Cutlery Utensil Dispenser

• US 20110226797A1
• Filed: 03/15/2011
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GPCP IP Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Dixie Consumer Products LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Williquette, Matthew K. F., Durant, Brian M., Kilgore, Michael R., Reinsel, Christopher M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,295,344 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 221/97
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 1/10 having mechanical dispensing means , e.g. with buttons or handles
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 2001/103 for cutlery
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/22 Pushers actuated indirectly by hand, e.g. through cranks or levers

Abstract

A cutlery utensil dispenser has a housing that includes a first zone for holding a utensil to be dispensed, a second zone for receiving the utensil during dispensing, and a third zone for delivering the dispensed utensil to a user. The first, second and third zones are cooperatively configured and adapted to maintain, and present to the user, one end of the utensil ahead of an opposing end of the utensil during a dispensing operation.

Claims

1. A cutlery utensil dispenser, comprising:

a housing comprising a first zone for holding a utensil to be dispensed, a second zone for receiving the utensil during dispensing, and a third zone for delivering the dispensed utensil to a user;

the first, second and third zones being cooperatively configured and adapted to maintain, and present to the user, one end of the utensil ahead of an opposing end of the utensil during a dispensing operation.

2. The cutlery utensil dispenser of claim 1, wherein:

each of the first zone, the second zone and the third zone are adapted and configured to maintain a major axis of the utensil substantially parallel with a same plane;

the second zone being offset from the first zone in a first direction; and

the third zone being offset from the second zone in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

3. The cutlery dispenser of claim 1, wherein:

a next-in-line utensil to be dispensed passes in succession from the first zone to the second zone to the third zone during a dispensing operation.

4. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the third zone is adapted and configured to present a handle portion of the utensil to the user ahead of a utility portion of the utensil.

5. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the second zone comprises a ramp configured and disposed to dispense the utensil toward the third zone under the influence of gravity.

6. The dispenser of claim 1, further comprising:

a dispensing mechanism comprising a driving member operably coupled to a driven member, the driven member being operably disposed to dispense a next-in-line utensil upon actuation of the driving member.

7. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein:

the driving member comprises a manually actuatable handle;

the driven member comprises a crank comprising a crank arm coupled to the handle; and

in response to actuation of the handle, the crank is actuated via the crank arm to dispense the next-in-line utensil.

8. The dispenser of claim 7, wherein:

the handle comprises a cam surface;

the crank arm comprises a cam follower disposed in operable engagement with the cam surface;

the crank comprises at least one dispensing finger proximate the next-in-line utensil; and

in response to translation actuation of the handle, interaction between the cam surface and the cam follower causes rotation of the crank and dispensing engagement of the at least one finger with the next-in-line utensil.

9. The dispenser of claim 8, wherein:

the cam surface comprises a slot; and

the cam follower comprises a pin.

10. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein:

the driving member is biased toward a first position, a rest position, and is actuatable toward a second position to dispense the next-in-line utensil; and

in response to the driving member being disposed at its rest position, the driven member is disposed at its respective rest position.

11. The dispenser of claim 10, further comprising:

a spring disposed to bias the driving member toward its rest position; and

in response to the driving member being disposed at the second position, the spring biases the driving member toward its rest position and in response thereto, the driving member biases the driven member to its respective rest position.

12. The dispenser of claim 4, wherein:

the third zone comprises a dispensing tray comprising an end wall with an opening therethrough for receiving the handle portion of the dispensed utensil therein.

13. The dispenser of claim 4, wherein:

the third zone comprises a dispensing tray comprising a solid end wall for stopping the handle portion of the dispensed utensil.

14. The dispenser of claim 13, wherein:

the dispensing tray comprises a pocket floor being so configured and dimensioned as to allow a user'"'"'s fingers to extract a dispensed utensil from the tray without touching a surface of the tray floor supporting the dispensed utensil.

15. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein:

the dispensing mechanism comprises a motor in operable engagement with the driving member; and

a switch for actuating the motor in response to a demand for a utensil.

16. The dispenser of claim 15, wherein:

the switch comprises an infrared sensor.

17. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein:

the dispensing mechanism comprises a motor in operable engagement with the driving member; and

a switch for actuating the motor in response to an absence of a utensil in the third zone.

18. The dispenser of claim 17, wherein:

the switch comprises an infrared sensor.

19. The cutlery dispenser of claim 1, wherein:

the first zone and the second zone define a width of the housing that is equal to or less than three times the width of the utensil.