Claims
- 1. An apparatus for dispensing articles one at a time from the bottom of a stack of like articles, comprising:
a holder adapted to house a plurality of like articles in an upright stack, the holder having a bottom dispensing outlet with a resilient choke configured to support and retain the stack of articles under their own weight and deflect to permit articles to pass through the outlet when the stack is pressed downwardly; a pusher mechanism having a pusher member mounted for vertical movement to press down on the stack of articles; and a controller responsive to an input signal to advance the pusher member sufficiently to force the lowest article in the stack past the choke and through the outlet.
- 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holder comprises a tube.
- 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the tube has a longitudinal slot, and the pusher member comprises an arm that extends laterally into the tube through the slot.
- 4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the slot extends the full length of the tube.
- 5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the choke comprises fingers formed by a plurality of slits at the bottom of the tube.
- 6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the pusher mechanism comprises a lead screw driven by a stepper motor for effecting movement of the aim.
- 7. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the choke comprises fingers formed by a plurality of slits at the bottom of the tube.
- 8. An apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a sensor connected to the controller for sensing the passage of one article through the outlet, the controller being responsive to said passage to arrest the pusher member.
- 9. An apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a sensor connected to the controller for sensing when the holder is empty.
- 10. An apparatus for dispensing articles one at a time from the bottom of a selected stack of like articles, comprising:
a turret mounted for rotation about a vertical axis; an actuator for rotating the turret; a plurality of upright holders supported on the turret at the same radial distance from the axis, each holder adapted to house a plurality of like articles in an upright stack and having a bottom dispensing outlet with a resilient choke configured to support and retain the stack of articles under their own weight and deflect to permit articles to pass through the outlet when the stack is pressed downwardly; a pusher mechanism having a pusher member mounted for vertical movement to press down on the selected stack of articles; and a controller coordinating rotation of the turret and operation of the pusher mechanism to position the selected stack of articles at a dispensing position beneath the pusher member and advance the pusher member sufficiently to force the lowest article in the selected stack past the choke and through the outlet.
- 11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein each holder comprises a tube.
- 12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein each tube has a longitudinal slot, and the pusher member comprises an arm that extends laterally into the tube of the selected stack through the slot.
- 13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the slot extends the full length of the tube.
- 14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein each choke comprises fingers formed by a plurality of slits at the bottom of the tube.
- 15. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the pusher mechanism comprises a lead screw driven by a stepper motor for effecting movement of the arm.
- 16. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein each choke comprises fingers formed by a plurality of slits at the bottom of the tube.
- 17. An apparatus according to claim 10, comprising a sensor connected to the controller for sensing the passage of one article through the outlet, the controller being responsive to said passage to arrest the pusher member.
- 18. An apparatus according to claim 10, comprising a sensor connected to the controller for sensing when the holder in the dispensing position is empty.
- 19. An apparatus according to claim 18, comprising a sensor connected to the controller for detecting the type of article in the holder in the dispensing position.
- 20. An apparatus according to claim 10, comprising a sensor connected to the controller for detecting the type of article in the holder in the dispensing position.
- 21. An apparatus according to claim 10, comprising eight holders symmetrically supported on the turret.
- 22. A method of storing and dispensing articles one at a time from the bottom of a stack of like articles, comprising:
yieldably supporting the articles in an upright stack above an outlet sized to pass the articles if forced therethrough; and pressing downwardly on the stack of articles with sufficient force and for sufficient duration to overcome the yieldable supporting force and move the lowest article through the outlet.
- 23. A method of storing and dispensing articles one at a time from the bottom of a selected stack of like articles, comprising:
yieldably supporting the articles in a plurality of upright stacks, each stack consisting of like articles held above an outlet sized to pass the articles if forced therethrough; moving the selected stack of articles into a dispensing position; and pressing downwardly on the selected stack of articles with sufficient force and for sufficient duration to overcome the yieldable supporting force and move the lowest article through the outlet.
- 24. A method according to claim 23, comprising sensing the type of article in the stack in the dispensing position, and moving a different stack of articles to the dispensing position if the sensed article is not of a selected type.
- 25. A method according to claim 23, wherein the stacks of articles are supported on a rotary member, and the step of moving the selected stack of articles into the dispensing position comprises moving all of the stacks simultaneously.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of commonly owned U.S. provisional application No. 60/330,092, filed Oct. 19, 2001, No. 60/372,080, filed Apr. 15, 2002, and No. 60/373,658, filed Apr. 19, 2002, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application also is related to commonly owned U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 10/122,151, filed Apr. 15, 2002, which is also incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60330092 |
Oct 2001 |
US |
|
60372080 |
Apr 2002 |
US |
|
60373658 |
Apr 2002 |
US |