Nova Patents
US3028014A

Dispensing apparatus

Abstract

This record has no abstract on file.

US3028014A, drawing sheet 1
Sheet 1 of 6

Term

Term ended

Expired 3 April 1979, 47.5 years ago.

  1. Priority and filed
  2. Granted
  3. Expired
  4. Today

2 claims: 2 independent, 0 dependent

  1. 1
    I claim:In a dispensing apparatus for containers, a framework including a pair of spaced parallel vertically disposed side walls and spaced parallel vertically disposed front and rear end walls connected to said side walls and extending at right angles to the side walls, said framework also including a horizontally disposed top wall secured to the side walls and the end walls and extending between the side walls and the front and rear walls, said top wall being formed with a longitudinally extending relatively narrow slot extending between the front and end walls and being disposed equidistant from and parallel to the side walls, a rod disposed below the top wall and in general alignment with said slots, said rod extending between the front and rear end walls and being connected thereto, a compression type coil spring mounted on said rod and engaging the rear wall, a slide member slidably mounted on said rod and engaging the forward end of said spring, said slide member having a planar horizontal portion immediately overlying the horizontally disposed top wall and adapted to receive a container, said slide member also having a relatively narrow portion extending downwardly through said slot and engaging the rod and another container engaging portion extending upwardly from the horizontally extending portion of the slide member, said spring serving to urge said slide member and 35 said containers engaged thereby toward the front end wall of the dispensing apparatus, releasable catch means movable between the slide member engaging and the slide member disengaging positions for retaining the slide member in a retracted position, and means yieldably urging the catch means out of engagement with the slide member and for retaining said catch means in an outof-the-way position when said catch means is disengaged, said slide member being formed with a catch engaging portion disposed to the rear of the upwardly extending portion of the slide member, said catch means being manually movable into engagement with the catch engaging portion of the slide member against the force of the yieldable means and being maintained in an engaged position against the force of the yieldable means by frictional engagement between the catch engaging portions of the slide member and the catch means, said catch means being automatically moved to the disengaged position by said yieldable means upon manually urging the slide member rearwardly against the force of the compression spring to de55 crease the frictional engagement between the catch engaging portion of the slide member and the catch means. The catch 29 is then pushed downwardly against the force of spring 31 with the other hand so that it engages the lip 28. At the same time, the slider is released so that the friction between the catch and the lip serves to maintain the catch in an engaged position as shown in FIGURE 5 3. Thereafter, the cartons 36 are loaded into the dispensing apparatus, one by one, until the dispensing apparatus has been filled. As soon as the dispensing apparatus has been filled, the framework is grasped with one hand and then the row of cartons is pushed rearwardly 10 with the other hand so that the slider is also pushed rearwardly to release the catch 29. The spring 31 causes the catch to return to its normal position out of the path of the slider and allows the slider to come into contact with the row of cartons to urge the cartons towards 15 the front of the framework. Thereafter, as soon as a carton is removed, the slider 26 is urged forwardly by the spring 22 to advance the next carton towards the front of the refrigerator case or compartment. This continues as each carton is removed until all of the cartons 20 have been advanced to the front of the case. The use of such a dispensing apparatus has been found to be particularly advantageous in that the product being sold is always in front of the refrigerator cabinet or case so that it can be readily viewed by the prospective custo- 25 mer. This is particularly important because it is readliy apparent that as soon as one or two of the cartons have been removed from the front of the case, the remaining cartons are disposed in the rear of the case where they may be almost hidden from the view of the prospective purchaser. In addition, the use of my apparatus makes it much easier for the customer to reach the cartons and to remove the cartons from the refrigerator case. The use of the catch on the dispensing apparatus is particularly advantageous in that it facilitates loading of the dispensing apparatus with containers or cartons. It is only necessary to move the slider against the spring 22 at the time of loading so that the catch 29 can be engaged with the lip 28. Thereafter, the cartons can be readily placed in the dispensing apparatus. As soon as the load- 40 ing has been completed as hereinbefore described the catch is released merely by pushing on the row of cartons and allowing the spring 31 to urge the catch 29 upwardly out of engagement with the lip 28. When it is desired to utilize a plurality of my dis- 45 pensing apparatuses for dispensing different types of beverages and containers, the dispensing apparatus may be positioned side-by-side merely by interlocking the ends 13α and 136 with the U-shaped portions 14α and 146 as shown particularly in FIGURE 5 of the drawing. This makes possible a neat, compact assembly so that each dispensing apparatus or tray is stabilized by the other tray or trays connected thereto. The means for connecting the trays is relatively simple so that the trays can be easily assembled or disassembled. This facilitates cleaning of the trays when desired. It is apparent from the foregoing that I have provided a new and improved dispensing tray or rack which is particularly adapted for advancing containers from the rear towards the front in a storage compartment so that they can be readily viewed and removed by the customer. It is also readily apparent that the dispensing apparatus is of a type which can be utilized with different types of containers and cartons. For example, if desired, round milk bottles can be readily advanced by a slider 26 merely by properly sizing the framework and by shaping the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 60 Re. 14,279 Back____________________Apr. 3, 1917 1,007,398 Snider__________________Oct. 31,1911 1,076,116 Hatfield________________Oct. 21,1913 1,338,052 Voight_________________Apr. 27,1920 θ5 1,418,153 Lorber_________________May 30,1922 1,421,645 Wilson__________________July 4, 1922
  2. 2
    2,111,496 Scriba_________________Mar. 15,1938
Independent claims2