US3770090A

US3770090A - Parking meter assembly

Info

Publication number: US3770090A
Application number: US00270261A
Authority: US
Inventors: P Ray; C Fayling; Horn J Van
Original assignee: HORN J VAN
Current assignee: HORN J VAN
Priority date: 1972-07-10
Filing date: 1972-07-10
Publication date: 1973-11-06
Anticipated expiration: 1990-11-06

Abstract

A twin parking meter mount comprising a coin vault mounting two or more parking meter heads, a coin receptacle received in the vault and serving both meter heads, a side access opening formed in the vault to provide for the removal and insertion of the coin receptacle, and a door secured to the coin receptacle and hingelessly and detachably mounted on the vault for selectively closing the access opening. Other features include an internal reinforcing liner arrangement for the coin vault and a coin vault top plate that reinforces walls of the vault.

Description

United States Patent 1 Fayling et al.

[451 Nov. 6,1973

[ PARKING METER ASSEMBLY [76] Inventors: Clarence D. Fayling, Pittsburgh, Pa.;

John W. Van Horn, Russellville; Philip M. Ray, Dardanelle, both of Ark.

[22] Filed: July 10, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 270,261

3,108,741 10/1963 Thomas 232/7 X Primary ExaminerStanley H. Tollberg Attorney-William A. Strauch et al.

[57] I ABSTRACT A twin parking meter mount comprising a coin vault mounting two or more parking meter heads, a coin receptacle received in the vault and serving both meter heads, a side access opening formed in the vault to provide for the removal and insertion of the coin receptacle, and a door secured to the coin receptacle and hingelessly and detachably mounted on the vault for selectively closing the access opening. Other features include an internal reinforcing liner arrangement for the coin vault and a coin vault top plate that reinforces walls of the vault.

21 Claims, 21 Drawing Figures PATENTEU "UV 6 I973 SHEET 2 OF 6 PATENTEDNuv (H975 3710.090

SHEET MP 6 FIG. II

L I I FIG. [4

DIN)

I72) eg 154 0 W|| PATENIEDuuv 6 1913

sum

6 or 6 FIG. I8 2 66 PARKING METER ASSEMBLY FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to parking meters and to coin storage assemblies for coin-controlled devices.

BACKGROUND Prior to this invention it has been the practice to make vandal resistant parking meter coin receptaclereceiving vaults from ferrous casting such as malleable iron, ductile iron or steel. Because of high melting temperatures, ferrous castings have never been produced economically by modern precision die casting techniques commonly used for aluminum and zinc alloys. The use of precision aluminum of zinc die castings is desirable because of the elimination of expensive machining operations, lighter weight, and the inherent corrosion resistance of these materials.

Coin vault walls for twin parking meter assemblies are particularly susceptible to forced cave-in because of the relatively large wall size required to accommodate one or more coin boxes to serve two meter heads. One example of this type of twin parking meter assembly is described in U. S. Pat. No. 2,828,909 issued on Apr. 1, 1958 to L. D. Sollenberger et al for Parking Meter.

In the foregoing type of twin parking meter assembly, two meter heads are customarily supported on a plate that covers an open top of the receptacle-receiving coin vault. The meter heads are typically mounted sideby-side on the cover plate, thus requiring the receptacle-receiving vault to be formed with relatively wide front and back walls. Furthermore, the lockable door providing access to the interior of the coin vault for removing the coin box is customarily mounted in the front wall of the vault, and it has been the practice to hinge the door to the coin vault. These structural features contribute to a relatively large height of the vault and to a relatively large access door.

Another problem encountered with parking meters is theft by the authorized collector. One solution proposed prior to this invention was to utilize a sealed type of coin box having a coin discharge opening that is selectively closed by a lockable door. This type of coin box prevents the collector from gaining access to the collected coins.

One procedure followed in the use of such a sealed coin box is to have the authorized collector replace the filled coin box with an empty one and to return the filled coin box to a central collection place, such as a bank. Another prior practice is to provide the collector with a specially constructed coin collection head, having an inaccessible key that fits into the lock on the discharge door when the door is inserted into the collection head. In both cases, however, the construction of prior parking meters are such that the door to the vault may be closed and locked without placing a coin box in the vault. As a result, unscrupulous collectors circumvent the deterrent of the sealed coin box construction by not placing a coin box in the vault. The door of the empty coin vault would be closed and locked, and coins deposited in the meter would then accessibly accumulate on the bottom of the vault. On his next collection round, the collector could then open the door to the vault and pocket the accumulated coins.

SUMMARY & OBJECTS OF INVENTION A major object of this invention is to provide a novel parking meter assembly.

Another major object of this invention is to provide a novel coin storage assembly fora coin-controlled device.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a novel coin receptacle housing or vault construction that may be made from non-ferrous die cast materials, but yet effectively resists forced break-in.

Still another important object of this invention is to provide a novel, low profile coin vault for a twin parking meter assembly.

Still another object of this invention is to reinforce a parking meter coin vault in a novel manner.

Still another major object of this invention is to provide a novel vandal-resistant parking meter. I

A further important object of this invention is to provide a novel parking meter construction that effectively prevents a collector from closing the coin vault access door without positioning a coin box in the vault to receive deposited coins.

According to one feature of this invention, the twin parking meter coin vault is novelly provided with a side access opening for removing the coin box in the vault. This structural feature, as compared with conventional front and/or back access openings, contributes significantly to a relatively low profile (i.e., low height) coin vault. By lowering the profile of the vault, the vault becomes more resistant to forced cave-in without resorting to thicker vault walls or stronger materials for fabricating the vault.

Thus a more specific object of this invention is to provide a plural parking meter assembly with a novel receptacle receiving vault or housing that has a side access opening through which the coin box may be removed.

According to a further feature of this invention, the side access opening in the coin vault is selectively closed by a lockable door that is removably and hinglessly mounted on the vault. Elimination of a hinged connection between the access door and the wall of the vault eliminates a structurally weak feature that is susceptible to destruction for the purpose of gaining access to the coin box in the vault.

Thus, another more specific and important object of this invention is to provide a novel coin vault access door that is removably and hinglessly mounted on the vault.

According to a further feature of this invention, the coin box is secured to the vault access door so that the coin box and the door are removable from the vault as a unit. The coin box is secured only to the access door in a permanent or semi-permanent fashion. This structural feature acts as an effective deterrent to unscrupulous collectors because the collector cannot close the access door without positioning the coin box in the vault to receive deposited coins. Used in conjunction with a sealed type of coin box, or more specifically the type of coin box that has a lockable coin discharge door, the feature of securing the coin box to the access door precludes the practice of gaining access to deposited coins by either dumping the contents of the coin box or by leaving the coin box out of the coin vault to allow deposited coins to accumulate on the floor of the vault.

