Article dispensing – Plural sources – stacks or compartments – Dispensing from plural sources by single actuation
Patent
1993-05-11
1995-01-03
Noland, Kenneth W.
Article dispensing
Plural sources, stacks or compartments
Dispensing from plural sources by single actuation
53258, B65H 344
Patent
active
053778650
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention concerns a dispenser for flat objects, and relates to a dispenser for dispensing flat objects from a stack of similar objects housed in a cartridge, and has particular application in dispensing susceptibility or sensitivity test discs impregnated with a substance such as an antibiotic.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
In sensitivity testing of samples of organisms, sensitivity discs impregnated with different substances, such as various antibiotics, are dispensed onto the surface of a culture medium, e.g. a thin layer of agar gel, in a receiving container such as petri dish. Such discs typically comprise a circular piece of absorbent material such as blotting paper, about 0.5 mm thick, and are conventionally supplied in a stack, e.g. of 50 discs, in an elongate cylindrical cartridge, with the discs biased to an exit end of the cartridge by means of an internal coil spring.
A variety of dispensers are known and commercially available for dispensing discs from such cartridges, including a variety of different designs of dispensers for simultaneously dispensing a plurality of discs in a predetermined pattern from respective cartridges. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,145 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,047.
The invention aims to provide a novel construction of dispenser for flat objects that is robust and reliable in operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a dispenser for dispensing flat objects from a stack of similar objects housed in a cartridge, comprising: a body portion; a plurality of receptacles within the body portion, each receptacle being adapted to receive a respective, object-containing cartridge; a plurality of dispensing ports, one associated with each receptacle; a plurality of tamping pins, one associated with each dispensing port, for tamping an object through the associated dispensing port; transport means arranged for rotary motion to transport an object from each cartridge in a receptacle to a dispensing position in alignment with the associated tamping pin and dispensing port; and retaining means fixed with respect to the receptacles, for retaining the objects in position during transport from a cartridge to the associated dispensing position.
For convenience, the explanation which follows assumes that objects are to be dispensed in a downwards direction, as will generally be the case in practice, but it is to be understood that the dispenser could also be used to dispense articles upwardly. Reference to orientation in the following explanation should thus be construed accordingly.
The dispensing ports are preferably initially rotationally offset with respect to the associated tamping pins, and in this case the transport means conveniently comprises a transport plate arranged for rotary motion.
The dispensing ports are preferably carried by the transport plate, e.g. by being integrally formed therewith, extending downwardly from the lower face of the plate. In this case, the lowermost object in a cartridge is initially located in position in an associated dispensing port, and on movement of the transport plate the dispensing port and associated object are moved into alignment with the associated tamping pin, ready for tamping. The dispensing ports are preferably dimensioned to have a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the discs to be dispensed so that the disc will sit on the top of the ports.
The transport plate preferably includes means for retaining and guiding the object in position during transport; conveniently the upper face of the transport plate is formed with an upwardly extending rim to engage the base of the associated cartridge and to receive the lowermost object in the cartridge, and includes an adjacent pushing face the engage an edge of the object and push the object with the transport plate on transport movement.
The retaining means conveniently comprise a retaining plate, located above the transport means, to contact the upper faces of the objects during transport. The ret
REFERENCES:
patent: 2947444 (1960-08-01), Taylor et al.
patent: 3260337 (1966-07-01), Greenwald et al.
patent: 3836047 (1974-09-01), Darpentigny et al.
patent: 3863426 (1975-02-01), Courvalin
patent: 4042145 (1977-08-01), Ehrlich
Noland Kenneth W.
Unilever Patent Holdings B.V.
LandOfFree
Dispenser for flat objects does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Dispenser for flat objects, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Dispenser for flat objects will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2205593