SKEWER FOR LOADING CUTLERY
First Claim
1. A skewer system for loading a stack of cutlery into a cutlery dispenser comprising:
- a) a stack of pieces of cutlery, the stack comprising a top, a bottom, a height extending from the top to the bottom, a front side, a rear side, a width extending from the front side to the rear side, a left side, a right side, and a length extending from the left side to the right side, and further wherein each piece of cutlery comprises a top, a bottom, a height from the top to the bottom and generally parallel to the stack height, a front side, a rear side, a width extending from the front side to the rear side and generally parallel to the stack width, an eating portion, a handle extending from the eating portion, the handle comprising a handle end and a hole extending from the cutlery piece top to the cutlery piece bottom;
b) a skewer removably attached to the stack and comprising;
i) a vertical shaft comprising a vertical shaft top, a vertical shaft bottom, and a vertical shaft height extending from the vertical shaft top to the vertical shaft bottom and generally parallel to the stack height, the vertical shaft positioned through the holes in the cutlery pieces; and
ii) a front tab having a front tab top located above the top of the stack, a front tab bottom located below the bottom of the stack, and a height extending from the front tab top to the front bottom, the front tab configured to pivot between a locked position in which the front tab height is oriented generally parallel to the shaft height and an unlocked position in which the front tab height is not parallel to the shaft height.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A skewer for loading stacks of plastic cutlery into dispensers is described. The skewer includes a vertical shaft that protrudes through holes in the stacked cutlery pieces and a front tab that may be removably attached to the vertical shaft. In some embodiments, the front tab is rotatable relative to the vertical shaft. The front tab may have a locked position in which the front tab is fixed to the vertical shaft and extends along the height of the stack and an unlocked position in which the front tab is disengaged from the vertical shaft and rotates forwardly relative to the stack and the vertical shaft to allow the user to remove the skewer after loading the stack into a dispenser.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A skewer system for loading a stack of cutlery into a cutlery dispenser comprising:
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a) a stack of pieces of cutlery, the stack comprising a top, a bottom, a height extending from the top to the bottom, a front side, a rear side, a width extending from the front side to the rear side, a left side, a right side, and a length extending from the left side to the right side, and further wherein each piece of cutlery comprises a top, a bottom, a height from the top to the bottom and generally parallel to the stack height, a front side, a rear side, a width extending from the front side to the rear side and generally parallel to the stack width, an eating portion, a handle extending from the eating portion, the handle comprising a handle end and a hole extending from the cutlery piece top to the cutlery piece bottom; b) a skewer removably attached to the stack and comprising; i) a vertical shaft comprising a vertical shaft top, a vertical shaft bottom, and a vertical shaft height extending from the vertical shaft top to the vertical shaft bottom and generally parallel to the stack height, the vertical shaft positioned through the holes in the cutlery pieces; and ii) a front tab having a front tab top located above the top of the stack, a front tab bottom located below the bottom of the stack, and a height extending from the front tab top to the front bottom, the front tab configured to pivot between a locked position in which the front tab height is oriented generally parallel to the shaft height and an unlocked position in which the front tab height is not parallel to the shaft height. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification