Dispensing mechanism for cylindrical products

An apparatus for dispensing cylindrical objects having a diameter and a length along an axis and for displaying the objects at a display position comprising

• a base supporting a reservoir configured and arranged to hold a plurality of cylindrical objects to be dispensed in a curved queue and having baffles to prevent continuous movement of a cylindrical article falling therethrough under the influence of gravity and having a back wall having apertures therein to permit visual inspection of an inventory held in said reservoir and to permit the insertion of a tool to dislodge jammed ones of the cylindrical articles,
• said reservoir communicating with a downwardly and forwardly extending chute which has a portion to hold a cylindrical object next in line to descend to said display position and terminates at said display position forward on said base such that the cylindrical object displayed in the display position is axially distended from the plurality of cylindrical objects held in said reservoir,
• said chute being forward of the reservoir and rearward of the display position and defined by sidewalls, a front wall and a back wall,
• said front wall including rearwardly projecting ribs having beveled edges to guide the forward portion of a descending cylindrical object toward the center of said display position with low friction and said ribs being recessed to a plane forward of the reservoir to permit forward movement of a cylindrical object in moving to said ribs and being slanted forwardly to permit forward movement of a cylindrical object in moving from said ribs,
• said back wall being configured as a ramp formed of lateral shoulders with a central recess and including a forwardly extending curve having ripples in it positioned to include a first steeper ramp portion below a rear end of a cylindrical article at rest next above the cylindrical article in said display position and a second steeper ramp portion upstream of a rear end of a cylindrical article in said display position and downstream of a rear end of a cylindrical article at rest next above the cylindrical article in said display position,
• whereby upon loading a plurality of cylindrical objects into said reservoir, the chute and display position are filled with cylindrical objects and upon removal of a cylindrical object from said display position, cylindrical objects descend under the influence of gravity from said reservoir to said chute a vertical distance approximating the diameter of the cylindrical objects and a forward distance at least one half the length of the cylindrical objects and from said chute to said display position.

A method of displaying and dispensing cylindrical objects having a diameter and a length along an axis comprising

• providing a reservoir communicating with a downwardly and forwardly extending chute terminating in a forward display position axially distended from the reservior.
• loading a plurality of cylindrical objects into the reservoir, and thereby filling the chute and display position with cylindrical objects,
• holding the plurality of cylindrical objects in the reservoir with a cylindrical object in the display position available for removal by hand,
• removing a cylindrical object from the display position, and thereby inducing cylindrical objects to descend under the influence of gravity from the reservoir forwardly through the chute to the display position and guiding such cylindrical objects as they move through the chute with rearwardly projecting ribs on a front portion of the chute.