Patent ID: 11877702
Assignee: MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, LP
Field: Furniture, games (Other fields)
Classification: CPC A  B | IPC A

Claim 4:
5. A method of advancing an article in a container, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a container defining an interior chamber and a dispensing opening for providing access to the interior chamber;
providing an article advancer positioned in the interior chamber configured to bias contents of the container towards the dispensing opening, the article advancer having an arcuate body, a first distal end portion, and a second distal end portion opposite the first distal end portion, the first and second distal end portions each cooperating with the arcuate body to form opposite peripheral side edges of the article advancer, the opposite peripheral side edges parallel to each other along the first distal end portion, the second distal end portion, and the arcuate body,
the first distal end portion including a first pair of laterally-endmost legs that form first linear portions of the opposite peripheral side edges of the article advancer and having first inner sidewall portions that define a first uninterrupted end gap therebetween, the first inner sidewall portions parallel proximate the first pair of laterally-endmost legs and converging to form a first central semi-circular u-shaped portion of the arcuate body, the second distal end portion including a second pair of laterally-endmost legs that form second linear portions of the opposite peripheral side edges of the article advancer and having second inner sidewall portions that define a second uninterrupted end gap therebetween, the second inner sidewall portions parallel proximate the second pair of laterally-endmost legs and converging to form a second central semi-circular u-shaped portion of the arcuate body opposite the first central u-shaped portion, wherein the first and second linear portions of the opposite peripheral side edges are linked together by and extend in a generally linear manner from curved portions of the opposite peripheral side edges such that the first distal end portion and the second distal end portion are generally planar when the article advancer is in the fully dispensed configuration, the curved portions of the opposite peripheral side edges being formed in the arcuate body,
in the compressed configuration, a plane extending tangent to an uppermost portion of the arcuate body is positioned a first distance from the first and second distal end portions,
in the fully dispensed configuration, the plane extending tangent to the uppermost portion of the arcuate body is positioned a second distance from the first and second distal end portions, the second distance being greater than the first distance; and
compressing the article advancer to the compressed configuration by placing a plurality of articles in the interior chamber on the article advancer, wherein compressing the article advancer causes the first and second distal end portions to slide relative to the container.