Dispenser with features for enhanced maintainability

An dispenser for dispensing ice, said dispenser comprising:

• an ice bin for holding a quantity of ice;
• a mechanism for dispensing ice from within said bin to an outlet;
• a detector for determining the level of ice within said bin, said detector comprising:
• a control circuit;
• a plurality of optical emitter assemblies disposed upon a first interior side wall of said ice bin, each said optical emitter assembly comprising:
• an emitter housing, said emitter housing being dependently attached to said first interior side wall and in fixed electrical communication with said control circuit;
• an emitter body, said emitter body comprising an optical source;
• and
• wherein said emitter body is adapted for removable engagement with said emitter housing for establishing an electrical connection between said optical source and said control circuit;
• a plurality of optical receiver assemblies disposed upon a second interior side wall of said ice bin, each said optical receiver assembly comprising:
• a receiver housing, said receiver housing being dependently attached to said second interior side wall and in fixed electrical communication with said control circuit;
• a receiver body, said receiver body comprising an optical receiver;
• and
• wherein said receiver body is adapted for removable engagement with said receiver housing for establishing an electrical connection between said optical receiver and said control circuit;
• and
• wherein each said optical receiver assembly is adapted to receive an optical signal generated by one of said optical emitter assemblies.

A highly-maintainable dispenser for providing a product to the consuming public, said dispenser comprising:

• a lower unit having therein an ice bin;
• an upper unit atop said lower unit, said upper unit providing an interface for dispensing ice from said ice bin to the public;
• a conveyor having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet being located within said ice bin and said outlet being in communication with said interface;
• an ice distributor in a lower portion of said ice bin, said ice distributor being adapted to convey ice within said ice bin to said inlet;
• a drive motor operably associated with said ice distributor, said drive motor being located above said ice distributor;
• a shaft disposed between said drive motor and said ice distributor;
• and
• a bearing assembly coupled with the shaft, the bearing assembly providing several degrees of freedom to facilitate proper alignment between the shaft and the drive motor.