Staggered stack vending machine

Claim 1

AN ARTICLE DISPENSING MECHANISM COMPRISING: ARTICLE RECEIVING MAGAZINE STRUCTURE HAVING OPPOSED WALL SURFACES LOCATED IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP A DISTANCE GREATER THAN THE MAXIMUM EFFECTIVE DIAMETER OF EACH OF THE ARTICLES AND LESS THAN TWICE SAID DIAMETER WHEREBY A STACK OF ARTICLES IN THE STRUCTURE PRESENT A PAIR OF UPRIGHT COLUMNS OF ARTICLES IN RELATIVE OVERLAPPING, STAGGERED RELATIONSHIP; A PAIR OF RETAINERS ADJACENT THE LOWER PORTION OF THE STRUCTURE AND DISPOSED TO ALTERNATELY SUPPORT THE LOWERMOST ARTICLE OF SAID COLUMNS, EACH OF SAID RETAINERS BEING INDEPENDENTLY MOVABLE FROM AN ARTICLE SUPPORTING POSITION TO A LOCATION CLEARING THE ARTICLE SUPPORTED THEREBY FOR RELEASE FROM THE SAME; MEANS FOR RETURNING EACH OF THE RETAINERS TO SAID POSITIONS AFTER MOVEMENT OF THE SAME TO SAID LOCATIONS THEREOF; A LATCH MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ADJACENT THE RETAINERS AND HAVING LATCHING COMPONENTS THEREON SPACED AROUND THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE LATCH IN LOCATIONS CAUSING ONE OF THE COMPONENTS TO BE DISPOSED TO SUPPORT ONE OF THE RETAINERS WHILE THE OTHER COMPONENTS CLEAR THE OTHER RETAINER; AND DRIVING MEANS OPERABLE TO ROTATE SAID LATCH THROUGH AN INCREMENT TO MOVE A COMPONENT TO A LOCATION FOR SUPPORTING THE RETAINER PREVIOUSLY UNSUPPORTED BY A LATCHING COMPONENT AS SAID ONE COMPONENT IS MOVED OUT OF THE RETAINER SUPPORTING DISPOSITION THEREOF WHEREBY ARTICLES ARE ALTERNATELY DISPENSED FROM SAID COLUMNS IN RESPONSE TO ROTATION OF SAID LATCH THROUGH SUCCESSIVE INCREMENTS TO RELEASE ALTERNATE RETAINERS.