Abstract:
A serpentine dispenser for dispensing stacks of nested cans from a cartridge allows cans to be dispensed without slip sheets between individual cans, or internal dispenser walls separating can facings. Jam-free dispenser feeding is achieved by constructing a cartridge holding area wider than the dispenser down chute, such that the cartridge may be easily inserted and removed from the dispenser, but cans exiting the cartridge are maintained in a nested stack by the narrower width of the down chute. A lower feed channel that is narrower than the cartridge holding area maintains cans in a nested stack as they are delivered to a product selection area. The product selection area is wider than the lower feed channel so that individual cans may un-nest and be individually selected. In some embodiments, the product selection area is extended to allow two stacks of nested cans to separate, forming a self-facing dispenser.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims one or more inventions which were disclosed in Provisional Application No. 61/783,784, filed Mar. 14, 2013, entitled “SERPENTINE DISPENSER WITH CARTRIDGES”. The benefit under 35 USC §119(e) of the U.S. provisional application is hereby claimed, and the aforementioned application is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention pertains to the field of serpentine product dispensers. More particularly, the invention pertains to serpentine product dispensers for nested and stacked canned goods. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     There are a variety of materials and manufacturing methods used to make cans  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  for canned grocery goods. The serpentine dispenser  500  described herein relates to all cans  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  when categorized into two sub-groups: “non-nesting cans”—those that have hemmed end caps  5  at both top and bottom and cannot nest within each other when stacked, as shown in prior art  FIG. 1A ; and “nesting cans” or “stackable cans”—those which have only one hemmed end cap  5  on top and a drawn, nestable stacking design  6  on the bottom as shown in prior art  FIG. 1B . Nesting and stackable cans  3 ,  4  are found in a wide variety of sizes and have different top cap  5  and bottom designs  6  that create different depths (“Dn”,  FIG. 1B ) to which the base of an upper can  4  nests down into the cap of a lower can  3  when stacked and nested. Generally these two designs account for nearly all cans found in grocery stores. While “can” may refer to traditional metal alloy cans or can-like packages molded from various plastics, as used herein the term generally refers to any product package capable of rolling, regardless of material of manufacture, or specific geometry. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,992,747, for example, shows a modular serpentine dispenser for products capable of rolling, such as cans contained in a carton in a single row configuration, or “single facing” as known in the industry. This configuration houses a single row of cans, using one left side wall and one right side wall with various connecting surfaces between the side walls forming a housing, channels, and inclined ramps which hold the carton and direct rolling products exiting the carton to a location where they can be selected by a consumer. The dispenser is also assembled in “multiple facing” configurations, using the above configuration and additional middle walls or dividing ribs separating individual rows, or multiple facings, of products. 
     Prior art  FIGS. 2A and 2B  show a multiple facing configuration with two rows of cans. The carton, also referred to as cartridge  220 , includes paperboard separator panels, or “slip sheets”  210  as they are commonly known in the industry, between layers of cans  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  to keep them separated during transit. Similar packaging methods are currently in use in the field, especially with bulk packed canned cat food, for example. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  show that after insertion into the dispenser  200 , slip sheet  210  inside the cartridge  220  aligns both vertically and front to rear with the divider wall  230  in the dispenser  200 . 
