Coupon dispenser
First Claim
1. A coupon dispenser having a housing and a coupon hopper for holding a stack of coupons, comprising:
- a self contained source of power;
a motor powered by the power source;
coupon remover means coupled to the motor for actuation thereby and positioned to contact a first outer coupon of the coupon stack placed in the coupon hopper for removal of the first outer coupon;
means for movably mounting the coupon remover means relative to the coupon stack and with spring bias urging the coupon remover means towards the stack;
the spring bias providing a pressure between the coupon stack and the coupon remover means that is sufficient to enable smooth sliding removal of the first outer coupon of the coupon stack along a discharge path with low current drain on the DC source and without excessive fanning out of subsequent coupons behind the first outer coupon;
advancer means coupled to and driven by the coupon remover means for advancing the stack of coupons along a stack path towards the coupon remover means, said advancer means being releasably coupled to the coupon remover means so as to effectively disengage the advancer means from the coupon remover means when the stack of coupons is advanced against the coupon remover means with excessive pressure;
whereby the coupon remover means during operation by the motor is continually moved in and out of engagement with the advancer means to maintain a pressure between the coupon stack and the coupon remover means that enables a low range of powerconsumption on the power source in its powering of the motor for coupon removal.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A stand alone dispenser including an integral electrical power supply is provided for reliably dispensing individual sheets, such as coupons, from a stack. The dispenser comprises a clutch for preventing excessive pressure between the stack and a coupon remover to minimize current drain on the power supply. A stack advancer enables advancement of the stack, as necessary, whenever a coupon is dispensed through engagement by the clutch to the coupon remover. A control circuit includes delay and shutdown functions to limit excessive coupon removal, and a dispenser level indicator to discourage tampering or theft. The dispenser is mountable to store shelving or other point of purchase displays.
106 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A coupon dispenser having a housing and a coupon hopper for holding a stack of coupons, comprising:
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a self contained source of power; a motor powered by the power source; coupon remover means coupled to the motor for actuation thereby and positioned to contact a first outer coupon of the coupon stack placed in the coupon hopper for removal of the first outer coupon; means for movably mounting the coupon remover means relative to the coupon stack and with spring bias urging the coupon remover means towards the stack;
the spring bias providing a pressure between the coupon stack and the coupon remover means that is sufficient to enable smooth sliding removal of the first outer coupon of the coupon stack along a discharge path with low current drain on the DC source and without excessive fanning out of subsequent coupons behind the first outer coupon;advancer means coupled to and driven by the coupon remover means for advancing the stack of coupons along a stack path towards the coupon remover means, said advancer means being releasably coupled to the coupon remover means so as to effectively disengage the advancer means from the coupon remover means when the stack of coupons is advanced against the coupon remover means with excessive pressure; whereby the coupon remover means during operation by the motor is continually moved in and out of engagement with the advancer means to maintain a pressure between the coupon stack and the coupon remover means that enables a low range of power consumption on the power source in its powering of the motor for coupon removal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A coupon dispenser adapted to mount to a merchandise display shelf, comprising:
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a housing shaped to contain a desired number of coupons to be dispensed and having a hopper for storing a stack of coupons and further having coupon dispensing means and stack advancing means for moving the stack of coupons along a stack path to the coupon dispensing means; said stack advancing means including; a push plate positioned to contact the stack of coupons; a lead screw having a screw thread and mounted for rotation along the stack path; said push plate having a thread engaging element for releasably meshing with the screw thread of said lead screw to advance said push plate when said lead screw is rotated and retract the push plate for insertion of a coupon stack in the hopper; and coupling means responsive to actuation of the coupon dispensing means for rotating said lead screw to advance said push plate along the stack path towards the coupon dispensing means. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A coupon dispenser for use on a merchandise storage shelf, comprising:
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a hopper for storing a stack of coupons; control means interengaged with the hopper for removing coupons from the stack along a discharge path; a housing having a hopper portion for enclosing the stack of coupons and having a control portion for enclosing the control means; said hopper and control portions being hingedly connected to each other for access to the coupon hopper and the control means when one portion is hinged away from the other portion; said hopper and control portions having peripheral edges which are in closure with each other when the portions are joined and are shaped to define a coupon discharge slit at a frontal part of the housing; one of said portions having a guide wall facing the stack of coupons within the discharge path to receive a leading edge of a coupon being removed from the stack; said guide wall extending with a deflection angle towards the discharge slit such that leading edges of coupons removed from the stack of coupons impact on said guide wall for deflection thereby towards the discharge slit; said guide wall being provided near the discharge slit with a raised tab having a separating surface facing leading edges of coupons removed from the stack;
said separating surface having a more shallow deflection angle than that of the guide wall and terminating at a sharp separating tab edge to enhance separation of an outer coupon of the stack of coupons when a plurality of coupons are fanned from the coupon stack;the length of the tab edge being substantially less than the length of the leading edge of a coupon so as to reduce the power needed to move a coupon along the discharge path. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A sheet separator for removing a single sheet from a stack of sheets comprising:
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a take-off wheel positioned relative to the stack so as to dispense a sheet from a face of the stack along a dispensing path towards a discharge slit; means for advancing the stack toward the take-off wheel; a guide wall facing the dispensing path, said guide wall having a surface that is inclined at a deflection angle relative to the dispensing path so that leading edges of sheets are moved thereagainst with a top sheet of the stack being bent along the dispensing path while successive entrained sheets are impacted against the inclined surface of the guide wall so as to enable the top sheet to separate from successive sheets; and a raised tab located on the guide wall, said raised tab having a separating surface facing leading edges of coupons removed from the stack;
said separating tab terminating towards the discharge slit with a sharp separating tab edge so as to enhance separation of the top sheet of the stack of sheets when a plurality of sheets are entrained from the stack of sheets by the removal action of the take-off wheel. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A sheet dispenser having a housing and a sheet hopper for holding a stack of sheets, comprising:
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a self contained source of power; a motor powered by the power source; sheet remover means coupled to the motor for actuation thereby and positioned to contact a top sheet of the sheet stack placed in the sheet hopper for removal of the top sheet; means for movably mounting the sheet remover means relative to the coupon stack and with spring bias urging the sheet remover means towards the stack;
the spring bias providing a pressure between the sheet stack and the sheet remover means that is sufficient to enable smooth sliding removal of the top sheet of the sheet stack along a discharge path with low current drain on the source and without excessive fanning out of subsequent sheets behind the top sheet;advancer means coupled to and driven by the sheet remover means for advancing the stack of sheets along a stack path towards the sheet remover means, said advancer means being releasably coupled to the sheet remover means so as to effectively disengage the advancer means from the sheet remover means when the stack of sheets is advanced against the sheet remover means with excessive pressure; whereby the sheet remover means during operation by the motor is continually moved in and out of engagement with the advancer means to maintain a pressure between the sheet stack and the sheet remover means that enables a low range of power drain on the source in its powering of the motor for sheet removal. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A sheet dispenser, comprising:
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sheet hopper means for holding a stack of sheets; sheet remover means for dispensing sheets from one side of the stack, said sheet remover means being movably mounted so as to move way from the stack in response to pressure from the stack; stack advancer means for moving the stack of sheets towards said sheet remover means; a motor having a rotatable output shaft; means for coupling said output shaft to actuate the sheet remover means and for releasably coupling said output shaft to actuate the stack advancer means, said coupling means responsive to motion of the sheet remover means that is away from the stack for decoupling the stack advancer means from the motor output shaft. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification