Abstract:
A dispenser for wrapped straws has a housing with a hopper with upright plates forming parts of reciprocating assemblies that move outwardly when a front actuator engages a cam plate for axial movement. A composite plunger assembly travels on the cam plate. The plunger assembly has multiple spring loaded ejector members. When the cam plate is advanced one of the ejector members will encounter a straw in the hopper which is by chance positioned to be advanced through an outlet opening. The other ejector members, encountering straws not well positioned for ejection, will be depressed, but will not dispense a straw. A user extracts the one partially protruding straw and returns the cam plate to its initial position which causes the reciprocating assemblies to return to a central position, thereby shuffling the wrapped straws and presenting them again to the plunger assembly for the next dispensing.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional App. No. 62/024,017, filed Jul. 14, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to article dispensers in general, and more particularly to dispensers of wrapped articles such as drinking straws. 
     Many dispensers exist for plastic drinking straws. As uniform cylindrical objects they are readily accessed, indexed, and dispensed from a bin or hopper. Yet often customers prefer to receive their straws in an enclosed package, to keep the straw clean as it is transported. These packages are typically comprised of a paper or plastic wrapping. The wrapped straw, then, is not so uniform an object as the straw itself, and presents significant challenges in its dispensing, since it is asymmetrical and a compound assembly of elements. What is needed is a convenient and economical dispenser which can readily and repeatably dispense articles wrapped in paper, plastic, or the like. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The wrapped article dispenser of this invention has a housing with a hopper with upright plates forming parts of reciprocating assemblies that move outwardly with each straw which is dispensed. The hopper receives a quantity of the wrapped articles, such as straws. A composite plunger assembly travels on a cam plate when a front actuator arrangement is engaged, such as by depressing a front slider. The plunger assembly has multiple spring loaded ejector members. When the cam plate is advanced, one of the ejector members will likely encounter a straw in the hopper which is by chance positioned to be advanced through an outlet opening in the housing. The other ejector members, encountering straws not well positioned for ejection, will be depressed, but will not dispense a straw. The one straw which is ejected protrudes from the housing, and is engaged by a user and removed. Once a wrapped straw has been removed, the front knob is released, which causes the reciprocating assemblies to return to a central position, thereby shuffling the wrapped straws and presenting them again to the plunger assembly for the next dispensing. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispenser which dispenses wrapped articles in packages which are not identical in orientation and configuration. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a dispenser of elongate articles which are not entirely uniform. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compact dispenser for wrapped straws which may be mounted in a counter. 
     Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded isometric view, partially broken away in section, of the wrapped article dispenser of this invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the dispenser of  FIG. 1 , broken away in section with the trough element in phantom lines, the device shown before actuation. 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the dispenser of  FIG. 2 , broken away in section with the trough element in phantom lines, in a dispensing configuration, the actuation handle being not broken away in section. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser of  FIG. 2  taken along section line  4 - 4 , with the actuation assembly being shown in broken lines, the device being shown before actuation. 
         FIG. 4A  is an isolated view of portions of the actuation assembly of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser of  FIG. 3  taken along section line  5 - 5 , the device being shown in an actuated configuration. 
         FIG. 5A  is an isolated view of portions of the actuation assembly of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser of  FIG. 4  taken along section line  6 - 6 , portions of the agitator plates being shown partially broken away. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser of  FIG. 5  taken along section line  7 - 7 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring more particularly to  FIGS. 1-7 , wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, a dispenser  20  for wrapped articles such as straws is shown. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the dispenser  20  has a housing  22  with a front wall  24  which has a circular dispensing outlet  26  through which single wrapped straws  28  are dispensed from a hopper  30 . A user causes a wrapped straw  28  to be dispensed by depressing an actuator handle  32  which forms a part of an actuator assembly  34  which drives a cam plate  35  to simultaneously move a plunger assembly  36  into the hopper  30  to advance a straw and to move the agitator plates  38  which form a part of an agitator assembly  40  to agitate the collection of wrapped straws present in the hopper, with the result that an end of a single wrapped straw  28  is projected through the dispensing outlet  26  for engagement and removal by a user. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a lid  126  may be provided to close the top of the housing. 