Accordingly, another important object of this invention is to provide a novel coin storage assembly in which the coin box is secured to the vault access door, thus effectively preventing the collector from closing the access door without positioning the coin box in the vault to receive deposited coins.

Coin boxes have in the past been secured to the access door in prior parking meter constructions. For example, it has been proposed to make the coin box integral with the access'door as described in U. S. Pat. No. 2,465,146 issued on Mar. 22, 1949 to R. F. Broussard for Coin Gate Mechanism. In such prior parking meter constructions, however, the access door is hinged or otherwise permanently secured to the coin vault or receptacle-receiving housing. As a result, the coins can conveniently be removed only by using an unsealed, dump type coin box in which the deposited coins are immediately accessible to the collector by opening the access door and dumping the contents of the coin box.

Another disadvantage of the coin collection structure described in US. Pat. No. 2,465,l46 is that the height of the coin vault opening must be sufficiently great to enable the coin box to be swung out of the vault for the purpose of dumping its contents. This structural feature adds significantly to the height of the coin vault as compared to the height of the coin vault in this invention. Furthermore, the feature of securing the coin box to an access door that is hinged or otherwise secured to the coin vault does not lend itself to the type of collection wherein a sealed type coin box is removed from the coin vault and inserted into a coin collection head. This coin collection arrangement is described in U. S. Pat. No. 3,321,129 issued on May 23, i967 to William C. Hutton et al for Coin Collection System.

The coin vault of this invention comprises a hollow casing having an open top and front, back and side walls. The access opening is formed in one side wall, and the meter heads are mounted on a plate that covers the open top of the casing. According to another feature of this invention, the front and back walls of the coin vault casing may be reinforced by interior liners that are separably trapped between the floor of the casing and the cover plate.

According to another feature of this invention the cover plate is formed with a depending portion. that extends into the coin vault casing to reinforce upper wall regions of the casing that are above the coin box.

These reinforcing features are effective and relatively inexpensive. Thus, these reinforcing features also each contribute to a light weight coin vault construction that can be made from inexpensive relatively weak material such as aluminum alloy.

Although the detail description herein is directed to a twin or plural parking meter assembly, it will be appreciated that certain features of this invention are applicable to parking meters having a single head and to coin storage assemblies for other coin controlled devices.

Further objects of this invention will appear as the description proceeds in connection with the belowdescribed drawings and the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation ofa twin parking meter assembly incorporating the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the parking meter assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the parking meter shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section taken substantially along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a section taken substantially along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially along lines 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the coin box and access door assembly shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the coin box and door assembly shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the parking meter coin vault shown in FIG. 1 with the coin vault cover plate and meter heads removed;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the coin vault casing shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation of the coin vault casing shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a section taken substantially along lines 12-12 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a section taken substantially along lines 1313 of FIG. 10; I

FIG. 14 is a bottom plan view of the coin vault cover plate shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a side elevation of the coin vault cover plate shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary section taken substantially along lines 16-16 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 17 is a section taken substantially along lines 1717 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary section taken substantially along lines 1818 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary section taken substantially aling lines 19-19 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary section taken substantially along lines 20-20 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 21 is a partially sectioned fragmentary elevation of a modified plural meter assembly incorporating a dump type coin box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the parking meter assembly incorporating the principles of this embodiment is generally designated at 20 and is of the twin type having a pair of coincontrolled parking meter units or heads 22 and 23 and a lower coin vault or housing 24. Vault 24 is common to and serves both parking meter heads 22 and 23. Meter 20 is mounted on an upstanding tubular post 25 in a manner to be described in detail later on.

Parking meter head 22 comprises a casing 26 that houses the usual coin-controlled timing and indicator mechanism which is generally indicated at 28. Mechanism 28 is of any suitable conventional construction and includes a pointer or indicator 30 that is swingable across the usual time-indicating meter scale 32. Indicator 30 and scale 32 are observable through a window 34 that is mounted in the front wall of casing 26. Casing 26 has the usual coin receiving slot, as indicated at 36. Coins are inserted through slot 36 to set time on the meter. Coins deposited in the meter head and providing for the actuation of the timing mechanism are either positively driven or pass by gravity down through a coin chute or passage 37 and into a coin collection and storage box or receptacle 38 which is disposed in vault 24.

Parking meter head 23 is preferably of the same construction as parking meter head 22. Accordingly, like numerals suffixed by the letter a have been applied to designate the corresponding parts of meter head 23.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, vault 24 comprises a one piece casing 40 that is open at its top and a top cover plate 42. A chamber 44 that is defined by casing 40 and top plate 42 receives coin box 38. Parking meter heads 22 and 23 are mounted on top plate 42 in side-by-side relation as shown.

Casings

26 and 26a are supported by top plate 42 and are rigidly fixed thereto by machine screws 46 (see FIG. 1 Top plate 42 is mounted on casing 42 and is fixed to casing 40 by four machine screws that are indicated at 47.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, casing 40 is integrally formed with a bottom wall 48, opposed, spaced apart, parallel front and

back walls

49 and 50 and a pair of opposed spaced apart

side walls

51 and 52 that extend between

walls

49 and 50. Walls 49-52 extend upwardly from bottom wall 48 as shown.

Casing 40 is elongated transversely of

side walls

5 and 52 to accommodate the side-by-side arrangement of meter heads 22 and 23. The width of

walls

49 and 50 are thus significantly greater than the widths of

walls

51 and 52. Meter heads 22 and 23 are symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of a vertical plane normally and medially intersecting

walls

49 and 50.

According to one feature of this-invention an access opening 54 (FIG. 5) is formed in side wall 52. Opening 54 has a rectangular configuration and is selectively closed by a hingless, detachable door 56 to provide access to the interior of vault 24.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 11, side wall 52 is formed with a recessed ledge 60 that bounds the sides and bottom of opening 54. Ledge 60 is offset inwardly from the outer side wall face of vault24 to provide an inwardly recessed seat for door 56. Ledge 60 terminates at the upper end of opening 54 so that the upper edge of opening 54 is not bounded by the recessed seat. Door 56 is stepped along its twoside edges and its bottom edge to interfit with the stepped side wall regions defined by ledge.60. Door 56 matingly seats in the recessed seat defined by ledge 60 in such a manner that the outside face of door 56 is substantially flush with the outside face of side wall 52. The stepped region of door 56 defines an inwardly facing flat shoulder surface 62 that interfittingly seats against ledge 60 when door 56 is mounted in its closed position as shown in FIG. 5.

