Dispensing mechanism for vending machines

In an article dispenser for dispensing articles from a vending machine, said article dispenser including an article storage area in which the articles are held in two vertically adjacent rows in a stacked disposition above a bottom opening through which the lowermost articles are dispensed and a dispensing mechanism to dispense the lowermost articles stacked in said storage area through said bottom opening, said dispensing mechanism including a rotatable shaft vertically extending within said storage area between the two vertically adjacent rows, a pair of flappers pivotably supported within said storage area adjacent to the lower end of said rotatable shaft to cover the bottom opening in said storage area and control plate means fixed on the lower end of said rotatable shaft in contact with the lower surface of said flappers for controlling the pivoting of each of said flappers upon rotation of said rotatable shaft to selectively open and close said flappers to dispense the lowermost stacked articles in the two vertically adjacent rows, the improvement comprising article holder means in said dispensing mechanism for holding all articles except the lowermost articles in both vertically adjacent rows of articles in a stacked disposition during the opening of said flappers by said control plate means so that only the lowermost stacked articles are dispensed through said bottom opening, said article holding means having two opposite holding surfaces adjacent the two vertically adjacent rows of articles to frictionally engage articles in both the vertically adjacent rows of articles.