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The present invention relates to a new device for storing and conveniently dispensing individual elastic bands, especially rubber bands.
Rubber bands are widely used for office, industrial and household needs. They are available in a variety of sizes and are generally sold in boxes or bags. As is commonly experienced, rubber bands tend to accumulate in drawers, snagging on other items such as pens and paperclips. It is also a common experience that it is difficult to remove a single rubber band from a container, as typically several come out at the same time and the excess must be returned to the container.
Other goods in the same general class such as paper clips and staples have been the subject of inventions to make dispensing more convenient. However, heretofore, little has been developed to help store and dispense the ubiquitous rubber band.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,349 issued to Hoag discloses an apparatus for packaging a plurality of rubber bands on a card. This invention lacks a means for dispensing them from the packaging, however.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,000 issued to Salame and related design patent Des. 326,612 disclose a container for dispensing rubber bands. The container is merely a hinged box with a hole in the top for grasping rubber bands held inside. There is no provision for keeping the rubber bands organized and unjumbled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,809 issued to Franklin discloses a rubber band holding device generally described as a cubic body having rounded slots, or a mushroom shape or apple core shape to hold a plurality of rubber bands. This invention also lacks a convenient means to dispense the rubber bands.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,037,314 issued to Armstrong discloses a medical device for ligation of hemorrhoids. This device is intended to allow a doctor to grasp hemorrhoidal tissue or suction it into the central cavity of the device and place a rubber band around it. This device would not be usable in the office or home environment to store and dispense rubber bands and is very expensive to manufacture. Nor does this device allow for a user to easily grasp a single rubber band for use other than treating hemorrhoids.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,353,968 issued to Cotslas discloses a dispenser for rubber bands consisting of a pair of nesting bowls and an aperture in the upper bowl. Rubber bands are place in a jumble between the bowls. To obtain a single rubber band, one reaches through the aperture and grasps one, hopefully not dragging several out at the same time. This invention does not allow for dispensing a single rubber band at a time, but rather allows the user to reach into a multiplicity of rubber bands and grasp one out of the jumble.
U.S. Design Patent Des. 379,105 issued to Wilk discloses a ball formed by a multiplicity of rubber bands, presumably for storing them for use. No convenient means for removing a single band is provided.
Thus there is a need for a device, suitable for use in an office, home or industrial setting for holding a multiplicity of rubber bands and conveniently dispensing one at a time.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a rubber band dispenser that dispenses a single rubber band at a time.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an aesthetically-pleasing desk top device for holding and dispensing rubber bands.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rubber band dispenser with a surface to display advertising or other information.
To fulfill the above objects, we hereby disclose a novel rubber band dispensing apparatus. Several variations are described including a spring-actuated dispenser, a manually operated lever actuated dispenser, a gravity-fed dispenser and an electrically-operated lever actuated dispenser. A cassette type refill containing a multiplicity of rubber bands for dispensing is also disclosed.
a is a perspective view of a spring-actuated embodiment of the present invention.
b is a perspective view of the first embodiment showing partial disassembly.
c is a cross section of the first embodiment of the present invention.
a is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention in the stand-by position.
b is a perspective view of the second embodiment in the depressed, dispensing position.
c is a partly exploded view of the second embodiment.
d is a cutaway view of the second embodiment.
e is an exploded view of the second embodiment.
f is a cross sectional view of the second embodiment.
a is a perspective view of an electrically-operated embodiment.
b is a partially exploded view of an electrically-operated embodiment.
a is across sectional view of an alternative embodiment using an ejection mechanism.
b is a perspective view of the alternative embodiment using an ejection mechanism.
The present invention utilizes mechanical means to dispense a single rubber band from a queue of stacked rubber bands. A clear understanding of the design and operation of various embodiments of the present invention may be obtained from the accompanying figures described below.
a, 1b and 1c illustrate a first embodiment of a rubber band dispenser 110 which is spring-actuated. This embodiment does not require a lever mechanism or mechanical operation by the user to feed individual rubber bands. Here, a core 112 containing a multiplicity of rubber bands 114 organized in a queue is inserted over an inner mechanism 116 containing a rubber band pusher 118a and spring 118b assembly. This spring-pusher assembly exerts continuous upward force on the queue of rubber bands 114, pushing them upward to the top of the core 112 thus sequencing them for dispensing. A housing 120 is inserted over the stacked queue of rubber bands 114 holding them down against the force of the spring-pusher mechanism 118a and 118b. The coefficient of friction of the core 112 surface is necessarily low enough and to allow the rubber bands to slide upward in response to the force e in response to the force exerted by the spring-pusher mechanism 118a and 118b.