With continued reference to FIG. 5, a cylindrical bore 64 is formed through door 56. A lock barrel 66, forming a part of a key operated cylinder lock 68 is coaxially mounted in bore 64. Lock 68 comprises a keeper 70 that is slidable between its unlocked and locking positions in a pocket or recess 71. Recess 71 is defined by door 56 and a one-piece bracket or mounting plate 72. Keeper 70 comprises a sturdy, flat-sided, rigid metal tongue.

In its lowered, locking position keeper 70 projects downwardly into an upwardly opening groove 73. Groove 73 is formed in bottom wall 48, extends transversely of front and

back walls

49 and 50 and is delimited by a transverse rib 74 (see FIG. 10) and a raised portion 76 of bottom wall 48. Portion 76 is formed at the mouth of opening 54 and defines ledge 60. Rib 74 is integral with bottom wall 48. In its raised, unlocked position keeper 70 clears groove 73 to permit door 56 to be removed from casing 40.

Along its upper edge, door 76 is integrally formed with a thick, sturdy lip 80 which extends upwardly along the inner face of side wall 52 when the door is in its closed position as shown in FIG. 5. Lip 80 separably butts against the inside face of side wall 52 to thus interlock with the side wall and thereby prevent the upper edge of door 56 from being pulled or pried outwardly when the door is in its closed position. As shown, lip 80 is inwardly offset from the door portion that is received in the recess that is defined by ledge 60.

Abutment of keeper with the inwardly facing, groove-defining surface of raised portion 76 prevents the lower edge of door 56 from being pulled or pried outwardly. Seating engagement of shoulder 62 against ledge 60 prevents door 56 from being pushed or tilted inwardly from its illustrated closed position.

To remove door 56, lock 68 is operated by a suitable, unshown key to raise keeper 70 to its unlocking position. The lower edge of the complete door and lock assembly is then tilted outwardly to clear casing 40. Door 56 is then lowered sufficiently to permit lip to clear the side wall region defining the upper edge of opening 54. Door 56 is now free to be completely withdrawn and thus fully separated from casing 40.

From the foregoing description it is clear that door 56 is not hinged in any manner to casing 40 or any other parts of vault 24. It also will be appreciated that door 56 is completely separable and removable from casing 40. The advantages of this hingless door construction will be explained in detail later on.

As best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, door 56, on its inner side, is integrally formed with a pair of paralleL spaced apart, upstanding, reinforcing rib portions 82. Rib portions 82 extend lengthwise of door 56, and at their upper ends, they are integrally joined to lip 80. The lower ends of rib portions 82 integrally join with a thickened door portion 84 through which bore 64 is formed. Rib portions 82 and portion 84 are received between a pair of flat-sided, parallel, spaced apart arm portions 86 of mounting plate 72. Mounting plate 72 is rigidly fixed to door 56 preferably by rivits 88 that extend through arm portions 86 and engage in rib portions 82 and thickened portion 84. In this manner, mounting plate 72 is permanently fixed to door 56.

Mounting plate 72 has a cross portion 90 (see FIG. 16) integrally joining arm portions 86 in the region of lock 68 and delimiting recess 71. When keeper 70 is in its fully raised unlocked position (see FIG. 7) it is fully withdrawn into'recess 71.

Referring to FIGS. 5-9, door 56 is pivotally mounted on and thus carried by coin box 38 by means of a cylindrical pivot pin 92. Pin 92 extends through aligned apertures 94 that are formed in inwardly protruding extensions of arm portions 86.

As best shown in FIG. 6, pivot pin 92 also freely extends through aligned apertures that are formed through the side walls of an end portion 98 of coin box 38. The width of end portion 98 is reduced as compared with the coin-receiving body of box 38 and is received between arm portions 86 as shown.

The ends of pin 92 protruding beyond arm portions 86 are peripherally grooved to mountsnap rings 100. Snap rings 100 are buttable against arm portions 86 to thus limit axial displacement of pin 92 and to prevent axial removal of the pivot pin. The coin box end portion 98 is thus axially confined between arm portions 86, and owing to pin 92, coin box 38 cannot be disassembled from door 56 except by removal of one of the snap rings 100 and subsequent removal of pin 92 or by destruction of one or more parts.

With the foregoing construction, coin box 38 and door 56 are each pivotable or swingable through limited distances about the axis of pin 92. Coin box 36 and door 56 are thus relatively pivotable about the axis of pin 92. In addition, door 56, due to the elongation of apertures 94 is rectilinearly dispiaceable relative to coin box 38 in a direction extending radially of pin 92. This construction permits door 56 to be pivoted through a limited, but sufficient angle relative to coin box 38 to permit the lower edge of door 56 to be swung outwardly from a closed position for effecting removal of the door from vault 24. After the lower edge of the door is pivoted outwardly to a position where it clears side wall 52, it then may be lowered, due to the elongation of apertures 94, to permit lip 80 to clear the side wall region that defines the upper edge of opening 54. Door 56 is now completely free of vault 24 enabling it and coin box 38 to be withdrawn'from vault 24 as a unit.

When coin box 38 is positioned in vault 24 to receive coins inserted into meter heads 22 and 23, it separably rests on and is supported by bottom wall 48 as shown in FIG. 5. Coin box 38 is only secured to door 56 as previously described, and it is not attached or secured in any way to any other parts of vault 24. Thus, by removing door 56, coin box 38 is withdrawn from cham ber 44 through opening 54. Hence withdrawal of coin box 38 is laterally of the parking meter assembly. More particularly, coin box 38 is inserted and withdrawn laterally of a vertical plane transversely intersecting

walls

49 and 50.

Coin box 39 is advantageously of the sealed orpilferage resistant type described in U. S. Pat. No. 3,321,129 issued on May 23, I967 to William C. Hutton et al. for Coin Collection System. With this type of coin box, the coins deposited therein are not accessible to the collector, and the coin box requires a special coin collection head (not shown) described in the above-identified patent for transferring the collected coins to a coin collection box (not shown) that is carried by the collector.

I With this type of coin box, therefore, the authorized collector cannot gain access to the collected coins by opening door 56 and by withdrawing the coin box from vault 24.

Preferably the structure forming a part of coin box 38 for effecting the removal of coins deposited therein is the same as that described in the above-identified patent. Briefly, this structure is shown in FIG. to comprise a door 110 that is pivotally mounted by pins in a wall of the coin box. Door 110 upon being opened provides a discharge opening in the coin box wall for transferring the deposited coins to the unshown coin collection box that is carried by the collector. Door 110 is normally held closed by a locking'device 116 that is only unlocked when the unshown key is inserted into The above-mentioned key is contained in the coin collection head so that door 110 can only be opened to dump the contents of the coin box by inserting the coin box into the collection head. As a result, the coin collection head prevents access to the deposited coins as they are dumped. The only way that the coin can be removed from the coin collection head is by pulling the coin box out of the coin collection head to effect the removal of the unshown key. Closing of door and removal of the unshown key automatically actuates the lock mechanism to lock door 110 closed.

