Confection dispenser

July 31, 1956

2,756,902

H. BECKER

CONFECTION DISPENSER

Filed April 25, 1954

Sheets-Sheet 1

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INVENTOR.

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BY * V Attorntyt

July 31, 1956

H. BECKER

2,756,902

CONFECTION DISPENSER

Filed April 26, 1954

Sheets-Sheet 2

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July 31, 1956

H. BECKER

2,756,902

CONFECTION DISPENSER

Filed April 26, 1954

Sheets-Sheet 3

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λ’ζ'Τ 22222;

2,756,902

Patented July 31, 1956

United States Patent Office

2,756,902 _

CONFECTION DISPENSER Henry Becker, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application April 26,1954, Serial No. 425,509

Claims. (Cl. 221—202)

My invention relates to improvements in dispensers for 15 domestic use especially, although not necessarily.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a portable dispenser for confections at card, and beach parties, and the like, and on bedroom night stands and which is especially designed for easy quick operation by 20 one hand to dispense the larger sizes of candies one at a time without jamming and which will maintain a quantity of such confections in sanitary condition.

Another object is to provide a dispenser for the above purposes which is simple in construction, adapted for 25 manufacture at a low cost and not liable to get out of order from prolonged use.

Other and subordinate objects together with the precise nature of my improvements will become readily apparent when the following description and claims are read with 30 reference to the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation of a preferred embodiment of my inven- 35 tion with the parts shown in normal position;

Figure 2 is a similar view illustrating the parts in dispensing position;

Figure 3 is a view in horizontal section taken on the line 3—3 of Figure 1; ⁴⁰

Figure 4 is a view in horizontal section taken on the line 4—4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view in vertical section taken on the line 5—5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical 45 section taken on the line 6—6 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective of the dispensing chute;

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective partly in section of a first modified embodiment of 50 my invention;

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective partly in section of a second modified embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 10 is still another enlarged fragmentary view in 55 perspective partly in section of a third modified embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, and first to Figures 1 to 7 in the preferred embodiment, my improved dispenser comprises a substantially tubular bottom sec- go tion 1 forming a housing, for a purpose presently seen, and formed with a raised internal circumferential flange 3, an upper front rectangular vertical discharge opening 5, a gravity feed hopper 7 in said upper portion, and an annular rim groove 9 surrounding the top of the hopper. 35 The bottom section 1 is provided with an undercut front portion 11 forming a horizontal ledge 13 at the bottom of the discharge opening 5. Also, said bottom section 1 is formed at the top of said opening 5 with a forwardly and downwardly curved arcuate deflector plate 15, the ?θ purpose of which will presently appear, and with an enlarged base end 4.

The hopper 7 is formed with a T-shaped discharge opening 17 in its bottom and front side in the rear of discharge opening 5, the discharge opening having a reduced rear horizontal portion 19 back of the ledge 13 and opening 5. A pair of laterally spaced and stepped vertical side walls 21 depend from opposite sides of the opening 17 and form between said openings 5,17 a horizontally T-shaped throat 23 below opening 17 corresponding in shape to said opening 17.

A vertically rocking ejector scoop 25 working in the throat 23 and opening 5 is provided in the throat 23. The scoop 25 is pivoted intermediate its ends and adjacent its bottom to the side walls 21, as at 27, and is T-shaped in plan to fit in the throat 23 and is overbalanced rearwardly of its pivot 27 to normally rest on the ledge 13 in normal position with its bottom 29 in the bottom of throat 23. The T shape of the scoop 25 imparts to the same a narrow rear portion 31 working in the narrow portion 19 of throat 23 and a wide front portion 33 working in said throat 23 forwardly of narrow portion 19 and which projects out of discharge opening 5 and forwardly of ledge 13 and is provided with arcuate upstanding sides 35 concentric to pivot 27. In the normal rest position of the scoop 25, it is closed at its front end by the deflector plate 15 which is concentric to the pivot 27 and the sides 35 of said scoop. The rear portion 31 of the scoop 25 is vertically elongated and provided with a rear face 37 concentric to pivot 27 to work in and close the rear end of throat 23.

