SELF-ADJUSTING CUP DISPENSER AND METHOD

• US 3,862,702 A
• Filed: 01/21/1974
• Issued: 01/28/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: James River-Norwalk Incorporated (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Anthony Rosario Marchiano, Donald Owen Johnson
• Inventors: Johnson, Donald Owen, Marchiano, Anthony Rosario
• Primary Examiner(s): Tollberg, Stanley H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bartuska, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US05/434,945
• Time in Patent Office: 372 Days
• Field of Search: 221/1,221,222,241,262,297 214/8.5A,8.5H,8.5K
• US Class Current: 221/1
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 59/108 the axis of rotation being substantially parallel to the axis of the stack

Abstract

Improved self-adjusting cup dispenser and method of dispensing a stack of cups having curled rims employing biasing means for biasing worm dispensers radially inward toward a dispenser throat, and cam means for automatically momentarily and simultaneously camming the worm dispensers radially outward once each revolution to allow them to accept and dispense cups whose diameters vary outside of manufacturer'"'"''"'"'s tolerance range for a stack of cups of a certain designated size.

Claims

1. An improved dispenser for dispensing a nested stack of cups having tapered side walls and curled rims, the dispenser being of the type which includes frame means having an opening therein defining a dispenser throat for receiving the nested stack of cups, an annular series of rotary dispensing worms respectively fixedly mounted on rotary shafts and positioned adjacent the frame throat, the dispensing worms having about their respective peripheries, a flat-topped knife-edge portion which gradually thickens into circumscribing worm and groove formations for separating the lowermost cup from the stack and passing the separated cup downwardly through the groove and dispensing it, and drive means including gear means for driving the worm shafts and dispensing worms in timed cooperative relationship, the improvement which comprises:

cam means including rotary cams and a cam ring mounted on the frame means, the rotary cams being mounted on the rotary shafts and driven by the gear means in tiime with the dispensing worms and cooperative with the cam ring to automatically momentarily and simultaneously move each dispensing worm radially outward from the frame throat once for each revolution of the dispensing worms and thereby allow them to self-adjust to serially accept and dispense each cup from a stack though the diameters of some cups are outside manufacturer'"'"''"'"'s diameter tolerance range for the cup designated size of the stack, biasing means for biasing the rotary shafts, dispensing worms and rotary cam means radially inward so that the rotary cam means are cooperative with the cam ring and the gear means including connecting means for allowing each dispensing worm to move substantially radially to independently adjust to the cup and brim diameter variances to maintain working contact with the cups while maintaining the timed cooperative relationship between the dispensing worms and the rotary cam means.

2. The improved dispenser of claim 1 wherein the rotary cams have lobes thereon and the cam ring includes an annular skirt, each rotary cam being mounted on one of the rotary shafts such that each cam lobe simultaneously cyclically engages a portion of the cam ring skirt and simultaneously momentarily moves its rotary shaft substantially radially outward.

3. The improved dispenser of claim 1 wherein the annular cam ring has a depending rigid skirt whose interior wall surface defines the dispenser throat and whose exterior wall surface is abuttingly engaged by the rotary cam lobe.

4. The improved dispenser of claim 3 wherein the frame means include a cylindrical tube for holding the stack of nested cups, and the annular cam ring is affixed to the outside of the tube.

5. The improved dispenser of claim 1 wherein the biasing means is a garter spring which embraces the cam means.

6. The improved dispenser of claim 3 wherein the biasing means is a garter spring which embraces the cam means.

7. An improved method of dispensing a stack of nested cups having curled rims, the method being of the type which includes the steps of:

providing frame means having an opening which defines a throat therein, providing an annular series of shaft-mounted rotary dispensing worms positioned adjacent the frame throat, providing drive means including gear means for driving the dispensing worms in timed coOperative relationship, placing a vertical stack of nested cups within the frame throat, and rotating the inwardly biased dispensing worms, the improvement which comprises;

biasing the dispensing worms radially inward toward the throat, automatically momentarily and simultaneously camming each dispensing worm substantially radially outward once each revolution thereof to increase the distance between the dispensing worms to allow them to self-adjust, accept and dispense all cups from a stack though the diameters of some cups are outside manufacturer'"'"''"'"'s diameter tolerance range for the designated cup size of the stack.