Vending machine

• US 7,748,513 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2005
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: T-Arts Company, Ltd. (TOMY Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: T-Arts Company, Ltd. (TOMY Company Limited)
• Inventors: Atsuta, Junichi, Fukumoto, Tomochika
• Primary Examiner(s): Mackey; Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEAUCHAINE, MARK J
• Application Number:
  US11/792,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20080017474A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,658 Days
• Field of Search: 194/350, 221/154, 221/174, 221/197, 221/281, 221/282, 221285-288, 221/312.R
• US Class Current: 194/350
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/10 Casings or parts thereof, e.g. with means for heating or cooling

Abstract

A vending machine for discharging merchandises by inserting a coin to operate a discharge merchandise retention member by a handle. The vending machine includes: a notch provided at a front face of a body to open upward, and a control panel attached with the notch in a detachable manner, the control panel including the handle and a coin sorting unit.

Claims

1. A vending machine in which a coin is inserted and a handle operates a discharge merchandise retention member, so as to discharge merchandise, comprising:

an opening provided at a front face of a box body and extending upward;

a control panel detachably received in the opening, the control panel including the handle and a coin sorting unit, and being movable between a first lower position and a second, upper position; and

a coin collection box removably received in the box body to receive coins from the coin sorting unit, said coin collection box having a first end adjacent the opening and a second, opposite end,

wherein, when the control panel is in the first, lower position, the first end of the coin collection box is covered with the control panel, but when the control panel is in the second, upper position, the first end of the coin collection box is accessible from, and can be at least partially removed from, the box body;

a merchandise filling opening formed in the front face of the box body, in an upper portion of the opening;

a cover detachably connected to the box body to be movable between a first position covering the merchandise filling opening on the front face of the box body, and a second position removed from the box body,

herein the control panel is prevented from moving into the second, upper position, when the cover is in the first, covering position, but the control panel is allowed to move into the second, upper position, when the cover is in the second, removed position.

2. The vending machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein a side of the opening has one of a projection or a recess, a side of the control panel has the other of a projection or a recess, and the control panel is attached to the box body by sliding the side of the control panel along an edge of the opening from the upper portion of the opening so that the recess receives the projection.

3. The vending machine as claimed in claim 1,

wherein one of the control panel and the box body has a spring allowing the control panel to be movable between the first, lower and second, upper positions under a biasing force of the spring, and

the control panel and the box body each have a locking section that prevents the control panel from moving against the biasing force of the spring.

4. The vending machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a lock to lock the cover to the box body when the cover is in the first position.