Apparatus and method for dispensing coiled metallic ribbon

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for packaging and dispensing coiled material. A device for packaging a coil of metallic ribbon stock comprises a first planar panel and a second planar panel, wherein the first and second planar panels have substantially the same shape, and a sidewall panel that interconnects the first and second planar panels along the perimeter of the first and second planar panels to form a container. The sidewall panel comprises preferably comprises a plurality of perforated regions each defining an aperture through which a roller is inserted to rotatably engage a coil of metallic ribbon stock within the container. An apparatus for dispensing lengths of metallic ribbon stock from a dispenser containing a coil of metallic ribbon stock comprises a mounting device for mounting the dispenser, a plurality of roller assemblies, each comprising a roller, and a positioning device operatively connected to each roller assembly, wherein for a given roller assembly, the positioning device operates to insert at least a portion of the roller through an aperture of the dispenser for rotatably engaging the roller with the coil of metallic ribbon stock.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.