     This configuration and alignment causes the cans  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  in each column to roll out of the cartridge  220 , drop downward into their respective sides of the dispenser&#39;s lower channel  240 , and roll forward smoothly to the front dispensing location for selection by a consumer. The uppermost edge  250  of the dividing walls  230  may taper to a knife edge to further facilitate this alignment and smooth feeding from the cartridge  220  to the lower channel  240 . These parts, designs, and alignments are necessary to keep the cans  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  from feeding out of the cartridge  220  and onto the top edge  250  of the divider wall  230  and causing a feed jam at that location. Similarly, the middle walls between the facing rows of the dispenser assembly are necessary to keep the cans from entering the lower feed channel and ramp in a random manner and creating a jam in the lower feed channel. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A serpentine dispenser for dispensing nested stacks of cans from a cartridge allows cans to be dispensed without the need for slip sheets in the cartridge between individual cans, or internal dispenser walls that separate individual can facings for consumer selection. Jam-free feeding of the dispenser is achieved by constructing a cartridge holding area that is wider than the dispenser down chute, such that the cartridge may be easily inserted and removed from the dispenser, but cans exiting the cartridge are maintained in a nested stack by the narrower width of the down chute. Similarly, a lower feed channel that is also narrower than the cartridge holding area maintains cans in a nested stack as they are delivered to a product selection area. The product selection area is wider than the lower feed channel so that the nested stack will un-nest when it reaches the product selection area, such that individual cans can be selected by a consumer. In some embodiments, the length of the product selection area is extended to allow two stacks of cans to separate, and thus form a self-facing dispenser in which cans removed from the front most stack in the dispensing area are automatically replaced by cans behind them in the dispensing area. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1A  shows a stack of prior art non-nested cans. 
         FIG. 1B  shows a stack of prior art nested cans. 
         FIG. 2A  shows a front view of a prior art cartridge containing two facing non-nested cans and a slip sheet inserted between them in a dispenser having a dividing wall between facings. 
         FIG. 2B  shows a front view of a prior art cartridge containing two facing nestable cans and a slip sheet inserted between them in a dispenser having a dividing wall between facings. 
         FIG. 3  shows a front section view of a cartridge containing two facing nested cans in a dispenser having a variable width dispensing channel. 
         FIG. 4  shows a top view of the dispensing area of a dispenser having a variable width dispensing channel containing two facing nested cans. 
         FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of a cartridge containing four facing nested cans in a dispenser having a variable width dispensing channel. 
         FIG. 6  shows a front section view through the cartridge exit port, cartridge holding area exit port, and down chute of a dispenser having a variable width dispensing channel containing four facing nested cans. 
         FIG. 7  shows a top view of the lower dispensing channel and product selection area of a dispenser with a variable width dispensing channel containing four facing nested cans. 
         FIG. 8  shows a top view detail of the product selection area of a dispenser having a variable width dispensing channel. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A serpentine dispenser is constructed to eliminate the need for dispensing channel divider walls and slip sheets in product cartons or cartridges containing multiple facing stacks of nested cans. The dispenser construction also enables jam-free feeding of multiple facing stacks of nested cans, and reliable feeding of the cans to a product selection area where the consumer may easily remove a single can if desired. Both jam-free feeding of multiple facing stacks of nested cans, and easy removal of a single can, (or multiple cans) at the product selection area, is enabled by a variable width dispensing channel connecting the product cartridge and the product selection area. 
     As shown in prior art  FIGS. 1A and 2A , dispenser  200  divider walls  230  and slip sheets  210  have been employed when using cartridges  220  packed with cans  1 ,  2  that do not nest. When dispensing cans  3 ,  4  which are capable of nesting, as in prior art  FIGS. 1B and 2B , the use of divider walls  230  in the dispensers  200 , and slip sheets  210  in the cartridges  220 , wastes space and materials within the cartridges  220 , dispensers  200 , and across store shelves. Eliminating slip sheets  210  and divider walls  230  allows space to be regained for additional product facings across the full width of product categories on the shelves. Eliminating wasted space and packaging elements also creates a significant savings in materials, manufacturing, shipping, and assembly costs. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , nestable cans  3 ,  4  can be shipped inside multiple facing cartons, or cartridges  220 , in a nested condition thereby eliminating slip sheets  210  and saving significant amounts of packaging material and packaging costs. The dispensers  500  for these cartridges  220  have no divider walls  230 . Instead the various panels between, and connecting, the left side panel  510  and right side panel  520  are as wide as necessary to accommodate the appropriate numbers of product facings and the cartridge  220 . The width of the dispenser  500  upper loading channel  530  accommodating the cartridge  220  and tolerances to allow easy insertion and removal of the cartridge is indicated by “W 1 ” in the  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  shows a two facing configuration, but cartridges  220  and dispensers  500  may also be constructed to accommodate three or more cans wide (i.e. “three facings” . . . “N facings”). A “four facings” embodiment is shown in  FIGS. 5-8 . 
