Sample strip and dispensing apparatus therefor
First Claim
1. A strip in combination with a dispenser, the dispenser including a dispensing tip and a pair of force-exerting members adapted to exert a force against said strip as said strip passes through the dispensing tip, said strip comprising a pair of side edges and dividing lines which extend across said strip from one of said side edges to the other of said side edges and which are spaced apart along the length of said strip such that said strip is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, each of said pieces containing a sample and including a nose section which has a size and shape selected such that said nose section is spaced from both of said side edges of said strip, a midsection which extends rearwardly from said nose section to a nose section of a trailing piece and which extends across said strip from one of said side edges to the other of said side edges,.and a tail section which includes a pair of legs extending rearwardly from said midsection to a midsection of the trailing piece, one of said legs being arranged adjacent to one of said side edges of said strip and the other of said legs being arranged adjacent to the other of said side edges of said strip such that said legs straddle the nose section of the trailing piece so as to present contact surfaces for the force-exerting members of the dispenser as the strip passes through the dispensing tip, whereby the force-exerting members do not exert any substantial force on the trailing piece until the midsection of the trailing piece reaches the force-exerting members at which time the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece along one of said dividing lines by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained substantially stationary due to the force exerted on the midsection thereof by the force-exerting members, and both of said legs having a length selected such that upon the separation of the leading piece from the trailing piece the nose section of the trailing piece, which now becomes a leading piece, projects outwardly from the dispensing tip a distance sufficient to permit it to be gripped by a user.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A sample strip is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion. The individual pieces are separated from each other as the strip is incrementally fed through a dispensing tip of a cartridge which controls the dispensing operation to insure that the samples are dispensed one at a time in a hygienic manner. The cartridge can be mounted in a display unit along with a plurality of similar cartridges.
85 Citations
59 Claims
- 1. A strip in combination with a dispenser, the dispenser including a dispensing tip and a pair of force-exerting members adapted to exert a force against said strip as said strip passes through the dispensing tip, said strip comprising a pair of side edges and dividing lines which extend across said strip from one of said side edges to the other of said side edges and which are spaced apart along the length of said strip such that said strip is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, each of said pieces containing a sample and including a nose section which has a size and shape selected such that said nose section is spaced from both of said side edges of said strip, a midsection which extends rearwardly from said nose section to a nose section of a trailing piece and which extends across said strip from one of said side edges to the other of said side edges,.and a tail section which includes a pair of legs extending rearwardly from said midsection to a midsection of the trailing piece, one of said legs being arranged adjacent to one of said side edges of said strip and the other of said legs being arranged adjacent to the other of said side edges of said strip such that said legs straddle the nose section of the trailing piece so as to present contact surfaces for the force-exerting members of the dispenser as the strip passes through the dispensing tip, whereby the force-exerting members do not exert any substantial force on the trailing piece until the midsection of the trailing piece reaches the force-exerting members at which time the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece along one of said dividing lines by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained substantially stationary due to the force exerted on the midsection thereof by the force-exerting members, and both of said legs having a length selected such that upon the separation of the leading piece from the trailing piece the nose section of the trailing piece, which now becomes a leading piece, projects outwardly from the dispensing tip a distance sufficient to permit it to be gripped by a user.
- 7. A dispenser for a strip which is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, said dispenser comprising a dispensing tip, having a passageway through which the strip passes during a dispensing operation, first exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against one marginal edge only of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the strip when the strip is flat, and second exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against an opposite marginal edge only of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the strip when the strip is flat, said first and second exerting means cooperating as a result of the compressive forces exerted thereby to create drag on a trailing piece of the strip which trailing piece is supplied to said dispensing tip as a result of the withdrawal from said dispensing tip of a leading piece of the strip which leading piece is connected to the trailing piece, such drag being greater than the tensile force required to separate the leading piece from the trailing piece, whereby the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained in said dispensing tip due to the drag which inhibits movement of the trailing piece as the leading piece is separated therefrom, but not so great as to prevent the trailing piece from being moved through and out of said passageway of said dispensing tip.