The stacked queue of top rubber bands 114 is stopped in its upward movement when the top-most rubber band contacts two flanges 126. However, the ends of the rubber band are not constrained by the flanges 126 because there are gaps in the flange and are free to extend upward out of the housing 120. To further direct the distortion of the rubber band to form a graspable portion, the internal guideway 127a of the housing 120 is formed with a slight indentation configuration 127b at the exit point causing the top rubber band to flex and thus protrude at the ends 128. Thus, a single rubber band may be extracted by grasping the protruding portion 128 further allowing the spring mechanism 118 to push the next rubber band in the cue into the extraction position.
It should be further noted that the upward sequencing pressure against the rubber band stack provided by the spring-pusher mechanism 118b and 118a shown using coil springs 118b in the foregoing discussion may alternately be provided by a wide variety of mechanisms well-known in the mechanical arts. Without limitation, these include compressible foam, compressible elastomer, gas-filled pistons, or leaf springs. Additionally, the protrusion 127b provided at the exit of the housing may take a wide variety of forms, each able to urge distortion of the exiting rubber 128 band to make it graspable. These may include a separate piece or an integral part of the housing (as shown here). It may be a slot, a wedge, a cylinder, or any other shape suitable to make distort and/or guide the exiting rubber band. The core 112 holding the queue of rubber bands 114 may be a disposable cassette unit pre-loaded with rubber bands, or may be refillable by the user, in which case the core 112 may itself either be removable or a fixed component of the dispenser mechanism. Interchangeable cassette-type cores 112 holding different sizes of rubber bands 114 may also be used.
a-2e illustrate a manually-operated mechanically actuated version of the present invention.
The function may be more clearly seen in the partially exploded view of
In operation, as illustrated in
To further assist in understanding the details of assembly of the foregoing manually-actuated embodiment,
It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that a variety of different spring mechanisms may be substituted for the coil springs shown in these examples. Some alternatives are discussed in the first example illustrated in
a is a perspective view of an electrically-operated embodiment.
The electric actuator may take the form of a solenoid, motor or any similar device. An external power source may be substituted for the batteries. The batteries may be rechargeable or disposable. Any electrical storage device such as a fuel cell, capacitor or similar device may also be used in addition or in the alternative. Photovoltaic recharging may also be employed.
a is a cross sectional view of an alternative embodiment using an ejection mechanism. This alternative differs from the foregoing embodiments in that it does not rely on distorting a rubber band to create a graspable portion. Here, a stacked queue of rubber bands 410 is disposed around a core 412 inside a housing 416. A spring mechanism 420 moves the stack of rubber bands upward until they are stopped by the inner surface 422 of the housing 416. If used, the core 412 is configured to permit the stack of rubber bands 410 to extend past the top of the core 412 by approximately the width of a single rubber band. An aperture 426 is provided in the side of the housing 416 aligned with the top most rubber band 428 in the stack 410. A plunger 430 is configured to push the top most (first) rubber band 428 and separate it from the stacked queue of rubber bands 410, pushing it through the aperture 426 where it may be grasped by the user.
b is a perspective view of the alternative embodiment using an ejection mechanism. It may be seen that, in this embodiment, the housing may be opened to insert a stacked queue of rubber bands 410 over the core 412 by removing the top portion 434 of the housing 416 from the bottom portion 436 of the housing after pressing release tabs 440 on each side of the housing 416 and pulling the two halves apart. In this way, pre-packaged stacks of rubber bands 410 may be conveniently inserted.
The weight substituting for a spring may also be employed in a rubber band distorting device similar to those described in
The specific implementations disclosed above are by way of example and for enabling persons skilled in the art to implement the invention only. We have made every effort to describe all the embodiments we have foreseen. There may be embodiments that are unforeseeable or which are insubstantially different. We have further made every effort to describe the invention, including the best mode of practicing it. Any omission of any variation of the invention disclosed is not intended to dedicate such variation to the public, and all unforeseen or insubstantial variations are intended to be covered by the claims appended hereto. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except by the appended claims and legal equivalents.