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US 10,366,560 B2Granted
Touchless lid dispenser apparatus and method
AssigneeDan & O'B Enterprises, LLC
InventorsDaniel J. Weber, John Joseph Jancsek, Mark Thomas Podvin, Matthew Lawrence Stoffel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lid dispensing system includes a housing, a sensor, and a dispenser. The sensor senses objects outside the housing. Once sensed, a dispenser within the housing coveys a lid outside the housing. A method for dispensing lids is also disclosed. The method includes sensing objects outside a housing, separating a lid from a stack of lids, and conveying lids to a position outside the housing.
Claims15
A lid dispensing system comprising:
- a housing;
- a sensor for sensing an object outside the housing;
- and
- a hopper within the housing, the hopper holding a stack including a plurality of lids;
- and
- an apparatus for picking a single lid from the stack of lids held by the hopper and dispensing the single lid to a position outside the housing, wherein the apparatus for picking a single lid from the stack of lids further comprises:
- an actuator;
- a cam surface;
- a shuttle operably connected to an actuator, the actuator moving the shuttle with respect to the cam surface, the shuttle further comprising:
- a first finger;
- and
- a second finger, at least one of the first and second fingers moved to engage an interior surface of the single lid, the first finger and second finger engaging opposite sides of the interior surface of the single lid, the first finger positioned at a distance from the second finger substantially equal to the inner diameter of the single lid;
- a cam follower attached to at least one of the first and second fingers to move at least one of the first and second fingers into and out of engagement with a single lid.
10 more elements
A lid dispensing system comprising:
- a housing;
- a sensor for sensing an object outside the housing;
- and
- a hopper within the housing, the hopper holding a stack including a plurality of lids;
- and
- an apparatus for picking a single lid from the stack of lids held by the hopper and dispensing the single lid to a position outside the housing, wherein the apparatus for picking a single lid from the stack of lids further comprises:
- an actuator;
- a cam surface;
- a shuttle operably connected to an actuator, the actuator moving the shuttle with respect to the cam surface, the shuttle further comprising:
- a first finger;
- and
- a second finger, the first and second fingers movable between an engaged position and a disengaged position, the first and second fingers engaging an interior surface of the single lid across the inner diameter of the lid, the first finger engaging a first interior portion, and the second finger engaging a second interior portion of the lid;
- a cam follower operably attached to the first and second fingers to move the first and second fingers into and out of engagement with a single lid, wherein the distance between the first finger and the second finger is substantially equal to the inner diameter of the lid at some time when the first finger and second finger travel between the disengaged position and the engaged position.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.