- 20. In combination, a strip which is provided in the form of a roll and a dispenser which includes a dispensing tip, first exerting means for exerting a force against one marginal edge of said strip as said strip is unwound from said roll and passes through said dispensing tip and second exerting means for exerting a force against an opposite marginal edge of said strip as said strip is unwound from said roll and passes through said dispensing tip, said strip including dividing lines which extend across said strip from said one marginal edge to said opposite marginal edge and which are spaced apart along the length of said strip such that said strip is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, each of said pieces including a nose section which has a size and shape selected such that said nose section is spaced from both of said marginal edges of said strip, a midsection which extends rearwardly from said nose section to a nose section of a trailing piece and which extends across said strip from said one marginal edge to said opposite marginal edge, and a tail section which includes a pair of legs extending rearwardly from said midsection to a midsection of the trailing piece, one of said legs being arranged adjacent to said one marginal edge of said strip and the other of said legs being arranged adjacent to said opposite marginal edge of said strip such that said legs straddle the nose section of the trailing piece so as to present contact surfaces for said first and second exerting means respectively as said strip passes through said dispensing tip, whereby said first and second exerting means do not exert any substantial force on the trailing piece until the midsection of the trailing piece reaches said first and second exerting means at which time the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece along one of said dividing lines by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained substantially stationary due to the force exerted on the midsection thereof by said first and second exerting means, and both of said legs having a length selected such that upon the separation of the leading piece from the trailing piece a nose section of the trailing piece, which now becomes a leading piece, projects outwardly from said dispensing tip a distance sufficient to permit it to be gripped by a user.
- 27. Apparatus for dispensing a sample strip roll which is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, comprising a housing and a plurality of cartridge-type dispensers, each of said dispensers including holding means for holding the sample strip roll such that the strip can be unwound therefrom, a dispensing tip, having a passageway through which the strip passes as it is unwound during a dispensing operation, first exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against one marginal edge only of an unwound portion of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the unwound portion of the strip when the unwound portion of the strip is flat and second exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against an opposite marginal edge only of the unwound portion of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the unwound portion of the strip when the unwound portion of the strip is flat, said first and second exerting means cooperating as a result of the compressive forces exerted thereby to create drag on a trailing piece of the unwound portion of the strip which trailing piece is supplied to said dispensing tip as a result of the withdrawal from said dispensing tip of a leading piece of the unwound portion of the strip which leading piece is connected to the trailing piece, such drag being greater than the tensile force required to separate the leading piece from the trailing piece, whereby the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained in said dispensing tip due to the drag which inhibits movement of the trailing piece as the leading piece is separated therefrom, but not so great as to prevent the trailing piece from being moved through and out of said passageway of said dispensing tip.
- 30. A dispenser for a strip which is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, said dispenser comprising a dispensing tip, having a passageway through which the strip passes during a dispensing operation, first exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against one marginal edge only of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to an imaginary line which is tangent to a longitudinal axis of the strip when the strip is curved, and second exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against an opposite marginal edge only of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to the imaginary line which is tangent to the longitudinal axis of the strip when the strip is curved, said first and second exerting means cooperating as a result of the compressive forces exerted thereby to create drag on a trailing piece of the strip which trailing piece is supplied to said dispensing tip as a result of the withdrawal from said dispensing tip of a leading piece of the strip which leading piece is connected to the trailing piece, such drag being greater than the tensile force required to separate the leading piece from the trailing piece, whereby the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained in said dispensing tip due to the drag which inhibits movement of the trailing piece as the leading piece is separated therefrom, but not so great as to prevent the trailing piece from being moved through and out of said passageway of said dispensing tip.
- 43. A dispenser for a strip which is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, said dispenser comprising a cartridge having a head, a body, a dispensing tip, having a passageway through which the strip passes during a dispensing operation, and exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against marginal portions only of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the strip when the strip is flat to thereby create drag on a trailing piece of the strip which trailing piece is supplied to said dispensing tip as a result of the withdrawal from said dispensing tip of a leading piece of the strip which leading piece is connected to the trailing piece, such drag being greater than the tensile force required to separate the leading piece from the trailing piece, whereby the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained in said dispensing tip due to the drag which inhibits movement of the trailing piece as the leading piece is separated therefrom, said exerting means including supporting means for supporting one surface of the strip and contacting means for contacting an opposite surface of the strip in the vicinity of the marginal portions thereof, said contacting means being yieldingly urged toward said supporting means, whereby said supporting means and said contacting means cooperate with each other to squeeze the strip therebetween, said supporting means including a runway provided on said body of said cartridge and said contacting means including a pair of fingers cantilevered from said head of said cartridge, each of said fingers having a free end which is yieldingly urged into contact with said runway, said free end of each of said fingers including a contact pad and severing means for severing the strip so as to provide its separation into individual pieces.
