Touchelss lid dispenser apparatus and method
AssigneeDan & O'B Enterprises, LLC
InventorsDaniel J. Weber, John Joseph Jancsek, Mark Thomas Podvin, Matthew Lawrence Stoffel, Marc Thomas McCauley, Jesse Robert Hahne, Thomas Christopher Coy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lid dispensing system includes a housing, and a cartridge for holding a plurality of lids. The cartridge includes an engagement mechanism for attaching the cartridge to the housing. The lid dispensing system also includes an apparatus for picking a single lid from the stack of lids held by the cartridge, and dispensing the single lid to a dispensing position within the housing. The dispensing position accessible from the outside of the housing.
Claims21
A lid dispensing system comprising:
- a housing;
- a sensor for sensing an object outside the housing;
- and
- a cartridge for holding a plurality of lids, the cartridge including an engagement mechanism for attaching the cartridge to the housing;
- and
- an apparatus for picking a single lid from the stack of lids held by the cartridge;
- and
- dispensing the single lid to a dispensing position within the housing, the dispensing position accessible from the outside of the housing.
A lid dispensing system comprising:
- a housing;
- an interchangeable cartridge removably attachable to the housing, the cartridge holding a stack of lids including a plurality of lids;
- and
- an apparatus for picking a single lid from the stack of lids held by the cartridge and dispensing the single lid to a position outside the housing further comprising:
- 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;
- 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.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.