Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CUP DISPENSER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to dispensers and more particularly to a cup
dispenser that dispenses cups one at a time without causing damage to the cup
as it is
dispensed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Dispensers are widely used to store and dispense beverage cups. Typically, a
stack of nested cups is held by a dispenser so that a portion of the bottom-
most cup is
exposed. An individual desiring a cup simply pulls on the exposed portion of
the cup, and
removes the bottom-most cup from the dispenser.
Currently, three types of cup dispensers are generally used in the commercial
and
industrial food markets. All three types of dispensers have an opening and
generally use a
spring biased platform to urge cups towards the opening. The three types of
dispensers
have different structures associated with the opening. One type of beverage
cup dispenser
has a fixed rim that is configured to dispense a single cup size. Fixed rim
dispensers do
not generally experience much wear from use. However, they cannot accommodate
different cups sizes so that many different dispensers are required to meet
all cup needs.
In order to adjust for even the slightest variation in cup size, a customer
must purchase or
deploy a new dispenser at a substantial cost.
Another type of dispenser is an adjustable dispenser. This type of dispenser
uses
spring clips or the like that can be adjusted to dispense multiple cup sizes.
United States
Patent
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Numbers 4,126,248 to House; 4,033,478 to House, and 4,658,983 to Suttles and
United States
Patent Application number 2007/0295746 to Gapp disclose a number of these
adjustable
dispensers. While these dispensers are adjustable to accommodate different cup
sizes and do not
exhibit much wear from use, these designs have a tendency to mar or crack
certain types of cups,
e.g., foam cups.
The third type of dispenser employs a flexible diaphragm instead of a fixed
rim. This
type of dispenser has a removable flexible diaphragm through which cups are
pulled. The
flexible diaphragm has an opening that may be varied to accommodate cups of
different sizes.
United States Patent Numbers 5,709,316 to Jolly et al. and 6,199,723 to
Collins et al. disclose
cup dispensers with flexible diaphragms. Flexible diaphragms are relatively
inexpensive to
manufacture and can be readily shaped in accordance with the needs of a food
service
organization. As such, a dispenser can be fit with diaphragms having different
sized and shaped
openings at a relatively low expense. Flexible diaphragms, however, are
subject to wear. As
such, they need to be periodically replaced and thus, have ongoing costs
associated with their
use.
The current dispensers suffer from certain drawbacks and limitations.
Accordingly, a
need exists for dispensers that are easy to use, are resistant to premature
wear, are flexible to
changing or multiple cup needs, do not mar or crack cups and solve other
problems associated
with the existing beverage cup dispensers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a device is provided that employs
multiple
adjustable clips having a relatively wide line of contact with the bottom-most
cup in a stack of
cups. The width of the line of contact with the bottom-most cup spreads the
retaining pressure
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on the cup out over a wider area than prior art devices, and when replicated
among multiple clips,
serves to minimize or eliminate the marring on the cup which would otherwise
occur with the
narrower lines of contact.
The clip shape of the present invention also permits improved loading of a
stack of cups.
The adjustable clips preferably include lead-in ramps which, unlike the prior
art, provide a gentle
egress into the dispenser with little or no marring of any cups in the stack.
The improvement in cup dispensing may be further enhanced by selecting
materials that
permit a balance between the rigidity and flexibility of the clip itself
Constructing the clips of
the present invention with the appropriate flexibility permits the dispenser
to dispense relatively
efficiently despite minor misadjustments. It also contributes to the ability
of the cup dispenser of
the present invention to dispense cups without marring or cracking the cups.
Preferably, the clips of the present invention are molded in such a way so as
to avoid the
presence of a raised center line along the line of contact with the cups. This
line, which is
present on all known prior art plastic clips dispensers, can mar cups on
ingress into or egress
from the dispenser.