- 47. A dispenser for a strip which is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, said dispenser comprising a cartridge having a head, a body, a dispensing tip, having a passageway through which strip passes during a dispensing operation, and exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against marginal portions only of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to an imaginary line which is tangent to a longitudinal axis of the strip when the strip is curved to thereby create drag on a trailing piece of the strip which trailing piece is supplied to said dispensing tip as a result of the withdrawal from said dispensing tip of a leading piece of the strip which leading piece is connected to the trailing piece, such drag being greater than the tensile force required to separate the leading piece from the trailing piece, whereby the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained in said dispensing tip due to the drag which inhibits movement of the trailing piece as the leading piece is separated therefrom, said exerting means including supporting means for supporting one surface of the strip and contacting means for contacting an opposite surface of the strip in the vicinity of the marginal portions thereof, said contacting means being yieldingly urged toward said supporting means, whereby said supporting means and said contacting means cooperate with each other to squeeze the strip therebetween, said supporting means including a runway provided on said body of said cartridge and said contacting means including a pair of fingers cantilevered from said head of said cartridge, each of said fingers having a free end which is yieldingly urged into contact with said runway, said free end of each of said fingers including a contact pad and severing means for severing the strip so as to promote its separation into individual pieces.
- 51. A dispenser for a strip which is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, said dispenser comprising a cartridge having a head, a body, a dispensing tip, having a passageway through which the strip passes during a dispensing operation, and exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against marginal portions only of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the strip when the strip is flat to thereby create drag on a trailing piece of the strip which trailing piece is supplied to said dispensing tip as a result of the withdrawal from said dispensing tip of a leading piece of the strip which leading piece is connected to the trailing piece, such drag being greater than the tensile force required to separate the leading piece from the trailing piece, whereby the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained in said dispensing tip due to the drag which inhibits movement of the trailing piece as the leading piece is separated therefrom, said exerting means including supporting means for supporting one surface of the strip and contacting means for contacting an opposite surface of the strip in the vicinity of the marginal portions thereof, said contacting means being yieldingly urged toward said supporting means, whereby said supporting means and said contacting means cooperate with each other to squeeze the strip therebetween, said supporting means including a runway provided on said body of said cartridge and said contacting means including a pair of fingers cantilevered from said head of said cartridge, each of said fingers having a free end which is yieldingly urged into contact with said runway and having a natural resiliency which permits it to be deflected away from said runway in response to the feeding of the strip into said passageway to thereby permit the strip to pass through said dispensing tip.
- 54. A dispenser for a strip which is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, said dispenser comprising a cartridge having a head, a body, a dispensing tip, having a passageway through which the strip passes during a dispensing operation, and exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against marginal portions only of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to an imaginary line which is tangent to a longitudinal axis of the strip when the strip is curved to thereby create drag on a trailing piece of the strip which trailing piece is supplied to said dispensing tip as a result of the withdrawal from said dispensing tip of a leading piece of the strip which leading piece is connected to the trailing piece, such drag being greater than the tensile force required to separate the leading piece from the trailing piece, whereby the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained in said dispensing tip due to the drag which inhibits movement of the trailing piece as the leading piece is separated therefrom, said exerting means including supporting means for supporting one surface of the strip and contacting means for contacting an opposite surface of the strip in the vicinity of the marginal portions thereof, said contacting means being yieldingly urged toward said supporting means, whereby said supporting means and said contacting means cooperate with each other to squeeze the strip therebetween, said supporting means including a runway provided on said body of said cartridge and said contacting means including a pair of fingers cantilevered from said head of said cartridge, each of said fingers having a free end which is yieldingly urged into contact with said runway and having a natural resiliency which permits it to be deflected away from said runway in response to the feeding of the strip into said passageway to thereby permit the strip to pass through said dispensing tip.
- 57. Apparatus for dispensing a sample strip roll which is divided into a plurality of individual pieces arranged seriatim and connected in end-to-end fashion, comprising a housing and a plurality of cartridge-type dispensers, each of said dispensers including holding means for holding the sample strip roll such that the strip can be unwound therefrom, a dispensing tip, having a passageway through which the strip passes as it is unwound during a dispensing operation, first exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against one marginal edge only of an unwound portion of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to an imaginary line which is tangent to a longitudinal axis of the unwound portion of the strip when the unwound portion of the strip is curved, and second exerting means for constantly exerting a compressive force against an opposite marginal edge only of the unwound portion of the strip in a direction generally perpendicular to the imaginary line which is tangent to the longitudinal axis of the unwound portion of the strip when the unwound portion of the strip is curved, said first and second exerting means cooperating as a result of the compressive forces exerted thereby to create drag on the trailing piece of the unwound portion of the strip which trailing piece is supplied to said dispensing tip as a result of the withdrawal from said dispensing tip of a leading piece of the unwound portion of the strip which leading piece is connected to the trailing piece, such drag being greater than the tensile force required to separate the leading piece from the trailing piece, whereby the leading piece can be separated from the trailing piece by pulling on the leading piece as the trailing piece is maintained in said dispensing tip due to the drag which inhibits movement of the trailing piece as the leading piece is separated therefrom, but not so great as to prevent the trailing piece from being moved through and out of said passageway of said dispensing tip.
Specification