     Cans  3 ,  4  bulk packed for distribution in a nested condition have a feeding problem into, and through, existing dispenser  200  housings which is solved by the arrangement of the dispenser&#39;s  500  side walls  510 ,  520 , in the design shown in  FIGS. 3-8 .  FIG. 5  shows a dispenser  500  having a left side wall  510  and right side wall  520  forming an upper channel  530  together with a loading ramp  540  into which a bulk cartridge  220  is inserted. The side walls  510 ,  520  are sufficiently far apart to accommodate easy insertion of the packed cartridge  220  by store personnel and provide for jam free rolling of the cans inside the cartridge  220 . This spacing, “W 1 ” in  FIG. 3 , will be at least equal to the outer width of the cartridge  220  plus a small additional amount to allow for ease of insertion. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 6 , as the upper channel  530  drops vertically into the dispenser  500  down chute  550 , and transitions into the lower feed channel  560 , the side walls  510 ,  520  of the dispenser  500  recess inwardly to form a down chute  550  and lower feed channel  560  with widths “W 2 ” and “W 3 ”, respectively, that are narrower than “W 1 ”. 
       FIG. 3  and  FIG. 6  are front section views through the upper channel  530  and down chute  550 , with a cartridge  220  inserted into the dispenser  500  showing nested cans  3 ,  4  issuing therefrom into the dispenser  500  down chute  550  through an upper channel exit port  555 .  FIG. 3  shows a two facing arrangement of cans  3 ,  4 .  FIG. 6  shows an arrangement of “N” can facings (N=4 in this particular example) and is shown at the level of the exit port  555  in the upper channel  530  through which the cans  3 ,  4  move from the cartridge  220  to the down chute  550 . 
       FIG. 4  and  FIG. 7  show the lower portion of the dispenser&#39;s  500  lower feed channel  560  and front-most dispensing area  400  for two different can  3 ,  4  facings.  FIG. 8  shows a detail view of the lower, front area of the dispenser&#39;s lower feed channel  560  forming a product selection area  400  where individual products may be dispensed to shoppers one at a time. 
     Narrowing of the down chute  550  and lower feed channel  560  is accomplished by a variety of means including recessing portions of the housing sidewalls  510 ,  520 , as shown in  FIGS. 3-8 . Alternatively, otherwise smooth, flat sidewalls can have glide ribbing added to the interior surfaces to create a narrowing effect, or other similar structural strictures can be formed in them or added as surface features. For each size and shape of can  3 ,  4  packaged and dispensed, the widths “W 1 ” (upper channel  530 ), “W 2 ” (down chute  550 ), “W 3 ” (lower feed channel  560 ), and “W 4 ” (product dispensing area  400 ) of the space between the dispenser  500  sidewalls  510 ,  520  are preferably of specific dimensions and tolerances matched to the can size and number of rows of cans being dispensed. 
     The widths “W 2 ” of the down chute  550  and “W 3 ” of the lower feed channel  560  are preferably sized to create a space both loose enough for the nested cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” to roll while remaining in their nested condition throughout the dispenser  500 , but tight enough to prevent them from un-nesting during transit through the down chute  550  and lower feed channel  560 . The width dimensions “W 2 ” and “W 3 ”, and tolerances, are very important to the proper function of the dispenser  500 . If the down chute  550  and lower feed channel  560  widths, “W 2 ” and “W 3 ” respectively, are too small, the cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” will not feed into and roll smoothly through the dispenser  500 . If these widths are too large, the cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” can un-nest early, advance randomly, and jam in the lower feed channel  560  or down chute  550 . 
