Hinged front gate assembly for a product vending machine

A vending machine comprising:

• a cabinet frame including top, bottom, rear and opposing side walls that collectively define a central cavity;
• a plurality of column walls defining a plurality of stack areas for receiving and storing product containers;
• a door pivotally mounted to the cabinet frame, said door being adapted to selectively close the central cavity;
• and
• a front gate assembly pivotally mounted relative to the column walls, said front gate assembly including a plurality of retainer elements operatively connected to the column walls through a plurality of hinge units, said hinge units establishing a swing radius enabling the plurality of retainer elements to travel along an arcuate path from a first, product retention position to a second, product loading position wherein, in said first position, the plurality of retainer elements extend longitudinally between respective ones of said plurality of column walls to retain product containers in the stack areas and, in said second position, said plurality of retainer elements are generally aligned with respective ones of the column walls thereby enabling product containers to be readily loaded into the plurality of stack areas.