Patent ID: 8534494

Claim:
A vending machine comprising: a cabinet; a plurality of product support shelves arranged in the cabinet, each of said plurality of product support shelves includes a plurality of dividers that establish multiple product queues on each of the plurality of shelves; a product dispensing zone provided in the cabinet, said product dispensing zone providing access to a selected product container following a vending operation; a door pivotally mounted to the cabinet for selectively providing access to the plurality of product support shelves; a product transport system provided in the cabinet, said product transport system including a product delivery device for selectively delivering a selected product container from one of the plurality of product queues toward the product dispensing zone; a motor operatively connected to the product delivery device, said motor selectively positioning the product delivery device adjacent one of the plurality of product queues; and a product detection system operatively connected to the motor, said product detection system sensing a presence of a selected product at the product delivery device through movement of the motor resulting from the selected product being transferred from the one of the plurality of product queues.