Abstract: A dispensing machine having a cabinet; an endless, upright conveyor mounted within the cabinet and having an elliptical-type shape with opposed vertical stretches; a dispensing station formed on a housing for the cabinet and disposed adjacent one of the vertical stretches of the conveyor; a plurality of product carriers each of which has support devices formed on opposite ends thereof; a plurality of arms, each arm mounting a carrier on the conveyor and enabling movement of the carriers in succession past the station; a stabilizer unit rotatably connected to each mounting arm and having a follower, the stabilizer unit adapted to receive the support devices; and a pair of horizontally offset elliptical-type guidepaths with vertical stretches extended parallel the vertical stretches of the conveyor. The dispensing machine comprises further a carrier sensing device mounted on the cabinet for interacting with a cost identification unit mounted on each carrier.

Abstract: A vending machine (20) comprises a housing (21) and a pair of product vending shelf units (24, 26) mounted within the housing (21) in vertically stacked relation. Each shelf unit has a front end higher than the rear end thereof. A product selection mechanism (29) is mounted within the housing (21) for actuation of each of the shelf units (24,26) to vend a product (90) forwardly therefrom in response to a customer selection. An anti-theft product delivery drawer assembly (31) is mounted below the lower shelf (26) within the housing (21) and receives the vended product in an inner stored position, and exposes the product for retrieval by the customer upon the customer pulling the drawer outwardly, a drawer cover plate (153) slidable outwardly over the drawer (151) as the drawer is pulled outwardly for preventing access to the interior of the vending machine.