Dispenser

• US 6,786,359 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 09/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Roy D. Schroeder
• Original Assignee: Roy D. Schroeder
• Inventors: Schroeder, Roy D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, Donald P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Schlak, Daniel K
• Application Number:
  US09/965,974
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: 221/222, 221/221, 221/258, 221/277, 221/297
• US Class Current: 221/222
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 43/44 from supply magazines
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2201/02 Articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 59/066 by means of rotary devices or endless elements
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 59/107 by means of rotary devices or endless elements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/10 with associated dispensing of containers, e.g. cups or other articles

Abstract

A dispenser is provided for dispensing objects including for example, container lids for beverages such as soft drinks, coffee, tea, and juice. For example, a coaxial stack of lids is loaded into a housing of the dispenser. Upon actuation of a the dispenser, the bottom-most lid in the stack of lids is delivered to a discharge area by passing the bottom-most lid through a nip point defined between a pair of oppositely rotating indexing shafts. Once the bottom-most lid is delivered to a discharge area, the indexing shafts are brought to rest.

Claims

1. A lid dispenser for sequentially dispensing flexible lids for beverage containers, the lid dispenser comprising:

a housing having a feeder access aperture therein;

a feeder area within said housing generally in register with said feeder access aperture;

a lid discharge area positioned underneath said lid feeder area;

at least one alignment surface within said housing arranged to direct and guide a substantially vertical stack of flexible lids for beverage containers positioned within said feeder area toward said lid discharge area;

a pair of grippers positioned within said housing between said feeder area and said lid discharge area arranged to flank at lest a bottom-most lid in said stack of lids,

a first pair of indexing shafts defining a first indexing shaft and a second indexing shaft, arranged within said housing, each one of said first pair of indexing shafts arranged to support an associated one of said pair of grippers;

a shaft driving device arranged to couple said first pair of indexing shafts such that when said dispensing device is activated, each indexing shaft rotates in an opposite direction; and

a dispensing device that extends from outside of said housing to within said housing and couple directly to at least one of said first indexing shaft, said second indexing shaft, and said shaft driving device, said dispensing device arranged such that manual operation thereof causes said first pair of indexing shafts to rotate so as to pass the bottom most one of the stack of lids positioned within said feeder area into said lid discharge area.

2. A lid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein, upon actuation of said dispensing device, each indexing shaft rotates a predetermined amount sufficient to pass the bottom-most lid in the stack of lids through the nip point and into said lid discharge area.

3. A lid dispenser according to claim 2, wherein said shaft driving device comprises at least two intermated gears, each gear axially coupled to an associated one of said pair of indexing shafts.

4. A lid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said lid grippers comprise at least one generally cylindrical and compliant feed roller sleeved over each one of said first pair of indexing shafts and defining a nip point between said first pair of indexing shafts.

5. A lid dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second pair of indexing shafts positioned above said first pair of indexing shafts and generally in register therewith; and

,

wherein each lid gripper comprise a belt arranged to couple a select one of said first pair of indexing shafts to an associated one of said pair of second indexing shafts generally thereabove, said belts arranged to frictionally grip at least one of the lids in the stack of lids.

6. A lid dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising a lid guide slot through a face of said housing in register with said feeder area, said slot dimensioned suitably to allow a user of said lid dispenser to access and make adjustments to said stack lids.

7. A lid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said lid discharge area is external to said housing and positioned generally under said feeder area such that when said dispensing device is activated, said first pair of indexing shafts gravitationally deliver the bottom-most lid in the stack of lids to said lid discharge area.

8. A lid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said alignment surface comprises a guide rod secured to said housing arranged about the perimeter of said feeder area.

9. A lid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said housing further comprises a lid advance slot therein, wherein said lever extends outside of said housing through said lid advance slot.

