Patent ID: 7404501

Claim:
A vending machine comprising: a cabinet; a product storage zone arranged within the cabinet; a product support shelf arranged within the product storage zone, said product support shelf including a divider that defines, at least in part, a product queue; a dispensing chamber; an access opening provided in the cabinet leading to the dispensing chamber, said access opening enabling the removal of the selected product container delivered from the product queue to the dispensing chamber; a dispensing mechanism, provided at the product queue, for releasing a selected product container from the product queue toward the dispensing chamber; a door mounted for movement relative to the cabinet to provide selective access to the product storage zone in order to enable the replenishment of product containers in the product queue; and a product positioning mechanism including a spacer bar attached to the divider, said spacer bar being shiftable within the product queue relative to the divider, wherein said product positioning mechanism includes a biasing element urging the spacer bar away from the divider and into the product queue so as to automatically adjust the spacer bar to a width of a product container placed in the product queue, wherein at least a portion of the divider constitutes an open structure, a support member being positioned, at least in part, within the open structure wherein the open structure is formed from a plurality of wire elements that collectively define the divider, and wherein the support member includes a first end portion, a second end portion and an intermediate portion, at least one of the first and second end portions being provided with a clip element connected to the divider.