US Patent 7424957 Front-loading display and dispensing apparatus

An improvement in an apparatus for displaying and dispensing merchandise in the form of packages arranged serially along a path of travel leading to a dispensing location at a point-of-purchase, the improvement utilizing a single spring member to establish a forward-directed biasing force urging the packages forward against a gate at the dispensing location, and to establish a rearward-directed biasing force on a pivotal connection for biasing the gate into the path of travel canted rearwardly at a steep acute angle to retain a forward-most package at the dispensing location. The gate can be pivoted selectively into a rearwardly canted position at a shallow acute angle to the path of travel for enabling restocking of serially arranged merchandise packages from the front of the apparatus by inserting packages through the dispensing location in a rearward direction.