Merchandise dispensing apparatus providing theft deterrence
First Claim
1. A merchandise dispensing apparatus providing theft deterrence comprising:
- a box structure including a plurality of walls enclosing and defining an interior space within the box structure, the plurality of walls comprising a top panel including a front edge, side panels extending downwardly from opposite sides of the top panel, and a front panel extending between front edges of the side panels and including a top edge such that the plurality of walls define an opening between the front edge of the top panel and the top edge of the front panel;
a first movable wall joined to the box structure by a first hinge offset behind the top edge of the front panel, the first hinge enabling the first movable wall to move between a first closed position preventing access through the opening and a second open position permitting manual access to a frontal portion of the interior space through the opening; and
a barrier strip within the interior space and hingedly joined to the first movable wall by a second hinge, wherein the barrier strip is directed into a vertical attitude when the first movable wall is moved to the open position to prevent manual access to other than the frontal portion of the interior space, and the barrier strip is directed into a horizontal attitude when the first movable wall is moved to the closed position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A box structure has a plurality of walls positioned and configured to prevent access to an interior space housing merchandise in a secure manner. A first movable wall permits manual access to a frontal portion of the interior space while at the same time moving a barrier strip to prevent manual access to other than said frontal portion of the interior space. A roll-out shelf mounts merchandise supporting modules with pushers to move merchandise toward the front of the structure where ejection mechanisms in each of the modules are able to direct selected items to the front of the structure where they can be accessed by consumers. The ejection process creates a characteristic noise to alert store personnel that products are being dispensed.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A merchandise dispensing apparatus providing theft deterrence comprising:
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a box structure including a plurality of walls enclosing and defining an interior space within the box structure, the plurality of walls comprising a top panel including a front edge, side panels extending downwardly from opposite sides of the top panel, and a front panel extending between front edges of the side panels and including a top edge such that the plurality of walls define an opening between the front edge of the top panel and the top edge of the front panel; a first movable wall joined to the box structure by a first hinge offset behind the top edge of the front panel, the first hinge enabling the first movable wall to move between a first closed position preventing access through the opening and a second open position permitting manual access to a frontal portion of the interior space through the opening; and a barrier strip within the interior space and hingedly joined to the first movable wall by a second hinge, wherein the barrier strip is directed into a vertical attitude when the first movable wall is moved to the open position to prevent manual access to other than the frontal portion of the interior space, and the barrier strip is directed into a horizontal attitude when the first movable wall is moved to the closed position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A merchandise dispensing apparatus providing theft deterrence comprising:
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a box structure including a plurality of walls enclosing and defining an interior space within the box structure, the plurality of walls comprising a top panel including a front edge, side panels extending downwardly from opposite sides of the top panel, and a front panel extending between front edges of the side panels such that the plurality of walls define an opening between the top panel and the front panel; a first movable wall joined to the box structure by a first hinge that enables the first movable wall to move between a first closed position preventing access through the opening and a second open position permitting manual access to a frontal portion of the interior space through the opening; a barrier strip configured to prevent manual access to merchandise not already directed into the frontal portion when the first moveable wall is in the open position; and a plurality of merchandise supporting modules fixed in adjacent positions within the box structure, each of the merchandise supporting modules including a merchandise ejector that operably raises an ejector plate when activated, thereby lifting merchandise off the merchandise supporting modules into the frontal portion of the interior space; and a rotatable knob coupled to the ejector plate such that rotation of the knob causes the ejector plate to slide upwardly and directs the merchandise most forward on the respective merchandise supporting module to eject the merchandise into the frontal portion in front of the respective merchandise supporting module in position to be manually removed from the frontal portion when the first moveable wall is in the open position; wherein the merchandise ejector comprises a noise making mechanism that makes a noise when the merchandise is released; wherein the knob transmits manual rotational action to a crank, the crank operable within a slot of the respective ejector plate, thereby directing the ejector plate in liner vertical motion. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A merchandise dispensing apparatus providing theft deterrence comprising:
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a box structure including a plurality of walls enclosing and defining an interior space within the box structure, the plurality of walls comprising a top panel including a front edge, side panels extending downwardly from opposite sides of the top panel, and a front panel extending between front edges of the side panels such that the plurality of walls define an opening between the top panel and the front panel; a first moveable wall joined to the box structure by a first hinge that enables the first moveable wall to move between a first closed position preventing access through the opening and a second open position permitting manual access to a frontal portion of the interior space through the opening; a barrier strip configured to prevent manual access to merchandise not already directed into the frontal portion when the first moveable wall is in the open position, and a plurality of merchandise supporting modules fixed in adjacent positions within the box structure, each of the merchandise supporting modules including a merchandise ejector that operably raises an ejector plate when activated, thereby lifting merchandise off the merchandise supporting modules into the frontal portion of the interior space; wherein the barrier strip is located within the interior space and is joined to the first moveable wall by a second hinge, the second hinge enabling the barrier strip to move between a first position allowing merchandise on the merchandise supporting module to be directed into the frontal portion when the first movable wall is in the closed position, and a second position when the first movable wall is in the open position, the second position of the barrier strip preventing manual access to other than the frontal portion of the interior space to prevent access to merchandise not already directed into the frontal portion. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification