Locking cover for coin box

Claim 2

A coin box adapted to be introduced into a coin-operated vending machine having a receptacle for receiving the coin box, a back wall in the receptacle and a coin-accepting conduit leading to the top of said receptacle, said coin box comprising: A. a boxlike body open at its top, B. a cover locked in place to close the top and removable from the box body and including a top wall fully closing off the top from external access but for a window formed therein and located in a position which will vertically align with the coin-accepting conduit when the coin box is in installed condition in said receptacle, C. a first slidable plunger mounted to the cover below the top wall and arranged to move between window obstructing and window uncovering positions between the ends of said cover, D. a second slidable plunger mounted to the cover below the top wall arranged parallel with the first plunger and coupled thereto for reverse movement simultaneously therewith, and having an extension protruding to the rear of said cover, E. spring means biasing the plungers so that the first moves forward to said window obstructing condition while the second moves rearward, F. the cover having latching means accessible only from the bottom thereof including a first arm, a second arm and cooperating engaging structure on one plunger, the first arm being biased to move away from said cooperating engaging structure and the second arm being biased to move toward said cooperating structure, said engaging structure being movable with sliding of said one plunger to align with the respective arms, G. the cover adapted to be locked to the body with the first arm previouSly having been manually moved against its bias to latch with said engaging structure, the plungers being manually forced to move against the spring-biasing means to align the engaging structure with the first arm while said first plunger is in window uncovering condition, the box adapted to be installed in the receptacle and the extension pressed against said back wall slightly to move the plungers and causing release of said first arm from said engaging structure but said back wall preventing substantial movement of said plungers, but upon removal of the box from the receptacle the extension and plungers being free to move whereby the first plunger will move forward to window obstructing condition and the second plunger will move to the rear, said one of said plungers moving the cooperating structure to align with the second arm whereupon said second arm automatically will latch therewith preventing any substantially movement of said plungers unless said second arm is manually unlatched.

Claim 3

The coin box as claimed in claim 1 in which said one plunger is said second plunger.

Claim 4

The coin box as claimed in claim 2 in which said cover includes a bottom support member and the plungers are mounted on top of the support member, the latching means are mounted on the bottom of the support member, the cooperating engaging structure is a passageway in said one plunger, and each arm has an individual slot adapted respectively to align with the passageway and to permit movement of the arm ends through said support member and into engagement with the passageway.

Claim 5

A coin box adapted to be introduced into a coin-operated vending machine having a receptacle for receiving the coin box, a back wall in said receptacle, a coin-accepting conduit leading to the top of said receptacle and a coin-return conduit leading also to the top of said receptacle adjacent to and in front of the first-mentioned conduit, the two conduits adapted to drop coins into said receptacle, the coin box being adapted to receive the coins from the coin-accepting conduit and divert the coins from the coin-return conduit to means making same available to the person who dropped the coins, said coin box comprising: A. a boxlike body being open on its upper side, B. a cover locked in place to close said open upper side and removable therefrom, said cover comprising a hollow elongate chamber formed between upper and lower walls, C. a window formed in said cover by virtue of vertically aligned cutouts in said upper and lower walls, said window being located at a position which will vertically align with the coin-accepting conduit when the coin box is in installed condition in said receptacle, D. vertically aligned notches in said upper and lower walls respectively and a slanted coin chute formed in the upper portion of said box body for diverting coins laterally of the coin box, said notches and the upper entrance to said coin chute being located at a position which will vertically align with the coin return conduit when the coin box is in installed condition in said receptacle, E. first and second plungers mounted for forward and backward sliding movement in said chamber, the plungers being parallel and having reversing means coupling them together so that when one moves forward the other is moved rearward and vice versa, F. the first plunger being disposed rearward of said window, aligned therewith and arranged to slide between window obstructing condition and window opening condition, the window obstructing condition obtaining when said first plunger is at the front end of its movement and the window opening condition obtaining when said first plunger is at the rear end of its movement, G. the second plunger being disposed laterally of the window and the notches and chute so that its movement does not carry it into registration with any of the same and having an extension protruding from the rear of the coin box and adapted to engage against said rear wall when the coin box is installed in said receptacle, H. spring means biasing the plungers to move in directions carrying the first plunger into window obstructing condition, I. latch means on the bottom of the cover and operating through the lower wall in cooperation with said plungers to provide for manual operation of the latch means for latching the first plunger in window opening condition prior to installation of the cover on the box body and adapted to be released when the coin box is installed in the receptacle by the engagement of the extension against said rear wall and slight movement thereof, movement of the plungers being prevented by said engagement while the box is so installed, said plungers being permitted to move when the coin box is removed from the receptacle and said latch means thereafter automatically locking the first plunger in window-obstructing condition when said is achieved.

Claim 6

A coin box adapted to be introduced into a coin-operated vending machine having a receptacle for receiving the coin box, a back wall in said receptacle, a coin-accepting conduit leading to the top of said receptacle and a coin-return conduit leading also to the top of said receptacle adjacent to and in front of the first-mentioned conduit, the two conduits adapted to drop coins into said receptacle, the coin box being adapted to receive the coins from the coin-accepting conduit and divert the coins from the coin-return conduit to means making same available to the person who dropped the coins, said coin box comprising: A. a boxlike body being open on its upper side, B. a cover locked in place to close said open upper side and removable therefrom, said cover comprising a hollow elongate chamber formed between upper and lower walls, C. a window formed in said cover by virtue of vertically aligned cutouts in said upper and lower walls, said window being located at a position which will vertically align with the coin-accepting conduit when the coin box is in installed condition in said receptacle, D. vertically aligned notches in said upper and lower walls respectively and a slanted coin chute formed in the upper portion of said box body for diverting coins laterally of the coin box, said notches and the upper entrance to said coin chute being located at a position which will vertically align with the coin return conduit when the coin box is in installed condition in said receptacle, E. first and second plungers mounted for forward and backward sliding movement in said chamber, the plungers being parallel and having reversing means coupling them together so that when one moves forward the other is moved rearward and vice versa, F. the first plunger being disposed rearward of said window, aligned therewith and arranged to slide between window obstructing condition and window opening condition, the window obstructing condition obtaining when said first plunger is at the front end of its movement and the window opening condition obtaining when said first plunger is at the rear end of its movement, G. the second plunger being disposed laterally of the window and the notches and chute so that its movement does not carry it into registration with any of the same and having an extension protruding from the rear of the coin box and adapted to engage against said rear wall when the coin box is installed in said receptacle, H. spring means biasing the plungers to move in directions carrying the first plunger into window obstructing condition, I. latch means on the bottom of the cover and operating through the lower wall in cooperation with said plungers to provide for manual operation of the latch means for latching the first plunger in window opening condition prior to installation of the cover on the box body and adapted to be released when the coin box is installed in the receptacle by the engagement of the extension against said rear wall and slight movement thereof, movement of the plungers being prevented by said engagement while the box is so installed, said plungers being permitted to move when the coin box is removed from the receptacle and said latch means thereafter automatically locking the first plunger in window-obstructing condition when said is achieved.

Claim 7

The coin box as claimed in claim 4 in which said reversing coupling means comprise racks on juxtaposed edges of said plungers and a pinion mounted in said chamber and enmeshed with both of said racks.

Claim 8

The coin box as claimed in claim 4 in which slot and pin means are provided for guiding and confining the movement of said plungers.

Claim 9

The coin box as claimed in claim 4 in which said latch means are disposed to cooperate with said second plunger.

Claim 10

The coin box as claimed in claim 4 in which said spring biasing means comprise a tube in said chamber carried by one of said plungers, a pin connected to said lower wall and coaxial with the tube and a coil spring coaxial with the tube and pin.

Claim 11

The coin box as claimed in claim 8 in which the tube is carried by said second plunger.

Claim 12

A coin box adapted to be introduced into a coin-operated vending machine having a receptacle for receiving the coin box, a back wall in said receptacle, a coin-accepting conduit leading to the top of said receptacle and a coin-return conduit leading also to the top of said receptacle adjacent to and in front of the first-mentioned conduit, the two conduits adapted to drop coins into said receptacle, the coin box being adapted to receive the coins from the coin-accepting conduit and divert the coins from the coin-return conduit to means making same available to the person who dropped the coins, said coin box comprising: A. a boxlike body being open on its upper side, B. a cover locked in place to close said open upper side and removable therefrom, said cover comprising a hollow elongate chamber formed between upper and lower walls, C. a window formed in said cover by virtue of vertically aligned cutouts in said upper and lower walls, said window being located at a position which will vertically align with the coin-accepting conduit when the coin box is in installed condition in said receptacle, D. vertically algined notches in said upper and lower walls respectively and a slanted coin chute formed in the upper portion of said box body for diverting coins laterally of the coin box, said notches and the upper entrance to said coin chute being located at a position which will vertically align with the coin return conduit when the coin box is in installed condition in said receptacle, E. first and second plungers mounted for forward and backward sliding movement in said chamber, the plungers being parallel and having reversing means coupling them together so that when one moves forward the other is moved rearward and vice versa, F. the first plunger being disposed rearward of said window, aligned therewith and arranged to slide between window obstructing condition and window opening condition, the window obstructing condition obtaining when said first plunger is at the front end of its movement and the window opening condition obtaining when said first plunger is at the rear end of its movement, G. the second plunger being disposed laterally of the window and the notches and chute so that its movement does not carry it inTo registration with any of the same and having an extension protruding from the rear of the coin box and adapted to engage against said rear wall when the coin box is installed in said receptacle, H. spring means biasing the plungers to move in directions carrying the first plunger into window obstructing condition, I. the lower wall of the cover having latch means capable of manual manipulation from the bottom of the cover only, the latch means including first and second engaging arms each arm adapted to enter through respective first and second passageways in said lower wall and engage with a plunger to prevent movement of said plungers, i. the first engaging arm being biased to move out of said first passageway but capable of being manually moved into said first passageway to engage with a plunger and the end of said arm being constructed to retain said engagement when the last-mentioned plunger is frictionally pressed against said end, ii. the second engaging arm being biased to move into said second passageway into engagement with a plunger but capable of being manually pulled out of said second passageway, J. the cover being locked onto said box with the first engaging arm engaging a plunger to hold the first plunger in window-opening condition while the second engaging arm is not engaged with a plunger, and adapted when the coin box is installed in the receptacle and the extension engages said rear wall to move the plungers slightly releasing the first engaging arm to enable substantial movement of said plungers but said plungers being prevented from doing so while the coin box is installed in said receptacle, and K. the plungers being free to move substantially in response to said spring means to bring the first plunger into window-obstructing condition when the coin box is removed from said receptacle, at the same time the second engaging arm being arranged to move into engagement with a plunger to lock the plungers against further movement.

Claim 13

A coin box adapted to be introduced into a coin-operated vending machine having a receptacle for receiving the coin box, a back wall in said receptacle, a coin-accepting conduit leading to the top of said receptacle and a coin-return conduit leading also to the top of said receptacle adjacent to and in front of the first-mentioned conduit, the two conduits adapted to drop coins into said receptacle, the coin box being adapted to receive the coins from the coin-accepting conduit and divert the coins from the coin-return conduit to means making same available to the person who dropped the coins, said coin box comprising: A. a boxlike body being open on its upper side, B. a cover locked in place to close said open upper side and removable therefrom, said cover comprising a hollow elongate chamber formed between upper and lower walls, C. a window formed in said cover by virtue of vertically aligned cutouts in said upper and lower walls, said window being located at a position which will vertically align with the coin-accepting conduit when the coin box is in installed condition in said receptacle, D. vertically algined notches in said upper and lower walls respectively and a slanted coin chute formed in the upper portion of said box body for diverting coins laterally of the coin box, said notches and the upper entrance to said coin chute being located at a position which will vertically align with the coin return conduit when the coin box is in installed condition in said receptacle, E. first and second plungers mounted for forward and backward sliding movement in said chamber, the plungers being parallel and having reversing means coupling them together so that when one moves forward the other is moved rearward and vice versa, F. the first plunger being disposed rearward of said window, aligned therewith and arranged to slide between window obstructing condition and window opening condition, the window obstructing condition obtaining when said first plunger is at the front end of its movement and the window opening condition obtaining when said first plunger is at the rear end of its movement, G. the second plunger being disposed laterally of the window and the notches and chute so that its movement does not carry it inTo registration with any of the same and having an extension protruding from the rear of the coin box and adapted to engage against said rear wall when the coin box is installed in said receptacle, H. spring means biasing the plungers to move in directions carrying the first plunger into window obstructing condition, I. the lower wall of the cover having latch means capable of manual manipulation from the bottom of the cover only, the latch means including first and second engaging arms each arm adapted to enter through respective first and second passageways in said lower wall and engage with a plunger to prevent movement of said plungers, i. the first engaging arm being biased to move out of said first passageway but capable of being manually moved into said first passageway to engage with a plunger and the end of said arm being constructed to retain said engagement when the last-mentioned plunger is frictionally pressed against said end, ii. the second engaging arm being biased to move into said second passageway into engagement with a plunger but capable of being manually pulled out of said second passageway, J. the cover being locked onto said box with the first engaging arm engaging a plunger to hold the first plunger in window-opening condition while the second engaging arm is not engaged with a plunger, and adapted when the coin box is installed in the receptacle and the extension engages said rear wall to move the plungers slightly releasing the first engaging arm to enable substantial movement of said plungers but said plungers being prevented from doing so while the coin box is installed in said receptacle, and K. the plungers being free to move substantially in response to said spring means to bring the first plunger into window-obstructing condition when the coin box is removed from said receptacle, at the same time the second engaging arm being arranged to move into engagement with a plunger to lock the plungers against further movement.

Claim 14

The coin box as claimed in claim 10 in which both of said engaging arms are adapted to move into engagement with the same plunger.

Claim 15

The coin box as claimed in claim 11 in which said last-mentioned plunger is the second plunger.

Claim 16

The coin box as claimed in claim 12 in which said second plunger has a third passageway adapted to be moved into alignment with said first passageway when the first plunger is in window opening condition and adapted to be moved into alignment with said second passageway when the first plunger is in window obstructing condition.

Claim 17

The coin box as claimed in claim 10 in which stop means are provided to limit the movement of said plungers forward and rearward.