Article dispensing – Concurrent separation and distortion of flexible article – Plural sources – stacks or compartments
Patent
1990-07-03
1992-06-23
Olszewski, Robert P.
Article dispensing
Concurrent separation and distortion of flexible article
Plural sources, stacks or compartments
221 59, 221155, 221198, 221279, 221287, B65H 104
Patent
active
051235510
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
THIS INVENTION relates to dispensing and display apparatus and in one aspect to apparatus for displaying and dispensing business or professional cards, brochures, pamphlets or other like articles. In a further aspect, the present invention relates to apparatus for displaying advertising material.
BACKGROUND ART
Many different forms of advertising are employed in commercial enterprises for business promotion purposes. Such forms of advertising may comprise posters, signs or other visible display means which are located in prominent positions, however, such display means are often subject to tampering or defacement so that the advertising effectiveness of such display means is lost or limited. Furthermore, the above forms of advertising are generally relatively expensive. In an alternative form of business promotion, business or professional cards are commonly used, however, such cards are normally only provided on request in a person to person situation and accordingly such cards do not generally provide an active form of advertising.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention aims to provide apparatus which may be used to display business type cards, or other promotional or advertising material in public places for advertising purposes. The apparatus of the present invention may also include means for storing and dispensing business or professional cards, brochures or other similar generally planar articles. The present invention further preferably provides an arrangement for supporting a plurality of such dispensing means in a secure manner. Whilst the dispensing apparatus of the invention is particularly suitable for dispensing business cards, brochures or other like articles, it may also be used for displaying and /or dispensing other articles of a generally planar form.
With the above and other objects in view, the present invention provides in a first aspect apparatus for dispensing generally planar articles adapted to be arranged in a stack, said apparatus including generally hollow housing means adapted to support therein a said stack of articles, said housing means including slot means for the passage of respective said articles from one end of said stack therethrough, and biasing means adapted to be associated with said stack to urge respective said articles at said one end of said stack to a position to permit dispensing thereof through said slot means.
In one preferred form, the housing means comprises a generally rectangular housing adapted to neatly receive the stack of articles, and the slot means is provided in or defined by the front wall of the housing. Suitably, the slot means is provided adjacent a side wall for example a top or bottom wall of the casing and the biasing means is arranged to urge the stack of articles towards said side wall of the housing.
Preferably, the front wall of the housing terminates short of the side wall thereof to define the slot means. To facilitate dispensing of articles, the wall of the housing adjacent the slot is cut away to permit a finger or fingers of a user to engage the first article in the stack so as to facilitate displacement of the article from the stack and its movement through the slot means. Preferably, the slot means has, at least at the sides thereof, a width substantially the same or slightly greater than the thickness of an article to be dispensed so that only one article can be dispensed at any one time. The slot may also diverge in width away from the sides thereof.
In one form, the biasing means is in the form of spring biasing means and most preferably, the spring biasing means suitably comprise a pair of springs which extend between a pair of planar members which may be disposed between the stack of articles and the opposite wall of the housing to exert a biasing force on the stack of articles.
In a second form, the biasing means may comprise a block of resilient material such as foam plastics. In this form, first and second wedge shaped members may be provided in the housing between the stack of articles and
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Olszewski Robert P.
Reichard Dean A.
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