The clips of the present invention can be incorporated into a brand-new
dispenser or used
to replace existing clips in existing dispensers. In either case, the present
invention yields an
improvement over the prior art.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will
be made
apparent from the following detailed description taken together with the
drawings, which
together disclose the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the
invention.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the
accompanying
drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout,
and in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 1, with the trim ring
removed;
Fig. 3 is a side view of a one embodiment of a clip of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the clip shown in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is an exploded view of one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the collar of the present
invention;
Fig. 7 is a side view of the cup support of one embodiment of the present
invention.
Fig. 8 is a bottom view of one embodiment of the present invention showing the
bottom-
most cup of a stack of cups mounted in the cup storage tube; and
Fig. 9 is a section view of that shown in Fig. 8 taken along line 9-9 thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in Fig. 1, a dispenser 10 has a cup storage tube 12 for holding a
stack of cups to
be dispensed. The dispenser 10 preferably includes a biasing means such as a
spring 11 that fits
within the tube 12, a cup support 14 and a cap 15. As shown in Fig. 7, the cup
support 14 is in
the shape of slightly flattened dome to center the stack of cups within the
tube 12 and imparting
appropriate pressure on the stack of cups toward the dispensing end of the
tube 12 without
breaking or otherwise damaging the cups. A collar 16 is fitted on the top of
the tube 12 and has
an outside diameter greater than the tube 12 and greater than the opening in a
housing (not
shown) into which the dispenser 10 is mounted. As such, the dispenser 10 can
be placed in the
housing and maintained in place by one or more fasteners (not shown) affixing
the collar 16 to
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the housing. The collar is coaxial with the tube 12 and its front opening is
preferably secured to
the tube 12 by a plurality of studs 17 that fit through a plurality of
corresponding holes in tube
12. A trim ring 18 preferably fits over and connects to the collar 16 to
provide a finished
appearance when the dispenser 10 is mounted in a housing.
As can be seen in Fig. 2, preferably at least three substantially identical
resilient clips 20
are provided. When three clips are deployed, they are disposed approximately
120 degrees apart
inside tube 12, near its front opening. The number of such clips is preferably
at least three, to
insure that a cup stack is supported symmetrically with respect to the tube
12. However, larger
numbers of clips can be used if desired.
Each clip 20 mounted in the dispenser 10 of the present invention is fit, at
its distal end,
into a slot 22 in the tube 12. A first, outer end section 24 of the clip 20
extends a short distance
along the outer wall of the tube 12 as it extends through the slot 22. A
second, inner end section
26 of the clip 20 extends a lesser distance than the end section 24 along the
inner wall of the tube
12. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, extending substantially straight up from
the inner end section
26 is a relatively long leg section 28. A first bent portion 30 extends out at
an angle 6 from the
long leg section 28. Preferably this angle is between 95 degrees and 180
degrees more preferably
between 125 degrees and 160 degrees and most preferably 147 degrees. The first
bent portion 30
meets a second bent portion 32 at a cup engagement portion 31 and extends back
away from the
first bent portion 30 at an angle a. Preferably this angle is between 65
degrees and 170 degrees,
more preferably between 95 degrees and 140 degrees and most preferably 126
degrees. These
angles are set to avoid interference with next to last cup in the cup stack
(angle 0) and to permit
the bottom-most cup to gently but quickly clear the clips 20 to permit ease of
dispensing without
cup damage (angle a). A final section 33, extends away from the second bent
portion 32 of each
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clip 20 at an angle y. Preferably this angle is between 100 degrees and 140
degrees, more
preferably between 110 degrees and 125 degrees and most preferably 117
degrees. Section 33
comprises three portions 34, 36 and 38. Section 38 of each clip 20 includes a
set of teeth 42
which, because of the resiliency of each clip 20, removably engage a
corresponding set of teeth in
44 in the collar 16 to prevent radial movement of the body of the clip 10,
This engagement,
caused by the biased resiliency of each clip 20, serves to maintain cup
engagement portion 31 in
a selected position relative to the tube 12. A tab 40 extends up from section
33 and fits through
a channel 46 in collar 16 which bifurcates each set of teeth 44. Tab 40
provides means for
adjusting the relative radial position of each clip 20 by permitting the teeth
42 and 44 to be
disengaged when the tab 40 is pressed down and rotated along an arc within the
channel 46.
When the clips 20 are mounted in the dispenser 10, and engage a stack of cups,
they
undergo some deformation. In one embodiment of the present invention, the
majority of the
deformation is born by section 28 which bows out. However, angles y and a
generally undergo
some slight deformation as well, typically decreasing on the order of
approximately 0.5 degrees.
Angle 0 is largely unchanged under compression.
Referring now to Figs. 8-9, in operation, the dispenser 10 is filled with a
stack of cups
100 the bottom through the clips 20. The clips 20 provide lead in ramps
(section 32) to help a
stack of cups load into the tube 12 without marring. The ramps function by
virtue of the shape
and angular relationships of each section 32 to the rest of the clip 20.
If necessary, the clips 20 may be adjusted by pressing down on one or more of
the tabs 40
and rotating the clips along an are within channel 46 to engage the bottom-
most cup 102 in the
stack 100, center the cups within the tube 12 and selectively set the clips
radially evenly with
respect to the tube 12. Preferably the collar 16 includes consistent markings
47 on each side of a
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channel 46 to provide a reference to a user to facilitate setting the clips
radially evenly around the
stack of cups.
The cup stack 100 is held in place by the contact of the cup engagement
portion 31 of
each clip 20 with the side of the bottom-most cup 102. As shown in Fig. 8, the
contact between
the engagement portion 31 and the bottom-most cup 102 does not occur along the
entire width of
the cup engagement portion 31. Rather, as shown in Fig. 4, only part of the
engagement portion
31 is in contact with the side of the bottom-most cup. In other words, the
width of the
engagement portion 31 is wider than the curve of the cup when the curve is
flattened or deformed
by the engagement portion 31 as it holds the cup stack 100 in place. This
extra width means that
there will be no high pressure point where the edges of the clip 20 engage the
sides of the
bottom-most cup. This translates to minimal if any marring of the cups being
dispensed. It also
serves to cause the bottom-most cup to deform and separate from the next cup
in the stack which
is held back from dispensing, at least in part, by its ultimate interaction
with section 30 of the clip
20.
The clips 20 of the present invention are preferably plastic, and more
preferably are made
of 0.80 inch thick polypropylene to provide good wear resistance and
resilience. However, other
materials with similar characteristics may be substituted. When the clips are
made from plastic,
they are preferably molded to avoid the presence of a raised mold parting line
down the center of
the engagement portion 31. The absence of such a line diminishes still
further, as compared to
the prior art, the likelihood that the clips will mar any of the cups in the
cup stack.
In one embodiment of the present invention the cup engagement portion is at
least one
inch wide with a 0.10 inch radius. This width preferably corresponds to a
maximum cup
diameter (as measured across the mouth of a cup) of approximately 4.125
inches. This yields a
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ratio of cup diameter to engagement portion width of 4.125:1 or a preferred
ratio of
approximately 4:1. The ratio decreases as the size of the cups to be dispensed
decreases.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a gasket 104 is employed, in
addition to clips 20 to aid in the smooth dispensing of the cups from the
dispenser 10.
The gasket also provides a sanitary barrier, particularly when cups are
dispensed
upwardly from a counter (not shown).
The dispenser 10 and clips 20 of the present invention may have other
applications aside from use in connection with cups. Further, the invention
may be
implemented in a variety of configurations, using certain features or aspects
of the several
embodiments described herein and others known in the art. Thus, although the
invention
has been herein shown and described in what is perceived to be the most
practical and
preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not
intended to be
limited to the specific features and embodiments set forth above. The scope of
the claims
should not be limited by particular embodiments set forth herein, but should
be construed
in a manner consistent with the specification as a whole.
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