When door 56 is in its closed position, it properly positions coin box 38 to receive coins that are inserted into meter heads 22 and 23. More specifically, coin box 38 will be positioned by mounting door 56 in its closed position so that two coin receiving slots (see FIGS. 5 and 7) respectively align with two coin chutes or passageways 122 (FIG. 5). Passageways 122 are formed through plate 42. Chutes 122 respectively register with

chutes

37 and 37a and are in open communication therewith so that coins descending in

chutes

37 and 37a pass downwardly through chutes 122 and then through coin slots 120 into coin box 38. Slots 120 are formed in the top wall of coin box 38 and are so configured as to make it difficult to jiggle the coins out of the coin box.

By virtue of securing door 56 to coin box 38 in the manner previously described, it will be appreciated that door 56 cannot be mounted in its closed position on casing 40 without properly positioning coin box 38 within chamber 44 to receive the coins descending through chutes 122. Therefore, unscrupulous collec tors cannot pilfer coins by leaving the coin box out of the vault, closing and locking the access door and then returning at a later time to take the coins that accumulate on the floor of the empty vault. In contrast with types of parking metersthat permit such a practice, the coin collection construction of this invention precludes the mounting of door 56 in its closed position without positioning coin box 38 in vault 24 to receive the deposited coins.

With the previously described pin and snap ring construction for securing door 56 to coin box 38 it is realized that given ample time and proper tools an unscrupulous collector could disconnect box 38 from door 56 to enable him to close door-56 without positioning coin box 38 in vault 24. However, it has been found that the time needed for removing snap rings I00 and the probable damage that occurs to the rings in the courseof removing them is sufficient deterrent to discourage such a practice. It also will be appreciated that door 56 fits in opening 54 and can be locked in only one position, thus preventing a collector from positioning the coin box up-side down in vault24.

As best shown in FIG. 5 and I0, casing 40 is rigidly fixed to post 25 by a mounting bolt and wedge elements 132. Bolt 130 extends down through a central aperture in bottom wall 48 and engages elements 132 inpost 25. By tightening bolt 130 elements 132 are wedged into engagement with post 25 to securely fix casing 40 to post 25. The head of bolt 130 is disposed in vault 24, and a-metal washer 134 may be provided between the bolt head and bottom wall 48 as shown.

With continued reference to FIG. 10, bottom wall 48 is internally and integrally formed with parallel, straight reinforcing

ribs

136, 137, and 138. Ribs 136-138 are parallel with front and

back walls

49 and 50. The flat bottom of coin box 38 seats on ribs 136-138 when the coin box is positioned in vault 24. Ribs 136-138 are sufficiently high to provide a clearance between the 9 formedwith a series of parallel, spaced apart, upstanding reinforcing ribs 140.

Ribs

139 and 140 extends vertically when casing 40 is mounted on post 25.

Ribs

139 and 140 are tapered towards their upper ends as shown to provide increased reinforcement at the lower region of vault 24.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 17, a pair of generally rectangular, rigid, reinforcing

plate liners

142 and 144 may advantageously be mounted in vault 24 to respectively provide reinforcement along front wall 49 and back wall 50.

Liners

142 and 144 are flat-sided and are fabricated from steel plate or other suitable, sturdy material.

Liner 142 vertically extends between wall 49 and the opposing wall of coin box 38. Liner 144 vertically extends between wall 50 and the opposing wall of coin box 38.

Liners

142 and 144 extend almost the entire length of coin box 38 and are coextensive with the side wall regions of coin box 38 that define the main portion of the coin collection chamber.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that whenentry into vault 24 is forced by way of either front wall 49 or back wall 50, it is necessary to break through the wall of the vault, the adjacent one of

liners

142 and 144 and the opposing wall of the coin box to obtain access to the coins deposited in the coin box.

Liners

142 and 144 therefore effecrively inhibit forced entry to coin box 38 by way of either front wall 49 or back wall 50.

As shown in FIG. 17, the lowe straight edge of liner 142 is loosely seated in a straight, upwardly opening, liner locating groove 146. Groove 146 is formed between rib 136 and the interior face of front wall 49. Similarly, the lower straight edge of liner 144 is loosely seated in a straight, upwardly opening, liner locating groove 148. Groove 48 is formed between rib 138 and the interior face of back wall 150.

As shown in FIGS. and 17, the height of coin box 38 is appreciably less than the height of vault 24 extending from bottom wall 48 to the upper edge of casing 40. Plate 42 is integrally formed with a depending portion 150 that protrudes downwardly into vault 24 to occupy the space between the top wall of coin box 38 and the upper edge of casing 40. Portion 150 is disposed over the top wall of coin box 38.

The upper region of liner 142 extends between wall 49 and portion 150, and the upper-region of liner 144 extends between wall 50 and portion 150.

Referring to FIGS. 14, 15 and 17, depending portion 150 is formed with spaced apart forward and

rearward walls

152 and 153 and

side wall portions

154 and 155 at opposite ends of

walls

152 and 153.

Walls

152 and 153 extend between and are integrally joined to wall

portions

154 and 155 as shown in FIG. 14.

Walls

152 and 153 and

wall portions

154 and 155 cooperate to define a downwardly opening recess 156. Depending portion 150 is also integrally formed with longitudinal and transverse reinforcing rib portions 158 that are disposed in recess 156.

Walls 152 and 1 53 and

wall portions

154 and 155 depend from a rectangular cover portion 160 of plate 42. The central regions of

walls

152 and 153 are in parallel spaced apart relation and are disposed near front and

rear walls

49 and 50 respectively. Chutes 122 are formed through

wall portions

154 and 155 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 14. 4

As best shown in FIG. 17, the upper region of liner 142 is disposed between, and thus confined between,

walls

50 and 153. The lower region of liner 142 is confined between the opposed side wall regions of groove 146, while the lower region of liner 144 is confined between the opposed side wall regions of groove 148. Inward movement of liner 142 from its reinforcing position adjacent to wall 49 is limited by abutment with wall 152 and rib 136. Inward movement of liner 144 from its reinforcing position is limited by abutment with wall 153 and rib 138.