     Preferably, widths “W 2 ” and “W 3 ” of the down chute  550  and lower feed channel  560 , respectively, are in the range of “H”&lt;“W 2 ”&lt;(“H”+“Dn”) and “H”&lt;“W 3 ”&lt;(“H”+“Dn”); where, as shown in  FIG. 1B , “H” is the total height of the stack of nested cans, and “Dn” is the depth to which one can nests into one adjacent can. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 6 , it is further desirable to taper or chamfer  300  the transition between the wider (“W 1 ”), upper channel  530  exit port and the narrower (“W 2 ”) down chute  550  such that the cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” are guided from the cartridge  220  into the down chute  550  without encountering any sharp edges or wall/rib end surfaces that might cause the cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” to hang up, bind, or otherwise jam. In one embodiment a chamfer angle, α, in the range of 10 to 30 degrees relative to the plane of the dispenser side wall  510 ,  520  is preferably used. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4  and  FIGS. 7-8 , where the forward-most set of can  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” facings has rolled through the lower feed channel  560  and reached the dispensing location  400  at the lower front area of the dispenser  500 , the side walls  510 ,  520  widen to the dispenser&#39;s  500  full width (“W 4 ”). Widening of the space, from “W 3 ” to “W 4 ”, between the sidewalls  510 ,  520  at the dispensing location  400  enables the front-most set, or sets, of cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” to un-nest for dispensing of individual cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” to shoppers. This transition  401  between the lower feed channel  560  and the dispensing location  400  is also preferably tapered or chamfered to enable a shopper to replace an unwanted can  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N”. In other words, preferably “W 4 ”&gt;“H”+“Dn”, where, as shown in  FIG. 1B , “H” is the total height of the stack of nested cans, and “Dn” is the depth to which one can nests into one adjacent can. 
     Also as shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIGS. 7-8 , the front to rear length, “L”, of the widened (“W 4 ”) portion of the dispensing location  400  is preferably greater than the diameter, “d”, of the cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” being dispensed to enable un-nesting of the entire front-most set of cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N”, yet should preferably be less than three times the diameter, “d”. If the length, “L”, of the widened (“W 4 ”) dispensing location  400  is greater than two times the can  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” diameter, “d”, the second row of cans may un-nest as well, as shown in detail in  FIG. 8 , behind the front-most set of cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N”. A greater length “L” enables the second row of cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” to un-nest and roll forward individually as the front-most cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” are singly dispensed to shoppers. As a result the front-most row of cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” will always be full, or auto-front faced as known in the industry. Auto-front facing is preferable as it prevents the appearance of a low stock condition. 
     In other words, as shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIGS. 7-8 , the preferred range of lengths, “L”, for the widened (“W 4 ”) dispensing location  400  is expressed as; d&lt;L&lt;3d; where “L” is the length of the widened dispensing location  400 , and “d” is the diameter of a can  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” being dispensed. If “L” is too short, the front-most row of cans will not properly un-nest for the shopper. If “L” is too long, the rows of cans behind the first two can rows will un-nest too early and potentially jam as they roll through the lower feed channel  560 . 
     As was the case at the transition  300  between the upper channel  530  exit port and the narrower down chute  550 , it is also desirable to taper or chamfer  300  the transition between the narrower (“W 3 ”), lower feed channel  560  and the wider (“W 4 ”) product selection area  400  such that the cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” are smoothly guided from the lower feed channel  560  to the wider (“W 4 ”) product selection area  400  without encountering any sharp edges or wall/rib end surfaces that might cause the cans  3 ,  4 , . . . , “N” to hang up, bind, or otherwise jam when a shopper chooses to return a can to the dispenser, causing cans to move back toward the lower feed channel  560 . In one embodiment a chamfer angle, α, in the range of 10 to 30 degrees relative to the plane of the dispenser side wall  510 ,  520  is preferably used. 
     Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.