Patent Application
20090272755
This invention relates to sheet material dispensing devices.
More particularly, the present invention relates to devices for storing and distributing information sheets.
In many industries it is desirable for pamphlets, flyers or other information sheets to be readily available for disbursement to interested individuals. Some industries have offices, display rooms, and the like, which permit flyers to be stacked for easy retrieval by staff members or the interested individual. Other industries, such as the realty markets, and in particular the home re-sale industry, do not have office, display rooms and the like, for displaying their products, but actual employ signs indicating a property for sale on location. When there is an open house, flyers and other information sheets can be stored inside for disbursement to interested individuals. However, for the great majority of the time, the only indication of sale is a listing and a for sale sign.
Information about the home in the form of information sheets is often placed in a box with a lid. While inexpensive and capable of storing information sheets, these storage boxes do not readily dispense individual flyers. Storage boxes holding information sheets must be opened and the desired sheet withdrawn manually. This can result in more than one sheet being extracted, the cover being lost or not replaced and the elements adversely affecting the information sheets. Additionally, when the stored information sheets have been dispersed, there is no available information on the item, such as a home, being sold.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a weather resistant dispensing device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device which will dispense single information sheets.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device which exhibits the information dispensed with a display sheet.
Briefly, to achieve the desired objects and advantages of the instant invention an information sheet dispensing device is provided. The dispensing device includes a housing having a front side, a back panel, an open top end and a bottom end closed by a bottom sloping at a downward angle from the back panel to the front side. A dispensing slot is formed in the housing proximate the bottom end, and a cap is provided which is movable between an engaged position closing the open top end of the housing and a disengaged position allowing access through the open top end. A dispensing mechanism is carried within the housing for receiving a stack of information sheets through the open top end of the housing with the cap in the disengaged position, and dispensing single sheets from the stack through the dispensing slot upon actuation of the dispensing mechanism. A dispensing control is provided for actuating the dispensing mechanism to dispense a single information sheet.
In a particular aspect, the dispensing mechanism includes a roller assembly rotatably carried within the housing above the bottom and coupled to the dispensing control, a cassette pivotally carried within the housing and having an open top end and an open lower end, the open lower end positioned rearward of and above the roller assembly, and a biasing mechanism biasing the open bottom end of the cassette forwardly.
In yet another aspect, the biasing mechanism includes a lever arm extending outward in a forward direction from the cassette proximate the open upper end and terminating in an aperture pivotally hung on a pivot rod carried by the housing.
Specific objects and advantages of the instant invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
Turning now to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate corresponding elements throughout the several views, attention is first directed to
Information sheet dispensing device 10 includes a housing 12 having an open top end 14 closed by a cap member 15, a front side, generally designated 16, a back panel 17, a bottom end 18 closed by a bottom 19, opposing sidewalls 20 and a dispensing mechanism (see
With additional reference to
The dispensing mechanism includes a biasing mechanism which includes cassette 30 being pivotally mounted within housing 12 with an offset pivot point C. In this manner, open lower end 33 of cassette 30 is biased forwardly toward front side 16 of housing 12. The biasing mechanism, in the preferred embodiment, includes a lever arm 42 extending substantially perpendicularly outwardly from front wall 35 proximate each of opposing sides 38 of cassette 30. Lever arms 42 extend from front wall 35 proximate open upper end 32, and each terminates in an aperture 44. Cassette 30 is pivotally carried with housing 12 by a pivot rod 45 coupled to sidewalls 20 of housing 12 proximate open top end 14 and journalled through apertures 44. In this manner cassette 30 is pivotally suspended inside housing 12 such that sidewalls 38 are generally parallel to sidewalls 20 and open upper end 32 is proximate open top end 14 while open lower end 33 is positioned spaced from bottom 19. Cassette 30 is pivotally mounted such that movement is permitted in a forward, toward front side 16, and rearward, toward back panel 17, direction about pivot point C. By offsetting pivot point C forward of front wall 35 of cassette 30 toward front side 16 of housing 12, the weight of cassette 30 tends to swing open lower end 33 toward front side 16 of housing 12 in the direction of arrowed line D. To provide a further bias in the direction of Arrowed line D, a biasing member, such as spring 48 can be carried between cassette 30 and back panel 17 of housing 12. This provides additional force to bias cassette 30 in the direction of arrowed line D. The additional force may be desirably to insure adequate forward bias to cassette 30. The importance of the forward bias will be discussed presently.
Also included as part of the dispensing mechanism, is a roller assembly 50 mounted between sidewalls 20 of housing 12 proximate lower end 18. Roller assembly 50 is carried within housing 12 in a position forward of cassette 30, and at a height intermediate bottom 19 and open lower end 33 of cassette 30. Roller mechanism 50, in this preferred embodiment, includes an axle 52 extending between sidewalls 20 and terminating in crank handle 22. Axle 52 carries a pair of rollers 54 that rotate with axle 52 turned by crank handle 22. A ratchet assembly can be associated with axle 52 to prevent rotation in one direction. In the preferred embodiment, crank handle 22 is rotated in a clockwise direction to dispense a sheet and prevented from rotating in the counter-clockwise direction to prevent jamming of the device. It will be understood that while a pair of rollers 54 are employed in this embodiment, a single roller extending between sidewalls 20 or a plurality of small rollers may also be employed. Additionally, while axle 52 is turned by crank handle 22, it will be understood that other mechanisms may also be employed, including gears to increase or slow the rotation of axle 52, and a measured dispensing control such as a lever or push button having a measured stroke for turning axle 52 only sufficient to dispense a single unit or single information sheet.
Referring specifically to
Turning now to
Various changes and modifications to the embodiments herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof, which is assessed only by a fair interpretation of the following claims.
Having fully described the invention in such clear and concise terms as to enable those skilled in the art to understand and practice the same, the invention claimed is:
