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US 4,792,057 AGranted
Method and apparatus for dispensing flat discs
AssigneeThe Franklin George Co., Inc.
InventorsFrank A. Mizer, George J. Coghill
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for dispensing single ones of flat chips or discs from a multi-chip receptacle, and/or depositing them onto a surface at selected locations, is disclosed, as may be desireable, for example, when playing a game of bingo. In one preferred embodiment the chips are dispensed and deposited onto the surface in response to a downward motion or force on the apparatus against the surface after it is properly positioned at the selected location.
Claims66
A dispenser for individual ones of flat discs onto a surface in proximity to a second adjacent disc of the same size and shape, comprising:
- a housing having a passageway therein and having an opening at a bottom end of the passageway for chips to pass thereoutof onto a surface;
- and
- means, including multiple thin prongs distributed around the passageway opening, radially adjacent thereto and below the opening, and having underside faces to contact said surface, to space said housing above said surface when the prong faces are in contact with said surface, and having a substantial gap between adjacent ones of said prongs, with said gap having a vertical height greater than the thickness of the discs to be dispensed, and with sufficient distance between said adjacent prongs to allow the edge of said second adjacent disc to be in a partially overlapping relationship with said housing without contacting said housing when the prongs are in contact with said surface, and wherein the shortest distance between adjacent ones of said prongs is greater than the largest of any linear dimension of said surface contacting faces of said adjacent prongs.
A device for dispensing flat chips onto a surface, comprising:
- a housing having an elongated receptacle cavity therein defined by an inner surface of a sidewall for retaining a supply of multiple ones of said chips in a stack along an axis, a flat floor at a bottom portion thereof, an exit opening in the sidewall adjacent the floor, and a recess in the sidewall adjacent the floor and open to the cavity on the opposed side of the cavity with respect to the exit opening;
- a displaceable member slideable with respect to the housing in the direction of the axis between a retracted operative position and an extended operative position;
- an elongated slot in the floor generally extending in the direction between the recess in the sidewall and the exit opening therein;
- a shuttle slideably retained in said slot and linearly moveable in said slot between a retracted position when the displaceable member is in its retracted position, and an extended position when said displaceable member is in its extended position, and having an upper portion with a leading edge elevated above the floor sufficiently to engage the edg of the bottom chip in the receptacle and move it laterally of the axis toward the exit opening when the displaceable member is moved from its retracted position to its extended position, and wherein the leading edge of the upper portion of the shuttle is in said recess in the sidewall of the housing, radially outside the inner surface of said sidewall when the displaceable member is in its retracted position;
- and
- a pusher, elongated between two ends, one of which ends is attached to the shuttle and the other end of which is attached to the displaceable member.
3 more elements
A device for dispensing flat chips onto a surface, comprising:
- a housing having an elongated receptacle cavity therein defined by an inner surface of a sidewall for retaining a supply of multiple ones of said chips in a stack along an axis;
- a flat floor at a bottom portion of the cavity with an upperside surface and a underside surface;
- wherein the sidewall has an exit opening adjacent the floor and centered at a first angular position about the axis, and a recess open to the cavity adjacent the floor and centered at a second opposed angular position about the axis;
- and which further comprises:
- a displaceable member slideable in the direction of the axis with respect to the housing between a retracted operative position and an extended operative position;
- a shuttle moveable in response to movement of the displaceable member between a retracted position when the displaceable member is in its retracted position, and an extended position when the displaceable member is in its extended position, and being effective to move the bottom chip in the receptacle laterally of the axis toward the exit opening when the displaceable member is moved from its retracted position to its extended position;
- and
- a pusher which operatively engages the shuttle and is attached to the displaceable member;
- and wherein the floor has an elongated slot generally extending in the direction between the recess in the sidewall and the exit opening therein, and wherein the shuttle is slideably retained in the slot.
6 more elements
A device for dispensing flat chips onto a surface, comprising:
- a housing having an elongated receptacle cavity therein defined by an inner surface of a sidewall for holding a supply of multiple ones of said chips in a stack along an axis, a floor at a bottom portion of the receptacle cavity and having a flat upperside surface and an underside surface, an exit opening in the sidewall adjacent the floor at a first angular position about the axis, and a recess in the sidewall adjacent the floor and open to the cavity at an opposed second angular position about the axis;
- a displaceable member slideable in the direction of the axis with respect to the housing between a retracted operative position and an extended operative position;
- a shuttle having upper and lower portions, and moveable along the flat upperside surface of the floor between a retracted position when the displaceable member is in its retracted position, and an extended position when said displaceable member is in its extended position and effective to move a chip laterally of the axis toward the exit opening when the displaceable member is moved from its retracted position to its extended position, and
- a pusher, elongated between two ends, a first of which ends has a shoulder which slideably engages the underside surface of the floor and is displaced therefrom toward the exit opening in the sidewall when the displaceable member is moved toward its extended position.
1 more element
A method of depositing flat chips onto a surface comprising the steps of:
- loading a receptacle with multiple ones of said chips;
- placing underside surface-contacting faces of multiple prongs in contact with said surface at angularly distributed points around a location on the surface at which a chip is to be deposited;
- locating a substantial gap between adjacent ones of said prongs at the surface, the gap having sufficient height and spacing between said adjacent prongs to allow the edge of one of said chips to enter thereinto, and wherein the gap has a greater angular spacing between adjacent ones of said prongs than the largest angular dimension of the underside surface-contacting faces of said adjacent prongs;
- exerting downward force on said surface through said prongs;
- and
- moving a displaceable member responsive to said force from a first to a second operative position along a vertical axis.
3 more elements
A method of dispensing flat chips onto a receiving surface comprising the steps of:
- hand holding a receptacle with multiple ones of said chips in a stack along an axis and supported by a floor with an upper side and lower side surface, at least one of which is angled from the perpendicular with respect to said axis;
- exerting downward force on said receiving surface through said receptacle and moving a displaceable member at least partially responsive to said force and to said angled floor surface from a first to a second operative position in the direction of said axis, and then back to said first operative position;
- displacing a chip laterally from said axis in response to the moving of said displaceable member;
- and wherein the step of displacing the chip further comprises the step of displacing a shuttle in a slot in the floor.
1 more element
A method of dispensing flat chips onto a receiving surface at a desired location comprising the steps of:
- hand holding a receptacle with multiple ones of said chips in a stack in a receptacle cavity therein along an axis, and with said chips supported by a floor with an upperside and underside surface;
- exerting downward force on said receiving surface through said receptacle;
- moving a displaceable member responsive to said force from a first to a second operative position in the direction of said axis;
- moving an elongated substantially rigid but flexible pusher attached to said displaceable member through a smoothly curved channel open to said cavity adjacent and just above the upperside surface of said floor;
- and
- displacing a chip, in response to the moving of said displaceable member, laterally from said axis into a passageway with an opening at the bottom thereof which is directly above said desired location on the receiving surface, and wherein the step of displacing the chip comprises the step of displacing a shuttle attached to said pusher and slideably retained in a slot in the floor.
3 more elements
A device for dispensing flat chips onto a surface, comprising:
- a housing having a receptacle cavity therein defined by an inner surface of a sidewall for retaining a supply of multiple ones of said chips;
- a displaceable member slideable with respect to the housing along an axis between a retracted operative position and an extended operative position;
- a flat floor at a bottom portion of the cavity with an upperside surface and a underside surface, and the underside surface angled from the perpendicular with respect to said axis and slanting upwardly from a first angular position about the axis to an opposed second angular position about the axis,
- an elongated pusher spring with a first end attached to the displaceable member at a location below the floor and angularly aligned with said first angular position about the axis and a second end distal to the end attached to the displaceable member which slideably engages the underside surface of the floor in spring tensioned engagement therewith and slides therealong when the displaceable member is moved between its retracted position and its extended position.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.