Apparatus for agitating ice cream in an ice cream vending machine

An apparatus for agitating ice cream in an ice cream vending machine, comprising:

• a screw member rotatably disposed adjacent an inner lower side of a canister;
• a worm wheel disposed in engaging contact with the screw member, and rotatably driven by the rotational movement of the screw member;
• a first agitating member disposed such that a lower end thereof contacts the worm wheel, the first agitating member being resiliently vibrated upward and downward by being driven by rotational movement of the worm wheel, thereby agitating ice cream particles in the lower portion of the canister;
• an agitating motor;
• and
• a second rotatable agitating member rotatably disposed in the inner upper side of the canister at a predetermined distance from the agitating member, the second rotatable agitating member being rotatably driven by the agitating motor, for agitating ice cream particles in the upper portion of the canister.