Container dispenser
AssigneeSan Jamar, Inc.
InventorsRick Woods, Bernie Ziebart, Erik Feuerstein
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A container dispenser includes structure to support a nested stack of containers. The dispenser includes a crossbar at the lower end of the structure and a pair of spaced apart upright posts to which a retention wire clip may be removably mounted. The wire clip is designed to engage the exterior side wall or lip of the outermost cup of the nested stack, and in effect, hold the outermost container against the cross bar. This not only keeps the outermost container from falling away from the dispenser but also retains the nested stack in the dispenser. The retention wire clip is preferably formed of spring steel.
Claims17
A container dispenser comprising:
- a structure adapted for holding an inverted nested stack of containers, the structure including a frame having a crossbar, first and second upright posts at opposed lateral ends of the crossbar, and a ramped structure for supporting the nested stack of containers;
- a wire clip formed of uncoiled spring steel interconnected between spaced apart portions of the structure and spanning across a discharge end of the structure so as to engage an outermost container of the nested stack;
- and
- first and second coils carried by the first and second upright posts, respectively, and wherein turns of the first and second coils springs define a range of heights at which the wire clip may be attached to the first and second upright posts.
A container dispenser station comprising:
- a plurality of dispensing chambers, each of the dispensing chambers defined by a pair of upright posts and a pair of crossbars spaced apart from one another;
- and
- a plurality of uncoiled wire clips removably attached to the upright posts, wherein a wire clip is associated with each of the dispensing chambers and attaches to the pair of upright posts and between the pair of crossbars for the dispensing chamber, and wherein the wire clip has a container engaging portion that engages an outer surface of an outermost container of a nested stack of containers when such a stack is loaded into the dispensing chamber.
A container dispenser comprising:
- a structure adapted for holding an inverted nested stack of containers, the structure including a frame having a crossbar, first and second upright posts at opposed lateral ends of the crossbar, and a ramped structure for supporting the nested stack of containers;
- and
- a wire clip formed of uncoiled spring steel interconnected between spaced apart portions of the structure and spanning across a discharge end of the structure so as to engage an outermost container of the nested stack;
- and
- respective sets of notches formed in the first and the second upright posts, and wherein the sets of notches define a range of heights at which the wire clip may be attached to the first and second upright posts.
A container dispenser comprising:
- a structure adapted for holding an inverted nested stack of containers;
- a wire clip formed of uncoiled spring steel interconnected between spaced apart portions of the structure and spanning across a discharge end of the structure so as to engage an outermost container of the nested stack;
- and
- wherein the wire clip includes an elongated rod having first and second end portions for engaging the structure and a bent portion formed between the first and second end portions for engaging an outer surface of an outermost container of the nested stack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.