Card storage and dispensing device

• US 4,045,102 A
• Filed: 03/24/1976
• Issued: 08/30/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Walter H. Austin
• Original Assignee: Walter H. Austin
• Inventors: Austin, Walter H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nunberg, Casmir A.
• Application Number:
  US05/669,830
• Time in Patent Office: 524 Days
• Field of Search: 206/39.5, 206/39.6, 206/438, 312/35, 312/61, 312/71, 221/232, 221/245, 221/259, 221/268, 221/270, 221/279, 271/61 TR, 271/61 CS, 211/49 D
• US Class Current: 312/61
• CPC Class Codes: B42F 7/14 Boxes box features in general B65D

Abstract

A card storage and dispensing device for business cards comprises a cabinet, having a lower storage drawer with front and back triangular reinforcing pieces, provides open, center sides for finger engagement with the edges of cards. The cabinet rear wall is vertically adjustable toward and away from the cabinet front wall, providing therebetween an adjustable discharge slot for dispensing cards therethrough of varying thicknesses and one at a time. A forward portion of the top wall has a depending ledge preventing discharge of cards rearwardly therepast. A first removable bottom wall is supported by cabinet, side wall ledges, a spring one such wall resiliently urges a second removable wall, and cards thereon, upwardly and into frictional engagement with the bottom of the cabinet top wall. The bottom of such second wall carries a depending ledge engaging and removing the spring with its removal. The first and second walls and the spring are accessible through a slidingly mounted and removable upper cabinet door. A tiltable card-engaging finger is mounted for reciprocating movement on the cabinet top wall through a slot therein. This finger engages and discharges a card during its discharge motion and slides over the top card on its retractile movement. The underside advancing edge portion of the finger has a surface enhancing card engagement portion.

Claims

1. A card storage and dispensing device comprising a cabinet having vertically disposed side walls, a vertically disposed front wall, a vertically disposed rear wall, a horizontally disposed bottom wall means, and a horizontally disposed top wall, said walls forming a card enclosure for receiving a stack of cards to be dispensed, one at a time, the upper edge of said rear wall being spaced below and in close spaced relation to the bottom surfce of said top wall providing a discharge slot therebetween through which a single card may be dispensed, said top wall having a central, longitudinally disposed, dispenser guide slot therein;

a slide guide means mounted on said guide slot; and

a finger actuated, card-engaging member mounted for sliding traveling movement in said slide guide means to engage the surface of the top card of a stack of cards in one direction of its travel and to slide over said top card in its other direction of travel, said card-engaging member comprising a slide member mounted on said slide guide means, a tiltable finger-engaging piece having a lower end portion movable into and out of engagement with the upper surface of the topmost card of said stack of cards in said card enclosure, and pivot means carried by said slide member and positioned crosswise of the dispenser guide slot.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said bottom wall means comprises spaced apart ledge means carried by said side walls, a first bottom wall supported by and slidingly mounted on said ledge means, a second bottom wall means on which the stack of cards may be positioned and compression coil spring means supported by said first bottom wall and resiliently urging upwardly said second bottom wall and cards supported thereby, into frictional engagement with the bottom surface of the top wall.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein a base is provided for said side walls, rear walls, and bottom wall means and is provided with a storage compartment having a card storage drawer therein, said drawer comprising front, bottom and rear walls, two triangular pieces connecting the front wall to the bottom wall and two triangular pieces connecting the rear wall to the bottom wall, permitting cards to be picked up by their center side portions for insertion and removal from said drawer.

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein the front wall also comprises the front of said drawer.

5. The combination of claim 1, wherein said lower end portion of the finger-engagable piece is formed of rubber.

6. The combination of claim 1, wherein the rear wall of the cabinet is detachably connected with the side walls and is adjustable mounted relative to the top wall providing for adjustment of said discharge slot through which single cards of different thicknesses may be dispensed.

7. The combination of claim 2, wherein said second bottom wall means has a depending arcuate ridge to engage the top of the coil spring when the second bottom wall is slidingly removed.

8. The combination claim 1, wherein the top wall carries a depending ledge preventing discharge of said card in a direction toward the rear end vertical wall.