US2037311A - Vending machine cabinet - Google Patents

Description

Aprifi M, 393.. w. H. BUTTERWORTH VENDING MACHINE CABINET Original Filed April 23, 1934 iii at 14 .47. 4 .44 mm:

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 14, 1933 UNITED STATES VENDING MACHINE CABINET Willoughby Harrison Butterworth, Oak Park, Ill., assig nor to John Franklin Meyer, Pasadena, A Cali Original application April 23., 1934, Serial No.

721,858. Divided and thi 11, 1935, Serial No. 10,412

1 Claim.

My invention relates to vending machines and has particular reference to vending machines in which articles are vended through the agency of a miniature representation of a traveling crane,

or similar device, more particularly illustrated in the copending application of John Franklin Meyer and Carl R. Simpkins, Serial No. 699,014, filed November '21, 1933, wherein a miniature clam shell digger, supported upon a movable beam, is arranged over an article supporting platform, so that upon the deposit of a coin in the machine the bucket will move from a position over a delivery opening to a position of selected articles, and then descend upon the articles, grasp them and move them to the delivery area.

Such machines are usually housed in a boxlike cabinet, the walls of which are formed of any suitable material, although that part of the cabinet adjacent to and lying above the article 20 platform is usually formed of transparent material, so that persons operating the machine may watch the movements of the clam shell bucket or other grasping device. I-Ieretofore, such cabinets have been arranged in such manner that consid- 25 erable areas of the upper part of the cabinet above the article platform have been formed of wood or similar material, through which holes or openings may readily be made and considerable pil-- fering of the contents of such vending machines has resulted as openings may be made in the cabinet and Wires inserted therein for the purpose of moving or purloining the articles.

It is, therefore, an object or my invention to provide a cabinet for such vending machines, in which protective material is arranged on all sides of the cabinet adjacent to and above the article platform which cannot readily be perforated.

Another object of my invention is to provide a cabinet for such vending machines, in which the glass employed as a transparent material for the adjacent sides of the cabinet overlap each other to prevent access to the cabinet by the mere puncturing or perforating of the wood of the cabinet.

Other objects of my invention will be apparent from a study of the specification read in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of a vending machine having a cabinet constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View, taken along line ]III of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, illustrating the construction of the top of the cabinet shown in Fig 1;

This is a division of my copending application,

5 application March Serial No. 721,858, filed April 23, 1934, on Vending machine.

Referring to the drawing, I have illustrated in Fig. 1 avending machine enclosed within a cabinet l the upper portion of which consists essentially of a rear wall 2, side walls 3 and 4, and a floor 6 constituting an article supporting platform upon which the articles to be vended by the machine may be placed. It will be understood by thoseskilled. in the art that the article supporting platform 6 may be covered with small bits of candy and candy-coated nuts, in which are distributed prizes consisting of more valuable articles of merchandise which the persons operating the machine may attempt to grasp with the grasping device by skillfully adjusting the mechanism of the machine.

The article platform 6 and all portions of the machine above such platform must, therefore, be visible to the persons operating the machine, and for this purpose the side walls 3 and 4 of the machine are formed of sheets of glass, while the front of thecabinet above the article platform 6 is formed by a glazed door 9.

It will be observed in Fig. 2 that the rear edges 10 and l I of the side glasses 3 and 4 abut directly upon the rear wall 2 of the cabinet, while the front edges {2 and I 3 of, these glasses extend into abutting relation with the door 9, the glass I4 of which has its side edges [5 and I6 extending in overlapping relation with the edges 12 and I3 of the side glasses.

In this manner three sides of the upper part of the cabinet are formed of glass, which cannot readily be puncturedor drilled, or otherwise perforated, to permit the insertion therein of wires or other devices for manipulating the contents of the cabinet. Any perforating tool which is directed against the side or front walls of this portion of the cabinet will strike the glass. Hence, any attempt to perforate the cabinet will be frustrated, unlessthe glass is fractured with an attendant noise which will attract attention and notify the owner or operator of the machine of the cabinet to pilfer the contents of the machine. If desired, an additional protective glass l1 may be provided immediately at the rear of the door 9, such glass being suitably supported in guides l8 and I9 supported upon and attached to the floor or platform 6 and resting directly against the inner sides of the glass walls 3 and 4.