10. A lid dispenser according to claim 9, wherein said lever comprises a ratcheting lever arranged such that transitioning said ratcheting lever within said lid advance slot in a first direction causes rotation of said first pair of indexing shafts and rotation of said ratcheting lever in a second direction does not cause rotation of said first pair of indexing shafts.

11. A lid dispenser for sequentially dispensing flexible lids for beverage containers, the lid dispenser comprising:

a housing having a feeder access aperture therein;

a feeder area within said housing generally in register with said feeder access aperture;

a lid discharge area positioned underneath said lid feeder area;

at least one guide secured to said housing about the perimeter of said feeder area arranged to direct and guide a substantially vertical stack of flexible lids for beverage containers positioned within said feeder area toward said lid discharge area;

a first pair of indexing shafts defining a first indexing shaft and a second indexing shaft, arranged within said housing, a first one of said first pair of indexing shafts on a first side of said feeder area, and a second one of said first pair of indexing shafts on a second side of said feeder area opposite said first side of said feeder area;

a lid gripper coupled to each one of said first pair of indexing shafts, wherein said lid grippers are operationally configured to apply a frictional pressure against a rim portion of at least said bottom-most lid;

a drive shaft arranged within said housing generally parallel to said first pair of indexing shafts;

a rim around the perimeter of said drive shaft and each of said first pair of indexing shafts;

a looped continuous drive belt arranged so as to engage each rim and extend around said drive shaft and a select one of said first pair of indexing shafts and adjacent to the other one of said first pair of indexing shafts such that rotation of said drive shaft causes each indexing shaft to rotate in an opposite direction;

a dispensing device that extends from outside said housing to within said housing so as to couple directly to at least one of said first indexing shaft, said second indexing shaft, and said shaft driving device, said dispensing device operable to selectively cause said first pair of indexing shafts to rotate so as to pass the bottom most one of the stack of lids positioned within said feeder area into said lid discharge area.

12. A lid dispenser according to claim 11, wherein said lid grippers comprise at least one generally cylindrical and compliant feed roller sleeved over each one of said first pair of indexing shafts and defining a nip point between said first pair of indexing shafts.

13. A lid dispenser according to claim 11, further comprising:

a second pair of indexing shafts positioned above said first pair of indexing shafts and generally in register therewith; and

,

wherein each lid gripper comprise a belt arranged to couple a select one of said first pair of indexing shafts to an associated one of said pair of second indexing shafts generally thereabove, said belts arranged to frictionally grip at least one of the lids in the stack of lids.

14. A lid dispenser according to claim 11, further comprising a lid guide slot through a face of said lid dispenser in register with said feeder area, said slot dimensioned suitably to allow a user of said lid dispenser to access and make adjustments to said stack of lids.

15. A lid dispenser for sequentially dispensing flexible lids for beverage containers, the lid dispenser comprising:

a housing having a feeder access aperture therein;

a feeder area within said housing generally in register with said feeder access aperture;

a lid discharge area positioned underneath said lid feeder area;

at least one guide rod secured to said housing about the perimeter of said feeder area arranged to direct and guide a substantially vertical stack of flexible lids for beverage containers positioned within said feeder area toward said lid discharge area;

a first pair of indexing shafts arranged within said housing, a first one of said first pair of indexing shafts on a first side of said feeder area, and a second one of said first pair of indexing shafts on a second side of said feeder area opposite said first side of said feeder area;

at least one feed generally cylindrical and compliant roller sleeved over each one of said first pair of indexing shafts and defining a nip point between said first pair of indexing shafts, said feed rollers arranged to provide frictional support to the stack of lids positioned within said lid feeder area;

a shaft driving device arranged to couple said first pair of indexing shafts such that when said first one of said first pair of indexing shafts is brought to rotate, said second one of said first pair of indexing shafts is caused to rotate in a generally complimentary and opposite direction; and

,

a dispensing device coupled to a select one of said first pair of indexing shafts and said shaft driving device, said dispensing device manually operable to cause said first pair of indexing shafts to rotate a predetermined amount so as to pass the bottom most one of the stack of lids positioned within said feeder area through the nip point and into said lid discharge area.