The clearance between the upper straight edges of

liners

142 and 144 and the underside of plate portion is just sufficient to permit plate 42 to properly seat on the upper edge of casing 40. Thus

liners

142 and 144 extend substantially the entire distance between bottom wall 48 and the underside of plate portion 160. Advantageou sly, liner 142 may be secured against sideward movement laterally of

side walls

51 and 52 by an allen head screw 162 as shown in FIG. 18. Screw 162 is threaded into a tapped borel64 that is centrally formed through wall 152. Screw 162 freely projects through an aperture in liner 142 and has a tip that seats in a small inwardly opening pocket or recess 166 that is formed in 'the central rib 139. Abutment of screw 162 with the edge of aperture 165 limits sideward displacement of liner 142, as well as any other displacement extending radially of the axis of screw 152.

As best shown in FIG. 18, a corresponding construction is provided for liner 144 to limit the sideward displacement ofliner 144. Accordingly like reference numerals suffixed by the letter small a have been applied to designate the structural features associated with liner 144. As shown, screw 162a is threaded into tapped bore 164a, and it extends freely through aperture 165a in liner 14 4 and seats in pocket 166a that is formed in the central rib 140. Abutment of screw 162a with the edge of aperture 165a limits sideward displacement of liner 144, as well as displacement of liner 144 in any other direction extending radially of the axis of screw 162a. Bore 1640 is formed throughwall 153, and the axes of b0r es l64 and 164a are aligned.

Liners

142 and 144 may be removed through the open top of casing 40 after

screws

162 and 162a are inwardly threaded so that they clear

pockets

166 and 166a. Access to

screws

162 and 162a is attained by removing coin box 38 from vault 24. It will be appreciated that

liners

142 and 144 are supportedin vault 24 independently of coin box 38. Thusywhen coin box 38 is removed from vault 24,

liners

142 and 144 are retained in their illustrated reinforcing positions.

Liners

142 and 144 are assembled in vault 24 by inserting them through the open top of easing 40.before plate 42 is fastened to casing 40. Before coin box 38 is inserted into vault 24,

screws

162 and 162a are then threaded into

pockets

166 and 166a respectively by inserting the appropriate tool through opening 54. From the construction just described, itwill be appreciated that

liners

142 and 144 may optionally be omitted from the parking meter vault assembly without requiring any alterations to the component parts of vault 24 or to coin box 38. It also will be appreciated that, instead of being fastened in place,

liners

142 and 144 are trapped in position between cooperating surfaces on plate 42 and casing 40 when plate 42 is mounted on casing 40. As a result,

liners

142 and 144 are mounted in vault 24 in a simplified and inexpensive manner.

' Referring to FIGS. 5, l4, 15, 17 and 18, the underside of plate portion 160 is formed with a downwardly opening rectangular groove 170 around its outer marginai edge. Groove 170 follows the rectangular contour of plate portion 160 and is defined by an endless rectangular lip or ridge 172 on its inward side and by the rectangular border portion 174 on its outer side. Lip 172 is integral with and depends from plate portion 160, and as shown in FIG. 14, lip 172 peripherally surrounds depending portion 150. As shown in FIG. 15, lip 172 depends below border portion 174.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 9, 10, 17 and 18, the upper edge of casing 40 is formed with an upwardly protruding, rectangular, endless lip or ridge 176 that peripherally surrounds the open top of the casing. Lip 176 interfittingly seats in groove 170 when plate 42 is mounted on casing 40 as best shown in FIGS. 5, 17 and 1 8. Thus, in assembled relation border portion 174 extends downwardly along the outer'face of lip 176 and seats on the upper casing edge that is disposed outwardly of lip 176, while lip 172 extends downwardly along the inner side of lip 176 below the abutment interface between the bottom edge of border portion 174 and the upper edge of casing 40.

Seating engagement of lip 176 in groove 170 properly positions plate 42 on casing 40 and interlocks plate 42 and casing 40. Lip 176 blocks insertion of a tool, such as a chisel, between plate 42 and casing 40 for prying cover 42 off casing 40. The extent to which such a tool may be forced between border portion 174 and the upper edge of casing 40 does not provide sufficient leverage for stripping screws 47.

As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, lip 172 is disposed outwardly of and depends below the upper edges of liners 1 42 and 144.

Liners

142 and 144 thus provide an additional wall for resisting forced entry by breaking through the front and rear portions of lip 172.

Referring to FIGS. 5, 9 and 19, each of the two screws 47 on the left side of vault 24 (as viewed from FIG. 4) extends through a smooth walled bore 182 in plate 42 and is threaded into a tapped blind bore 184 in a reinforcing, interior wall portion 186. Wall portion 186 is integral with walls 49-51 and is elongated in the direction of wall 51. Wall portion 186 merges with wall 51 to thus reinforce the latter.. When plate 42 is mounted on casing 40, bores 182 axially align with bores 184.

At its upper end, wall portion 186 terminates in a flat, horizontal edge surface 188 that is recessed a significant distance below the upper end of casing 40. Bores 184 open at edge surface 188 and are disposed at significant distance inwardly of walls 49-51.

Referring to FIGS. 5, 9, and each of the two screws 47 on the right side of vault 24 (as viewed from FIG. 4) extends through a smooth walled bore 190 in plate 42 and is threaded into a tapped blind bore 192 in an interior boss portion 194. Boss portions 194 are disposed within vault 24 in the right-hand corners of casing 40 and are integrally joined to side wall 52 above opening 54.

At their upper ends, boss portions 194 terminate in flat horizontal edge surfaces 196. Bores 192 open at edge surfaces 196 and axially align with bores 190 when plate 42 is mounted on casing 40. Edge surfaces 196 are recessed a significant distance below the upper edge of casing 40, and bores 192 are disposed significant distances inwardly of

walls

49, 50 and 52.

Edge surfaces 188 and 196 are contained in a common horizontal plane that is parallel with bottom wall 48. The arrangement of

bores

182, 184, 190 and 192 is symmetrical.

Depending portion fills an appreciable part of the vault space between the top of coin box 38 and the upper edge of casing 40. Depending portion 150 thus provides an additional interior reinforcing wall barrier that resists forced entry into vault 24 through the regions of walls 49-52 above coin box 38. In particular, forced entry by caving walls 49-52 in the region above coin box 38 is effectively resisted by depending portion 150 which offers a relatively large rigid mass that must be crushed in order to gain access to the coin box. Thus, walls 49-52 are interiorly reinforced by depending portion 150 in the region above coin box 38.

Owing to the previously described reinforcing features of vault 24, it is exceedingly difficult to cave in

walls

49 and 50 and the regions of

walls

51 and 52 above coin box 38. Owing to opening 54, side wall 52 mainly extends only in the region above coin box 38, and this region is thickened and reinforced by boss positions 194. In addition, the depth of vault 24 and hence the widths of

side walls

51 and 52 between

walls

49 and 50 is relatively small to consequently make it difficult to cave in the side wall regions. Side wall 51 is furthermore thickened and thereby reinforced by wall portion 186. Depending portion 150 furthermore provides plate 42 with a thickened region covering the open top of casing 40 to resist forced cave-in of plate 42.

The depth of vault 24 is relatively shallow as compared with width of the vault (i.e., the widths of

walls

51 and 52 are appreciably shorter than the widths of walls 49 and 50) because of the formation of access opening in the side of vault 24 rather than the front or back of the vault 24 and becauseof the elongation of coin box 38 in a direction extending parallel to

walls

49 and 50.

Owing to the hingeless construction of door 56, the height of vault 24 is reduced as compared with conventional vaults in which the access door is hinged to a wall of the vault and carries or is secured to the coin box. With the hingeless construction of door 56, it is not necessary to provide enough vertical clearance to pivot the door and to thereby swing the coin box out of the vault as is required with certain conventional parking meter vault constructions.

The foregoing reinforced vault and hingeless door construction thus enables vault 24 to be constructed with a low profile which in itself contributes to resisting forced cave in of the vault walls. Furthermore, the provision of access opening 54 in the side of vault 24, rather than the front or back thereof, permits opening 54 to make considerably smaller than the size that would be needed to accommodate coin deposits from both meter heads 22 and 23 if the access opening were conventionally formed in the front or back walls of the vault. Door 56 is therefore much smaller as compared with conventional parking meter constructions and particularly as compared with twin parking meter head constructions of the type described herein. Hence the relatively small size of door 56 makes it less vulnerable to forced entry. The absence of a hinge for mounting door 56 on casing 40 also eliminates another source that is subject to destruction for gaining forced entry into vault 24.

The reinforced, low profile construction of vault 24 permits the component parts of vault 24 to be die cast from such materials such as aluminum or zinc alloys. As compared with conventional vaults that are customarily formed from sand cast ferrous alloys, aluminum or zinc alloys and the like provide a less expensive, lighter weight vault that is not subject to corrosion.

The effect of downwardly recessing

portions

186 and 194 and of disposing bores l84 and 192 inwardly of the upper edge of casing 40 makes forced entry difficult by driving a chisel between plate 42 and the edge of casing 40 to pry plate 42 loose.

Portions

186 and 184 and plate 42 provide masses of metal that extend between

bores

184 and 192 and the extremity of a chisel or other tool hen it is forcibly inserted between the upper edge of casing 40 and plate 42. The masses of metal tend to deform when pried to relieve stresses that would strip the threads on screws 47.

As shown in FIG. 4, plate 42 is formedwith slightly raised locating

bosses

200 and 202 for

casings

26 and 26a respectively. The bores for

screws

47 and 46 are on

bosses

200 and 202 so that

casings

26 and 26a cover screws 46 and 47 to prevent access thereto.

The dual parking meter assembly shown in FIG. 21 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 1-20 except for the coin box in vault 24. Accordingly, like reference characters have been applied to designate like parts of the assembly shown in FIG. 21, and the coin box in the assembly of FIG. 21 is designated at 204.

Coin box 204, instead of being of the vandal resistant type shown in the previous embodiment, is of the dump type which has relatively large, spaced apart coin receiving apertures 206 in the coin box top wall. Coin box 204 is pivotally secured to and carries door 56 in the manner described in the previous embodiment.

When door 56 is closed aperture 206 will align with chutes 122. Coins deposited in box 204 are dumped out by simply tilting box 204 sufficiently to enable the coins to pour out of one or more of the apertures 206. As compared with coin box 38, it will be appreciated that coins deposited in box 206 are immediately accessible to the collector upon opening door 56 and removing box 206 from vault 24. I

What is claimed and described to be secured by Letters Patent is: 1

l. A parking meter assembly comprising housing means defining a chamber, a plurality of coincontrolled parking meter mechanisms in which coins are adapted to be deposited, said parking meter mechanisms being supported on said housing means, a single coin receptacle movably disposed in said chamber for receiving coins deposited in said mechanisms, said housing means being formed (a) with passages for guiding coins from said mechanisms to said receptacle and (b) with a side access opening to provide for the removal of said receptacle from said chamber, a lockable door hingelessly and removably mounted on said housing means for selectively closing said opening,. and means pivotally securing said receptacle to said door.

2. In a coin-controlled parking meter assembly, a ho]- low casing formed with a bottom wall and walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, a cover on said casing at the upper ends of said upwardly extending walls and covering the top of the casing, said cover having at least one coin passage for directing coins into said interior of said casing, a coin collection receptacle disposed in said casing for receiving coins directed through said passage, said receptacle having upstanding wall portions that define a coin collection chamber, at least one housing mounted on said cover, a coincontrolled timing mechanism received in said housing, and passage means in said housing for directing deposited coins to said passage, the improvement comprising at least one rigid reinforcing liner disposed in said casing and removably trapped between said cover and said bottom wall to provide an interior barrier between one of said upwardly extending walls and said receptacle, a portion of said liner being approximately coextensive with one of said wall portions.

3. A coin-controlled parking meter assembly comprising a hollow casing formed with a bottom wall and at least one pair of opposed walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, a cover on said casing at the upper ends of said opposed walls to provide a covering for said casing, said cover having at least'one coin passage for directing coins into said interior of said casing, a coin collection receptacle disposed in said casing between said opposed wall for receiving coins directed through said passage, at least one housing mounted on said cover, a coin-controlled timing mechanism received in said housing, passage means in said housing for directing deposited coins to said passage, a first rigid reinforcing liner disposed in said casing between saidreceptacle and one of said opposed walls to provide a barrier between said receptacle and said one of said opposed walls, and a second rigid reinforcing liner disposed in said casing between said receptacle-and the other of said opposed walls to provide a barrier between said receptacle and the other of said opposed,

walls, said first and second liners being trapped between said cover and said bottom wall.

4. A parking meter assembly comprising a hollow casing formed with a bottom wall portion, first'and secsaid third and fourth wall portions, a coin-controlled timing mechanism in each housing, coin discharge passage means in each housing, said cover having a through passage in registry with each coin discharge passage means to provide for the transfer of deposited coins to the interior of said casing, a coin collection receptacle in said casing for receiving coins entering said casing through each through passage, one of said third and fourth wall portions being formed with an access opening to provide for the removal of said receptacle from said casing, a lockable door selectively closing said access opening, first and second reinforcing liners disposed in said casing and formed separately of said casing and said receptacle, said first liner extending between said first wall portion and said receptacle to provide, a barrier between said receptacle and said first wall portion, and said second reinforcing liner extending between said second wall portion and said receptacle to provide a barrier between said receptacle and said second wall portion.

