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US 12,440,045 B2Granted
Disposable lid dispenser assembly
AssigneeCFS Brands, LLC
InventorJodie Schoon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An assembly and method of forming a dispenser assembly that is constructed to sequentially dispense respective container lids from a stack of container lids housed in the dispenser assembly. The dispenser assembly includes a housing that is generally defined by a base, a cover, a top, and a lid. A guide tube depends from the top and generally overlies a trap door that is operationally connected to an actuator assembly and a drive assembly. A separator assembly is connected to the drive assembly and operative to effectuate separation of discrete lids from an end of the stack of lids during operation of the trap door during each dispense event.
Claims14
A disposable lid dispenser assembly comprising:
- a base;
- a top connected to the base and a lid pivotably connected to the top;
- a guide tube depending from the top and vertically aligned with the lid and defining a lid stack column;
- a trap door disposed beneath the guide tube and pivotable relative to the base;
- a separator assembly connected to the base and disposed proximate the trap door, the separator assembly comprising:
- a first lift arm and a second lift arm that are each rotational relative to the trap door and movable between a first position wherein the first lift arm and the second lift arm are disposed outside the guide tube and a second position wherein a portion of the first lift arm and the second lift are rotated into the guide tube and vertically translated relative to the trap door;
- wherein the separator assembly further comprises a cam lifter and a cam drive associated with each of the first lift arm and the second lift arm;
- a gear rack is pivotably connected to the trap door and engaged with a cam gear associated with the cam drive of each of the first lift arm and the second lift arm;
- and
- a cam and follower engagement formed between the cam lifter and the cam drive associated with each of the first lift arm and the second lift arm.
7 more elements
A lid dispenser assembly comprising:
- a housing defined by a base, a cover panel, a top panel, and a lid pivotably connected to the top panel;
- a guide tube shaped to receive a stack of disposable lids and being supported by the top panel and extending toward the base;
- a floor panel movably connected to the base and disposed proximate a lower end of the guide tube;
- a separator assembly that is concurrently moveable with the floor panel, the separator assembly comprising:
- a first separator finger and a second separator finger that are disposed on generally opposite lateral sides of the guide tube, the first separator finger and the second separator finger being movable in opposite rotational directions relative to one another and a common axial direction relative to the guide tube to selectively interact with the stack of disposable lids contained in the guide tube during movement of the floor panel;
- a rack gear that is translatable relative to the base and operatively engaged between the separator assembly and a drive assembly;
- and
- wherein the rack gear includes a first rack gear and a second rack gear and the separator assembly includes a first cam drive and a first cam lifter associated with the first separator finger and engaged with the first rack gear and a second cam drive and a second cam lifter associated with the second separator finger and engaged with a the second rack gear.
5 more elements
A method of forming a disposable container lid assembly, the method comprising:
- providing a base, a cover panel, and a top panel;
- providing a guide tube that is shaped to receive a stack of disposable container lids and constructed to cooperate with the top panel such that the guide tube extends from the top panel toward the base;
- providing a trap door that is constructed to pivotably cooperate with the base;
- providing a separator assembly having a first separator and a second separator that are disposed on generally opposite lateral sides of the guide tube and supported by the base;
- and
- providing a drive assembly connected between the trap door and the separator assembly and operable to cause rotation and axial translation of each of the first separator and the second separator relative to the guide tube concurrently during movement of the trap door relative to the base;
- and
- forming a first cam drive defined by the first separator and a second cam drive defined by the second separator wherein the first cam drive and the second cam drive are concurrently operable during operation of the drive assembly.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.