SKEWER FOR LOADING CUTLERY
First Claim
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1. A skewer system for loading a stack of cutlery pieces 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 non-circular hole extending from the cutlery piece top to the cutlery piece bottom; and
b) a skewer removably attached to the stack and comprising a vertical shaft comprising a vertical shaft top located above the stack top, a vertical shaft bottom located below the stack bottom, a vertical shaft height extending from the vertical shaft top to the vertical shaft bottom and generally parallel to the stack height, and a vertical shaft flange located adjacent to the vertical shaft bottom and located below the stack bottom, the vertical shaft positioned through the non-circular holes of the cutlery pieces, the vertical shaft rotatable relative to the stack of cutlery pieces along a rotation axis generally parallel to the stack height, wherein the vertical shaft is configured to rotate about the rotation axis between a locked position in which the vertical shaft flange is unable to pass through the non-circular hole in the cutlery pieces and an unlocked position in which the vertical shaft flange is able to pass through the non-circular hole in the cutlery pieces.
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Abstract
A lockable skewer for loading stacks of plastic cutlery into dispensers is described. The skewer comprises a vertical shaft that passes through holes in the cutlery. The vertical shaft includes a flange located below the bottom of the stack. The vertical shaft is configured to rotate between an unlocked position in which the flange is configured to pass through the holes in the cutlery pieces and a locked position in which the flange is not configured to pass through the holes in the cutlery pieces.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A skewer system for loading a stack of cutlery pieces 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 non-circular hole extending from the cutlery piece top to the cutlery piece bottom; and b) a skewer removably attached to the stack and comprising a vertical shaft comprising a vertical shaft top located above the stack top, a vertical shaft bottom located below the stack bottom, a vertical shaft height extending from the vertical shaft top to the vertical shaft bottom and generally parallel to the stack height, and a vertical shaft flange located adjacent to the vertical shaft bottom and located below the stack bottom, the vertical shaft positioned through the non-circular holes of the cutlery pieces, the vertical shaft rotatable relative to the stack of cutlery pieces along a rotation axis generally parallel to the stack height, wherein the vertical shaft is configured to rotate about the rotation axis between a locked position in which the vertical shaft flange is unable to pass through the non-circular hole in the cutlery pieces and an unlocked position in which the vertical shaft flange is able to pass through the non-circular hole in the cutlery pieces. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification