Patent ID: 7032776

Claim:
A vending machine, comprising: a housing; a dispensing assembly comprising a dispenser for holding and dispensing a product, the dispenser having an open side and being rotatably mounted substantially horizontally within the housing and rotatable about an axis; a product chute for receiving the product when dispensed by the dispenser; a reversible motor coupled to the dispenser for rotating the dispenser about the axis; and a controller electrically coupled to the motor for rotating the dispenser from a first position, wherein the open side is substantially unexposed to the product chute and the dispenser holds the product, to a second position, wherein the open side is exposed to the product chute and the dispenser dispenses the product, to a third position that is substantially the same as the first position, wherein the controller monitors the current drawn by the motor and causes the motor to reverse its rotation direction when the detected current exceeds a predetermined amount for a predetermined time.