The rear walls of the machines of this character are ordinarily provided with suitable decorative designs, lending an attractive appearance to the mechanism of the machine, such design being usually painted or otherwise formed upon a sheet of metal or paper attached to the rear wall of the machine. I prefer to provide such decorative design upon relatively thin material to be attached to a heavy plate 20 of hardened material, such as steel, which is in turn placed against and attached to the rear wall 2 of the cabinet. In this way, attempts to pilfer the machine by boring holes through the rear wall of the cabinet may be frustrated by the employment of suitable so-called burglar-proof material for the plate 28. It will also be observed from an inspection of Fig. 2 that the side edges of the plate 213 overlap the adjacent edges I0 and II of the side glasses 3 and 4.

By referring particularly to Fig. 3, it will be observed that a similar lining 2| of steel may be provided upon the inner side of the top 22 of the cabinet, such lining plate being preferably formed of material which may be polished to form a reflecting surface, assisting in the illumination of the interior of the cabinet. These machines, however, are usually located in the interior of buildings and require artificial illumination, which may readily be provided through an illuminating fixture 23 attached to the top 22 of the cabinet. The fixture 23 is illustrated as comprising a hood 24 extending through the top 22 and having a socket mounting 25 extending substantially at right angles to the hood 24. The socket mounting 25 constitutes a housing in which a suitable lamp socket 26 may be secured, the socket 2% being set into an opening in the socket mounting which substantially conforms with the exterior of the socket so as to provide no passage therebetween for wires, cords or other pilfering tools. For the purpose of ventilating the cab-inet, and particularly to assist in the escape of heat therefrom, I provide a plurality of ventilating openings 21 in the fixture 23, arranged, however, to penetrate only the socket mounting portion of the fixture and spaced away from the opening through which the hood 24 projects. Also, I prefer to provide a flange 28 which may extend some considerable distance over the top 22 of the cabinet adjacent the opening through which the hood 24 projects to further insure against possible entry of pilfering tools around the hood opening.

After the machine has been placed in operation, it frequently occurs during the life of the machine that it is necessary to clean out the candy orother articles which are vended therein, considerable difficulty being encountered in entirely removing all of the small particles of candy or other small material which may be in the cabinet. This may be facilitated, however, by employing an opening 29 in the floor or platform 6, arranged to be closed by a cover 30, preferably attached to a block 3| insertable in the opening 29, so that by removing the block and cover a door or opening is provided in the floor 6 through which the contents of the cabinet may be readily removed into a suitable vessel placed below the opening 29. The block 3| and cover 30 may be retained in place in any suitable manner, as by providing a bolt 32 on the block 3| extending through a cross-strap 33 attached to the underneath side of the partition 6, a wing nut 34 being provided to retain the block and cover snugly in the opening 29.

It will, therefore, be apparent from the foregoing description that the upper part of the cabinet containing the vendable articles is protected upon all of its sides from ready access by wires or other suitabletools which might be employed to pilfer the contents.

The general arrangement and construction of the operating parts of the machine shown herein may be identical with the construction shown and described in the copending application of John Franklin Meyer, et al., hereinbefore referred to, and does not constitute a part of the present invention. Since its particular construction is immaterial to the particular cabinet construction which constitutes the present invention, it need not be described.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to any of the details of construction shown or described herein, except as defined in the appended claim.

I claim: 7

A vending machine cabinet comprising a rear wall of wood having an inner facing of harder material extending laterally flush with the edges of the wood wall, side walls of glass, the rear edges of which abut against said facing on the rear wall and the outer faces of which are flush with the edges of the rear wall, side wall supporting members consisting of a pair of wood framing members lying flush against the lateral edges of the rear wall and overlapping the faces of the glass side walls along their rear margins other side wall supporting members consisting of a pair of wood framing members positioned flush against the outer surfaces of the glass side walls adjacent their front margins with the front edges of the framing members flush with the front edges of the glass side walls, a door for closing the front of said cabinet comprising a wood frame defining a window opening, said frame when closed lying flush against the said front edges of said glass side walls and of said last mentioned pair of wood framing members, and a glass wall member in said door extending into rabbets provided therefor in said frame which defines said window opening, said glass wall. filling said window opening and extending laterally within the door frame at least to the planes of the outer surfaces of said glass side walls.

WILLOUGHBY HARRISON BUTTERWORTH.

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