Telescoping sliced bread dispenser

A telescoping dispenser having two interconnecting tray portions. The first tray portion has a tray for receiving a loaf of sliced bread, a guide for a second smaller telescoping tray and a handle for gripping the dispenser above the center of gravity. The second tray portion has a flap hinged at one end with a perforation in the flap for holding the twisted end of a plastic bread wrapper.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The field of the invention is baked goods dispensed from telescoping 
receptacles having bag closures and the present invention is particularly 
concerned with telescoping sliced bread dispensers. 
Although the present invention is useful in dispensing onions, round fruit 
such as grapefruit, grains, square envelopes of powdered drinks and bakery 
products, the specific embodiments are limited to the dispensing of sliced 
bread protected by a cellophane, vinyl or other plastic wrapper. 
Sliced bread and many other grocery products now are sold in the United 
States in clear plastic wrappers such as vinyl with one end secured by a 
wire or other wrap-around closure. The vinyl wrapper gives no support to 
the sliced bread and as the individual slices are removed from the 
package, the slices move about and are subject to being crushed and 
otherwise damaged. 
The state of the art of sliced bread packages may be ascertained by 
reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,816,399 and 3,146,111 of Rohwedder and 
Enoch, respectively. Rohwedder shows a telescoping concept, but there is 
no bottom to form a tray and there is no fastener or twister. Enoch shows 
a U-shaped reinforcing band. Neither of the references discloses the 
concept of a telescoping receptacle for dispensing sliced bread from a 
plastic wrapper having a fastener or twister for the end of the wrapper as 
a component of the receptacle. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Having in mind the limitations of the present art, it is an object of the 
present invention to dispense sliced bread from a plastic wrapper while 
accomodating the decrease in size of the loaf resulting from the removal 
of slices. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a seal for the 
twisted end of the bread wrapper as an integral part of the dispenser. 
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a handle 
for the dispenser which maintains the center of gravity of the loaf as the 
size is decreased. 
Still another object of the present invention is a two-piece, telescoping 
dispenser fabricated from low cost materials such as plastic, light metal, 
or wax-coated fiber board. 
The objects of the present invention are achieved by a two-piece, 
telescoping receptacle where the first piece is a tray with lateral 
grooves therein having a handle and the second piece is retractable into 
the grooves of the first piece by lateral edges or ridges. An end portion 
of the second piece is hinged to the bottom or either lateral edge and has 
slots therein for holding and sealing the twisted end of a bread wrapper.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The invention is best described by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein a 
loaf of sliced bread 2 is dispensed from a first tray 4 into which a 
second tray 6 is telescoped. The first tray 4 has a handle 8 with a length 
equal to or greater than the length of the first tray so that the handle 
may be gripped at the center of gravity no matter how the load in the 
dispenser is distributed. 
The second tray 6 has a flap 10 hinged at 16 at one end thereof and this 
hinged flap has at least one slot 12 running from the edge and connecting 
with a perforation 14 for securing and sealing the twisted end of the 
plastic wrapper holding a load of bread. 
First tray 4 has at least one groove turned over edge or lateral surface 18 
parallel to the bottom 20. The second tray is telescoped and held in the 
first tray by edges 22 abutting the inside surfaces of grooves 18. 
In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the edges 24 are vertical but in FIG. 2, the 
edges 26 are at an angle of about 45 degrees. This angle is advantageous 
in two ways. First of all, it permits the forward end of handle 8 to 
extend beyond the bottom edge 20 of the tray so that it may be gripped 
further forward in balancing the center of gravity. Secondly, the angled 
edge permits the insertion of the second tray 6 having projections 28 
thereon into grooves 18 having keepers 30 at the leading end thereof for 
securing tray 6 in tray 4. 
In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the first tray 34 has a second tray 36 
telescoping thereinto. A first U-shaped handle portion 30 is secured to or 
integral with the sides of tray 34 and a second handle portion or grip 38 
is pivoted by a bolt or rivet 40 about the highest point of the first 
handle portion 30. The advantage of this arrangement is that the second 
handle portion or grip may be pivoted over the center of gravity as the 
length of the dispensed material decreases and the load distribution 
changes. 
FIG. 5 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 4 with the size of the loaf of 
bread decreased and the grip 38 rotated to compensate for the shift in 
load distribution. 
FIG. 6 shows a handle arm pivotable about a horizontal pin, a bolt or rivet 
44 where the pin 44 is secured to the side of the tray through hole 46. An 
arc of teeth 48 secures the teeth 50 on the inside of the handle arm 42 so 
that the handle arm is adjustable through an angle of about 90 degrees. 
Positions A, B and C illustrate examples of how the handle is rotated in 
order to place the grip over the center of gravity during changes in load 
distribution. 
The grip 50 of FIG. 6 is shown in detail in FIG. 8 as having perforations 
or finger holes 52 and 54. 
BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
In the best mode of carrying out the invention, the embodiment of FIG. 1 is 
fabricated by extrusion molding from polyethylene or polypropylene in two 
parts. The first part 4 has the handle 8 and ridges 18 molded to the upper 
edge of the sides 17. The second part has the lateral upper edges held in 
position for telescoping by ridges 18. The flap 10 is hinged at 16 by 
having the thickness at 16 molded thinner to promote bending. One slot 12 
parallel to the lateral edges and one connecting perforation 14 are molded 
into the flap 10. 
A loaf of sliced bread is placed in the dispenser with the second part 6 
extended to the end of the loaf having a twister. The twister is removed 
from the plastic wrapper and the twisted end of the wrapper is inserted 
through slot 12 and lodged in perforation 14. 
As slices of bread are removed from the loaf, the twisted end is removed 
from the perforation and slot, unravelled and slices are removed. The 
plastic wrapper is again twisted and the second part is telescoped into 
the first part to compensate for the decrease in size of the loaf and the 
twisted end is again inserted in the slot 12 and lodged in the perforation 
14. 
The above procedure is repeated until all of the bread is exhausted. The 
handle 8 having a length longer than the first part 4 is grippable at any 
position along its length to compensate for the change in the center of 
gravity resulting from the change in load distribution as the bread is 
removed.