16. A lid dispenser according to claim 15, wherein said shaft driving device comprises at least two intermated gears.

17. A lid dispenser according to claim 15, wherein said shaft driving device comprises:

a drive shaft arranged within said housing and coupled to said dispensing device;

a rim around the perimeter of said drive shaft and each of said first pair of indexing shafts; and

,

a drive belt engaging each rim such that rotation of said drive shaft causes each indexing shaft to rotate in a generally complimentary and opposite direction, wherein said dispensing device is arranged to selectively cause said first pair of indexing shafts to rotate by rotating said drive shaft.

18. A lid dispenser for sequentially dispensing flexible lids for beverage containers, the lid dispenser comprising:

a housing having a feeder access aperture therein;

a feeder area within said housing generally in register with said feeder access aperture;

a lid discharge area positioned underneath said lid feeder area;

at least one guide rod secured to said housing about the perimeter of said feeder area arranged to direct and guide a substantially vertical stack of flexible lids for beverage containers positioned within said feeder area toward said lid discharge area;

a first pair of indexing shafts journaled for rotation within said housing, a first one of said first pair of indexing shafts on a first side of said feeder area, and a second one of said first pair of indexing shafts on a second side of said feeder area opposite said first side of said feeder area;

a second pair of indexing shafts journaled for rotation within said housing such that a first one of said second pair of indexing shafts is positioned substantially vertically above and generally in register with said first one of said first pair of indexing shafts, and a second one of said second pair of indexing shafts is positioned substantially vertically above and generally in register with said second one of said first pair of indexing shafts;

a pair of belts, a first one of said pair of belts arranged to couple said first one of said first pair of indexing shafts to said first one of said second pair of indexing shafts, and a second one of said pair of belts arranged to couple said second one of said pair of indexing shafts to said second one of said second pair of indexing shafts, said pair of belts thus arranged to define two parallel and substantially vertical surfaces that frictionally grip at least one of the lids in the stack of lids;

a shaft driving device arranged to couple said first pair of indexing shafts such that when said first one of said first pair of indexing shafts is brought to rotate, said second one of said first pair of indexing shafts is caused to rotate in a generally complimentary and opposite direction; and

,

a dispensing device coupled to at least one of said first pair of indexing shafts and said shaft driving device, said dispensing device manually operable to selectively cause said first pair of indexing shafts to rotate so as to pass the bottom most one of the stack of lids positioned within said feeder area into said lid discharge area.

19. A lid dispenser according to claim 18, wherein said shaft driving device comprises at least two intermated gears.

20. A lid dispenser according to claim 18, wherein said shaft driving device comprises:

a drive shaft arranged within said housing and coupled to said dispensing device;

a rim around the perimeter of said drive shaft and each of said first pair of indexing shafts; and

,

a drive belt engaging each rim such that rotation of said drive shaft causes each indexing shaft to rotate in a generally complimentary and opposite direction, wherein said dispensing device is arranged to selectively cause said first pair of indexing shafts to rotate by rotating said drive shaft.

21. A method of dispensing flexible lids for beverage containers comprising:

providing a housing having a feeder access aperture therein;

installing a substantially vertical stack of flexible lids for beverage containers into said lid dispenser by positioning said stack of lids into said exposed feeder access aperture;

supporting said vertical stack of lids by frictionally gripping at least a bottom- most lid of a stack of lids in a nip point defined between a pair of grippers, each of said pair of grippers supported by an indexing shaft;

providing a shaft driving device coupled to each indexing shaft that is configured to selectively rotate each of said pair of grippers in opposite directions; and

manually activating a lever extending from outside of said housing, wherein said lever extends inside of said housing so as to couple directly to at least one of said first pair of indexing shafts and said shaft driving device to selectively rotate a lid through said nip point.