A U-shaped thumb piece 39 straddles the sides 35 of the scoop 25 and the deflector plate 15 and is attached to said sides 35 or formed integrally therewith for use in rocking the scoop 25 into ejecting position.

A coil spring 41 in the section 1 has its ends connected to the bottom of said scoop and to the beforementioned flange 3, as at 43, 45, to yieldingly urge said scoop 25 into normal rest position. A transparent tubular container 47 surmounts the hopper 7 and is formed with a reduced shouldered bottom end 49 seating in the groove 9 so that said container is detachably attached to said hopper.

A suitable removable cap 51 closes the upper end of the container 47.

At the rear of the discharge opening 5, a depending sealing lip 53 extends across and above the scoop 25 and is provided with an upwardly opening groove 55. The beforementioned thumb piece 39 fits in the opening 5 and against said lip 53 in the rest position of said scoop 25 to seal said opening.

A resilient member 57 of inverted U-shape in crosssection is fixed at one side 59 in said groove 55, member 57 having a comb toothed opposite depending side 61 extending transversely above the scoop in the opening 17 of the hopper 7. The purpose of the member 57 will presently be explained. Lip 53 and member 57 are within the hopper 7.

In operating the described embodiment of the dispenser, the container 47 and hopper 7 are filled with the confections to feed into the scoop 25. The scoop 25 is rocked clockwise as shown in full lines in Figure 2 and in broken lines in Figure 6 until its bottom 29 engage^ the comb toothed side 61 of said member 57. In thus rocking the scoop 25, the fingers of a hand are inserted beneath the ledge 13 and downward pressure is exerted by the thumb of the hand on the thumb piece 39. When the bottom 29 of scoop 25 engages said comb toothed side 61 of member 57, the scoop lies in a downwardly and forwardly tilted position so that its front end is below the deflector plate 15 and, as best shown in broken lines in Figure 6, the scoop is thus opened at its front end to eject by gravity a confection out of said end. Upon release of said thumb piece 39, the scoop will return to

2,756,902 normal rest position. When the scoop 25 is being rocked into ejecting position as described, its rear end portion 31 rocks upwardly through the throat 23 to prevent confections from entering the scoop during the ejecting operation. The comb toothed side 61 of member 57 engages 5 the bottom 29 of scoop 25 at the rear end portion 31 of the scoop to cushion rocking of said scoop into ejecting position so that said member 57 functions as a jam preventing means for said scoop and closes said scoop in the rear of the discharge opening 5 to prevent con- 10 fections from being shoved by the fingers back into said hopper.

In the first modified embodiment shown in Figure 8, a jam preventing member 63 for the scoop 65 is provided like member 57 except that member 63 is formed integral- 15 ly with the front part of the hopper 67.

In the modified embodiment shown in Figure 9, the jam preventing member 69 is the same as in the first modified embodiment. The scoop 83 is provided with an upstanding rear wall 73. A resilient false bottom 20 plate 75 of rectangular shape has a downturned front end 77 attached in a transverse groove 79 in the bottom 81 of the scoop 83 and resilient rear end fingers 85 inclining upwardly and engaged under a transverse terminal flange 87 on said wall, said fingers coacting with the jam 25 preventing means 69 when the scoop 83 is rocked into ejecting position to cushion such rocking of the scoop. Also, in this embodiment, the throat 89 and scoop 83 are of uniform width.

In the modified embodiment shown in Figure 10, the 80 jam preventing member is an arcuate plate 91 depending from a hinge 93 on the hopper 95 and is backed by a coil spring 97 interposed between said plate and hopper.

The foregoing will, it is believed, suffice to impart a clear understanding of my invention. 35

Manifestly, the invention is susceptible to modification and right is herein reserved to such modifications as fall within the scope of the invention as herein disclosed.