Article dispensing – With discharge assistant – Article adhering or gripping type
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-13
2001-06-26
Noland, Kenneth W. (Department: 3651)
Article dispensing
With discharge assistant
Article adhering or gripping type
C221S260000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250499
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Containers for the storage and dispensing of various shapes and sizes of contained articles are an everyday sight. Commercial containers of this type may be actuated by placing coins, bills or other money evaluate tokens into a slot or other opening which then permits a normally locked handle or button to be depressed to dispense the article. Such commercial dispensers are usually mechanically or electronically, or both, operated and complex. This adds to their price and limits their practical use to where their is sufficient cost and benefit justification available.
The present invention seeks to provide for a simple personal relatively inexpensive storage container which can dispense stored articles. As such it is simple to operate without the insertion of any coins or tokens and is operated by rotating an internal flexible roller which engages the stored articles to dispense them out of an opened lower front end exit opening. An upper closable lid on the container permits the insertion of additional articles to be dispensed. Particularly envisioned for dispensing are articles shaped to engage the roller such as tampons.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Gravity fed article dispensers for personal products such as tampons, cotton swaps, matches, etc. are well known. With such dispensers it is essential that their containers permit the storage of as many articles as possible and yet permit their individual dispensing one-article-at-time (e.g . . . , see design patent Des. 309,067 to Arrias). Thus, the container's particular configuration and the mechanism to dispense the article is related to the articles to be dispensed in size and shape.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,037 to Rothbaum, the engaging mechanism of the dispenser is a rotatable mechanism while the articles dispensed, in this case elongated objects like toothpicks, matches or swabs, which engage the mechanism are stored and sized to permit their removal or dispensing one at a time from a container opening. The article obstructing and feeding mechanism in the Rothbaum invention is described as a rotatable roller that has a groove in its side journal led in the housing. This roller manually operated by an external housing knob to pick up the articles one at a time in the roller's groove to carry and drop them into a trough from which they may picked up by a user. Thus, the obstructing and carrying mechanism for the articles to be dispensed, the roller and its side groove, are related to the placement of the articles within the container, and their size and configuration.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,974 to Jones the tampon dispenser for different sized tampons has an external housing handle and internal guiding shelves and dispensing pockets activated by the handle. Different sized tampons are said to be dispensed in the Jones patent.
The Jones design patent Des 263,354 shows a similar looking dispenser. In contrast to the obstructing and article engaging rollers of these inventions, the roller of the present invention is made of a flexible material such that it can accommodate itself to different shapes and sizes of articles to be dispensed as more further set forth in this specification.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an article dispensing container having a flexible deformable article engaging roller which can both obstruct the movement of the article within the container and be deformed to permit its dispensing by gravity.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide for an improved gravity fed article dispensing apparatus.
Another object is to provide for such an apparatus specifically designed to dispense tampons of different sizes.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to readers from a consideration of the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 263354 (1982-03-01), Jones
patent: D. 309067 (1990-07-01), Arrias
patent: 3445037 (1969-05-01), Rothbaum
patent: 4057172 (1977-11-01), Olander
patent: 4308974 (1982-01-01), Jones
patent: 4530200 (1985-07-01), Prewer
patent: 4872593 (1989-10-01), Behringer
McGlynn Joseph H.
Noland Kenneth W.
Patent & Trademark Services
Zack Thomas
LandOfFree
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