |
|
US |
Parent |
09/110394 |
Jul 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/413484 |
|
US |
Parent |
08/790864 |
Feb 1997 |
US |
Child |
09/110394 |
|
US |
Parent |
08/262053 |
Jun 1994 |
US |
Child |
08/790864 |
|
US |