Rack for dispensing articles
First Claim
1. Apparatus for dispensing articles comprising:
- a substantially rectangular compartment having front, rear, bottom and opposed side walls;
at least one divider wall section extending longitudinally between said front and rear walls for dividing said compartment into a plurality of longitudinal channels;
a longitudinal slot in each of said channels extending through said bottom wall; and
pusher means movable longitudinally in each of said channels for urging articles within the respective one of said channels in a forward direction towards said front wall;
each said pusher means including an upper pusher body within the respective channel adapted to bear against a rearmost article in said channel and having a lower surface, a lower foot portion below said bottom wall having an upper surface spaced from said lower surface of said pusher body by a distance greater than a thickness of said bottom wall, a connecting element extending through the respective slot for connecting said pusher body and said foot portion and biasing means for urging said pusher means in said forward direction and acting above said lower surface thereof to tip said pusher body and thereby bring a rear portion only of said foot portion into substantially line contact with said bottom wall.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A rack for dispensing articles includes a compartment divided into longitudinal channels, each channel including a pusher for urging articles towards the front of the compartment. Each pusher rides along a longitudinal slot in the bottom wall of the compartment and has an upper pusher body within the compartment and a lower foot portion below the bottom wall. A biasing spring tips each pusher so that the foot portion makes contact with the bottom wall substantially along a line at the rear edge of the foot portion to prevent jamming or cocking of the pusher during motion along the slot. In order to easily fill the rack, the compartment is mounted on a base and is slidable forwardly of its normal position while at the same time all the pushers are held fixed relative to the base, thereby providing openings at the front of the channels to insert articles. A two step lock holds the compartment at its normal position on the base, but when the lock is manually actuated, the compartment becomes disengageable from the base and may thereafter be manually disengaged from the base.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. Apparatus for dispensing articles comprising:
- a substantially rectangular compartment having front, rear, bottom and opposed side walls;
at least one divider wall section extending longitudinally between said front and rear walls for dividing said compartment into a plurality of longitudinal channels; a longitudinal slot in each of said channels extending through said bottom wall; and pusher means movable longitudinally in each of said channels for urging articles within the respective one of said channels in a forward direction towards said front wall; each said pusher means including an upper pusher body within the respective channel adapted to bear against a rearmost article in said channel and having a lower surface, a lower foot portion below said bottom wall having an upper surface spaced from said lower surface of said pusher body by a distance greater than a thickness of said bottom wall, a connecting element extending through the respective slot for connecting said pusher body and said foot portion and biasing means for urging said pusher means in said forward direction and acting above said lower surface thereof to tip said pusher body and thereby bring a rear portion only of said foot portion into substantially line contact with said bottom wall. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
- a substantially rectangular compartment having front, rear, bottom and opposed side walls;
Specification