A dual coin actuation mechanism for a vending machine, said actuation mechanism comprising:
- (a) a cover plate having
- (i) a body with front and rear faces and an opening defined through said body so as to extend between said front and rear faces thereof and about an axis defined by said body,
- (ii) an outer flange attached to and extending about a periphery of said body and projecting rearwardly from said rear face thereof such that said cover plate and outer flange together form a rear recessed cavity at a rear side of said body, and
- (iii) first and second coin-receiving slots defined through portions of substantially opposite sides of said outer flange such that said first and second slots are disposed in angularly displaced relation to one another about said axis of said body of said cover plate and in separate planes axially spaced from one another along said axis of said body;
- (b) a shaft extending from a front end thereof, disposed adjacent to said front face of said cover plate, through said opening of said cover plate and rear recessed cavity therein to a rear end of said shaft disposed rearwardly of said rear recessed cavity of said cover plate, said shaft being rotatably mounted to said cover plate along said axis and said carrier wheels being fixedly mounted to said shaft for undergoing rotation with said shaft relative to said cover plate and about said axis;
- (c) a handle disposed adjacent to said front side of said cover plate and fixedly attached on said front end of said shaft such that said handle may be turned by the user to rotate said shaft and carrier wheels therewith about said axis;
- (d) first and second coin carrier wheels each having a peripheral edge and front and rear sides and being disposed in said rear recessed cavity of said cover plate and mounted to said shaft so as to undergo rotation therewith, said front and rear carrier wheels respectively having first and second coin-accepting recesses defined on said respective rear sides of said carrier wheels and open at said peripheral edges thereof, said respective first and second recesses in said carrier wheels being axially and angularly displaced from one another respectively along and about said shaft such that said axially and angularly offset first and second recesses are aligned correspondingly with said axially and angularly offset first and second slots when said carrier wheels are disposed at initial home positions at which first and second coins can be deposited through said first and second slots into said corresponding first and second recesses, said axially offset relationships between said first and second slots, between said first and second recesses and consequently between first and second side-by-side paths taken by the first and second coins carried in said first and second recesses of said first and second carrier wheels, upon rotation of said first and second carrier wheels from said initial home positions to a discharge location, ensure that the first and second coins as they are carried along said corresponding first and second paths are not brought into alignment respectively with said second and first slots and thus are made inaccessible to a user during the travel of the first and second coins along said first and second paths;
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- (e) first and second retainer plates attached to said cover plate and extending across said rear recessed cavity so as to respectively stationarily dispose said first retainer plate between and adjacent to said rear side of said first carrier wheel and said front side of said second carrier wheel and stationarily dispose said second retainer plate adjacent to said rear side of said second carrier wheel such that said first and second retainer plates respectively retain the first coin in said first recess of said first carrier wheel and the second coin in said second recess of said second carrier wheel as said first and second carrier wheels are rotated with said shaft, by turning said handle, from said respective initial deposit positions to said discharge location, said paths taken by the first and second coins carried in said respective first and second recesses of said first and second carrier wheels being axially offset from one another and disposed in said separate planes of said first and second slots due to the axially spaced relationship of said first and second carrier wheels with respect to one another and the first and second coins after leaving said first and second slots by being continuously covered by said outer flange of said cover plate preclude withdrawal of said coins from said first and second carrier wheels through said first and second slots during their travel along said paths from said coin deposit positions to the coin discharge location.