5. A parking meter assembly comprising housing means defining a chamber, a plurality of coincontrolled parking meter mechanisms in which coins are adapted to be deposited, said parking meter mechanisms being supported on said housing means, a single coin receptacle removably disposed in said chamber for receiving coins deposited in said mechanisms, said housing means being formed (a) with passages for guiding coins from said mechanisms to said receptacle and (b) with a side access opening to provide for the removal of said receptacle from said chamber, a lockable door hinglessly and removably mounted on said housing means for selectively closing said opening, and means securing said receptacle to said door and providingfor limited pivotal and rectilinear motion of said door relative to said receptacle to enable said door to be manipulated for effecting locking engagement and disengagement of said door with respect to said housing means.

6. A parking meter assembly comprising housing means defining a chamber, a plurality of coincontrolled parking meter mechanisms in which coins are adapted to be deposited, said parking meter mechanisms being supported on said housing means, a single coin receptacle removably disposed in said chamber for receiving coins deposited in said mechanisms, said housing means being formed (a) with passages for guiding coins from said mechanisms to said receptacle and (b) with a side access opening to provide for the re moval of said receptacle from said chamber, a lockable door hinglessly and removably mounted on said housing means for selectively closing said opening, and means securing said receptacle to said door and providing for limited pivotal and rectilinear motion of said door relative to said receptacle.

7. The parking meter defined in claim 1 comprising means securing said receptacle to said door to provide for the removal of said receptacle and door as a unit from said housing means.

8. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said housing means comprises a hollow casing receiving said receptacle and having an open top and a cover mounted on said casing for covering said open top, said casing having opposed front and back walls and opposed side walls extending between said front and back walls, said parking meter mechanisms being supported onsaid cover andbeing disposed on opposite sides of a plane transversely intersecting said front and back walls, said passages being formed through said cover, and said access opening being formed through one of said side walls to provide for the removal of said receptacle laterally of said plane.

9. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 8 wherein said parking meter mechanisms are received in separate meter casings that fixed to said cover.

10. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 8 wherein said passages are on opposite sides of said plane, and wherein said receptacle has separate coin inlet openings respectively registering with said passages when said receptacle .is positioned in said chamber.

11. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 8 wherein said casing is elongated in a direction to provide said front and back walls with widths that are greater than the widths of said side walls.

12. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 8 wherein said door is secured to said receptacle to prober by withdrawing it through said access opening upon removal of said door, wherein said casing is formed with a bottom wall, and wherein said receptacle rests on said bottom wall when it is disposed in said chamber to receive coins passing through said passages.

13. In a coin-controlled parking meter assembly, a hollow casing having an open top and being formed with a bottom wall and walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, a cover detachably mounted on said casing at the upper ends of said upwardly extending walls to provide a covering for said open top, said cover having at least one coin passage for directing coins into said interior of said casing, a coin collection receptacle disposed in said casing for receiving coins directed through said passage, at least one housing mounted on said cover, a coin-controlled timing mechanism received in said housing, and passage means in said housing for directing deposited coins to said passage, the improvement comprising at least one rigid reinforcing liner disposed in said casing and removably trapped between said cover and said bottom wall to provide an interior barrier between one of said upwardly extending walls and said receptacle.

14. The coin-controlled parking meter assembly defined in claim 13 wherein said bottom wall is formed with an upwardly opening groove in which the lower edge of said liner is seated.

15. The coin-controlled parking meter assembly defined in claim 13 wherein the top of said receptacle is spaced below the upper edges of said upwardly extend,- ing walls, and wherein said cover has a depending portion disposed over said receptacle and extending into the space between the top of said receptacle and the upper edges of .said upwardly extending walls.

16. The coin-controlled parking meter assembly defined in claim 13 wherein the upper portion of said liner is confined between said depending portion and said one of said upwardly extending walls.

17. The coin-controlled parking meter assembly defined in claim 15 comprising means extending through an opening in'said liner and spanning the space be tween said depending portion and said one of said up wardly extending walls for limiting sideward movement of said liner in said casing.

18. A parking meter assembly comprising a hollow casing having an open top, said casing being formed with a bottom wall portion, first and second opposed wall portions extending upwardly from said bottom wall portion and third and fourth opposed wall portions extending between said first and second wall portions and upwardly from said bottom wall portions, a cover detachably mounted on said casing to cover said open top,'a plurality of meter housing mounted on said cover for receiving deposited coins, a coin-controlled timing mechanism in each housing, coin discharge passage means in each housing, said cover having a through passage in registry with each coin discharge passage means to provide for the transfer of deposited coins to the interior of said casing, coin collection receptacle means in said casing for receiving coins entering said casing through each through passage, a first reinforcing liner removably trapped between said bottom wall portion and said cover and extending between said first wall portion and said receptacle means, and a second reinforcing liner removably trapped between said cover and said bottom wall portion and extending between said second wall portion and said receptacle means.

19. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 18, there being two of said housings, one on each side of a plane transversely intersecting said first and second walls.

20. A parking meter assembly comprising a hollow casing having an open top, a cover mounted on said casing and covering said open top, a pair of housings mounted on said cover for receiving deposited coins, a coin-controlled timing mechanism in each housing, coin discharge passage means in each housing, said cover having a through passage in registry with each coin discharge passage means to provide for the transfer of deposited coins to the interior of said casing, coin collection receptacle means in said casing for receiving the coins entering the casing through each through passage, the top of said receptacle means being spaced below the upper edge of said casing at said open top, and said cover having a depending portion disposed over said receptacle means and extending into the casing space between the top of said receptacle means and the upper edge of said casing, said depending portion being adjacent to wall portions of said casing in the region of said upper edge to reinforce said wall portions.

21. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 20, wherein each of said passages in said cover is formed through said depending portion.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,770,090 Dated November 6, 1973 Clarence D. Fayling, John W. Van Horn and nv n fl Philin M. Rav

It is certified that error appears in. the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Page containing Abstract, please insert after Inventors:

Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Column 10, line 28, change "152" to --162--.

.Colurnn 13, line 51, change "movably" to --re1novably--.

Column 16, line 5 1, delete "meter".

Signed and sealed this 1st day of October 1974. I

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON .JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

Claims

1. A parking meter assembly comprising housing means defining a chamber, a plurality of coin-controlled parking meter mechanisms in which coins are adapted to be deposited, said parking meter mechanisms being supported on said housing means, a single coin receptacle movably disposed in said chamber for receiving coins deposited in said mechanisms, said housing means being formed (a) with passages for guiding coins from said mechanisms to said receptacle and (b) with a side access opening to provide for the removal of said receptacle from said chamber, a lockable door hingelessly and removably mounted on said housing means for selectively closing said opening, and means pivotally securing said receptacle to said door.

