Single-serve sanitary module dispensing system

A cutlery dispensing system without moving mechanical parts for single-serve and sanitary dispensing of cutlery units each having a first end and an opposed second end, said system comprising:

• at least one module having at least a two-part construction, a narrow width dimension, at least one alignment post and an alignment socket complementary thereto, and strength-enhancing external ribbing, said module also having a vertically-extending channel formed therein generally in a shape of the cutlery units to be dispensed therefrom, said channel slightly wider than the cutlery units intended for dispensing, said channel also having a back channel portion holding the first ends of the cutlery units that remain out-of-view and in a sanitary condition until dispensed and a front channel portion holding the second ends of cutlery units that eventually become exposed for dispensing, said channel also having a shorter length dimension than that of the cutlery units to be dispensed, the cutlery units positioned within said channel in an inclined non-horizontally extending orientation allowing the first ends of stacked cutlery units in said channel to be located at a lower elevation than the second ends thereof that eventually become exposed for dispensing,
• said at least one module further having a locking valley positioned below said back channel portion, a dispensing opening positioned below said front channel portion, and a void relief area communicating with said dispensing opening and said front channel portion, wherein a positioning event occurs for a bottommost cutlery unit in said channel via gravity alone and without assistance of any moving mechanical parts as a result of a user withdrawing a exposed second end of a cutlery unit extending through said dispensing opening in a dispensing event, and as dispensing of the cutlery unit with its exposed second end extending through said dispensing opening occurs said void relief area allows the bottommost cutlery unit still in said channel to drop in a downwardly direction until its first end leaves said back channel portion and engages said locking valley while said first end concurrently remains in contact with a new cutlery unit now having bottommost positioning in said channel, which then directly causes the opposing second end of a downwardly-dropped cutlery unit to rotate downwardly via gravity into a substantially horizontally-extending and exposed dispensing position for a next dispensing event.