2. In a coin-controlled parking meter assembly, a hollow casing formed with a bottom wall and walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, a cover on said casing at the upper ends of said upwardly extending walls and covering the top of the casing, said cover having at least one coin passage for directing coins into said interior of said casing, a coin collection receptacle disposed in said casing for receiving coins directed through said passage, said receptacle having upstanding wall portions that define a coin collection chamber, at least one housing mounted on said cover, a coin-controlled timing mechanism received in said housing, and passage means in said housing for directing deposited coins to said passage, the improvement comprising at least one rigid reinforcing liner disposed in said casing and removably trapped between said cover and said bottom wall to provide an interior barrier between one of said upwardly extending walls and said receptacle, a portion of said liner being approximately coextensive with one of said wall portions.

3. A coin-controlled parking meter assembly comprising a hollow casing formed with a bottom wall and at least one pair of opposed walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, a cover on said casing at the upper ends of said opposed walls to provide a covering for said casing, said cover having at least one coin passage for directing coins into said interior of said casing, a coin collection receptacle disposed in said casing between said opposed wall for receiving coins directed through said passage, at least one housing mounted on said cover, a coin-controlled timing mechanism received in said housing, passage means in said housing for directing deposited coins to said passage, a first rigid reinforcing liner disposed in said casing between said receptacle and one of said opposed walls to provide a barrier between said receptacle and said one of said opposed walls, and a second rigid reinforcing liner disposed in said casing between said receptacle and the other of said opposed walls to provide a barrier between said receptacle and the other of said opposed walls, said first and second liners being trapped between said cover and said bottom wall.

4. A parking meter assembly comprising a hollow casing formed with a bottom wall portion, first and second opposed wall portions extending upwardly from said bottom wall portion and third and fourth opposed wall portions extending between said first and second wall portions and upwardly from said bottom wall portion, the widths for said third and fourth wall portions being smaller than the widths of said first and second wall portions, a cover on the top of said casing, a pair of coin-receiving housings mounted said cover on opposite sides of a plane transversely intersecting said first And second wall portions and extending between said third and fourth wall portions, a coin-controlled timing mechanism in each housing, coin discharge passage means in each housing, said cover having a through passage in registry with each coin discharge passage means to provide for the transfer of deposited coins to the interior of said casing, a coin collection receptacle in said casing for receiving coins entering said casing through each through passage, one of said third and fourth wall portions being formed with an access opening to provide for the removal of said receptacle from said casing, a lockable door selectively closing said access opening, first and second reinforcing liners disposed in said casing and formed separately of said casing and said receptacle, said first liner extending between said first wall portion and said receptacle to provide a barrier between said receptacle and said first wall portion, and said second reinforcing liner extending between said second wall portion and said receptacle to provide a barrier between said receptacle and said second wall portion.

5. A parking meter assembly comprising housing means defining a chamber, a plurality of coin-controlled parking meter mechanisms in which coins are adapted to be deposited, said parking meter mechanisms being supported on said housing means, a single coin receptacle removably disposed in said chamber for receiving coins deposited in said mechanisms, said housing means being formed (a) with passages for guiding coins from said mechanisms to said receptacle and (b) with a side access opening to provide for the removal of said receptacle from said chamber, a lockable door hinglessly and removably mounted on said housing means for selectively closing said opening, and means securing said receptacle to said door and providing for limited pivotal and rectilinear motion of said door relative to said receptacle to enable said door to be manipulated for effecting locking engagement and disengagement of said door with respect to said housing means.

6. A parking meter assembly comprising housing means defining a chamber, a plurality of coin-controlled parking meter mechanisms in which coins are adapted to be deposited, said parking meter mechanisms being supported on said housing means, a single coin receptacle removably disposed in said chamber for receiving coins deposited in said mechanisms, said housing means being formed (a) with passages for guiding coins from said mechanisms to said receptacle and (b) with a side access opening to provide for the removal of said receptacle from said chamber, a lockable door hinglessly and removably mounted on said housing means for selectively closing said opening, and means securing said receptacle to said door and providing for limited pivotal and rectilinear motion of said door relative to said receptacle.

8. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said housing means comprises a hollow casing receiving said receptacle and having an open top and a cover mounted on said casing for covering said open top, said casing having opposed front and back walls and opposed side walls extending between said front and back walls, said parking meter mechanisms being supported on said cover and being disposed on opposite sides of a plane transversely intersecting said front and back walls, said passages being formed through said cover, and said access opening being formed through one of said side walls to provide for the removal of said receptacle laterally of said plane.

10. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 8 wherein said passages are on opposite sides of said plane, and wherein said receptacle has separate coin inlet openings respectively registering with said passages when said receptacle is positioned in said chamber.

12. The parking meter assembly defined in claim 8 wherein said door is secured to said receptacle to provide for the removal of said receptacle from said chamber by withdrawing it through said access opening upon removal of said door, wherein said casing is formed with a bottom wall, and wherein said receptacle rests on said bottom wall when it is disposed in said chamber to receive coins passing through said passages.

15. The coin-controlled parking meter assembly defined in claim 13 wherein the top of said receptacle is spaced below the upper edges of said upwardly extending walls, and wherein said cover has a depending portion disposed over said receptacle and extending into the space between the top of said receptacle and the upper edges of said upwardly extending walls.

17. The coin-controlled parking meter assembly defined in claim 15 comprising means extending through an opening in said liner and spanning the space between said depending portion and said one of said upwardly extending walls for limiting sideward movement of said liner in said casing.

18. A parking meter assembly comprising a hollow casing having an open top, said casing being formed with a bottom wall portion, first and second opposed wall portions extending upwardly from said bottom wall portion and third and fourth opposed wall portions extending between said first and second wall portions and upwardly from said bottom wall portions, a cover detachably mounted on said casing to cover said open top, a plurality of meter housing mounted on said cover for receiving deposited coins, a coin-controlled timing mechanism in each housing, coin discharge passage means in each housing, said cover having a through passage in registry with each coin discharge passage means to provide for the transfer of deposited coins to the interior of said casing, coin collection receptacle means in said casing for receiving coins entering said casing through each through passage, a first reinforcing liner removably trapped between said bottom wall portion and said cover and extending between said first wall portion and said receptacle means, and a second reinforcing liner removably trapped between said cover and said bottom wall portion and extending between said second wall portion and said receptacle means.