     The housing  22  is a rectangular box having a bottom wall  42  from which the front wall  24  extends upwardly. A rear wall  44  also extends from the bottom wall  42  and is spaced parallel to the front wall  24 . Side walls  46  join the front wall  24  and the rear wall  44 . Angled support steps  47  are mounted to the rear wall  44 , as shown in  FIG. 6 , and to the front wall  24 , as shown in  FIG. 7  to receive a trough element  48 , best shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The trough element  48  has two hopper plates  50  which are angled with respect to each other, for example at about 110 degrees to produce a concave upwardly opening volume for the receipt of a stock of wrapped straws  28 . Each hopper plate  50  of the trough element  48  has two clearance slots  52  which extend parallel to the front wall  24  and through which agitator plates  38  extend. A plunger clearance hole  56  is formed in the rear of the trough element  48  between the two hopper plates  50 . For rigidity of the trough element  48 , a rear brace  58  may be positioned to connect the two hopper plates  50  above the plunger clearance hole  56  as shown in  FIG. 6 . A circular finger hole  60 , about one inch in diameter is positioned in one of the hopper plates  50  to permit the trough element&#39;s insertion within and removal from the housing  22 . 
     The housing  22  has an end plate shelf  61  adjacent the housing rear wall  44  which is parallel to the housing bottom wall. Two screws  63  are engaged with the shelf  61 . An end bracket  62  has an end plate  64  which is inclined at about 98 degrees with respect to a top wall  66  which extends along the shelf  61 . The end bracket end wall  64  has a tapered shape which allows it to extend into the trough element  48  to form a rearward barrier for the contents of the hopper  30  which is defined between the housing front wall  24 , the end bracket end wall  64  and the two hopper plates  50 . The end bracket top wall  66  has two parallel slots  68  through which the shelf screws  63  extend. The end bracket may thus be adjusted within the housing to position the end plate  64  at an appropriate distance from the housing front wall  24  to adequately contain wrapped straws  28  of various lengths. The screws  63  are tightened when the desired position of the end plate  64  is reached. 
     The distance between the housing front wall  24  and the end bracket end plate  64  is somewhat greater than the total length of the wrapped straws  28 . For example a  7  and ¾ inch straw within an 8 and ¼ inch plastic wrapping may be retained within a hopper of about 9 inches length. Straws may be about ¼ inch in diameter. The dispenser may be constructed to accommodate straw diameters from about 0.125 to 0.5 inches. The diameter of the dispensing opening may be up to about 1.5 times the diameter of the straws to be dispensed. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a flat cam plate  35  extends along the length of the housing  22  beneath the trough element  48  and parallel to the housing bottom wall  42 . The cam plate  35  is engaged by the actuator assembly  34  for reciprocating motion between an at-rest position, shown in  FIG. 2 , and an actuated position shown in  FIG. 3 . The cam plate  35  has three parallel alignment slots  70  which extend parallel to the housing side walls  46  and which receive vertical studs  72  which project upwardly from the housing bottom wall to constrain the cam plate  35  to move along a strictly rectilinear path. The cam plate has two sets of converging slots  74  which are positioned on the forward end of the cam plate  35  and which control the motion of the agitator assembly  40  as described below. 
     A platform  76  projects upwardly from the cam plate  35  and has two slots  78  which allow the plunger assembly  36  to be secured in a desired position with respect to the cam plate. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the plunger assembly  36  has a body  80  which is a plastic block with four axially extending through openings  82  arranged in a diamond pattern as shown in  FIG. 6 . The body  80  is fixed to a mounting plate  84  which is engaged with fasteners  86  which extend within the slots  78  of the platform  76 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , four ejector members  88  generally in the shape of nails, have an axial shaft  90  and a forward head  92 . The heads  92  should be at least as great in diameter as the diameter of the straw so that the heads do not puncture the straw wrapper and extend within the straws. The axial ejector member shafts  90  extend through the parallel openings  82  in the body  80  and therefore can travel axially in the openings. The shafts  90  may be threaded where they project from the rear of the body  80  and retained with nuts  94 . A spring  96  is positioned between each ejector member head  92  and the body  80 . The springs  96  bias the ejector members  88  towards the dispensing outlet  26  of the housing  22 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 6  a concave guard  98  extends beneath the ejector members  88 . The guard  98  extends beneath the trough element  48 , restraining the escape of material from the hopper through the plunger clearance hole  56 . The four ejector members  88 , the spring  96 , and the body  80  comprise the plunger assembly  36  which applies an ejecting force to the wrapped straws  28 , by which one straw is urged to exit the housing, while the other straws which encounter the ejector member  88 , but which do not have clear exit path from the housing, depress the other ejector members  88  of the plungers assembly as shown in  FIG. 5  (in which only a single dispensed wrapped straw and a single non-dispensed straw is shown). 
     Unlike unwrapped straws, which are uniform cylindrical bodies which perform in a predictable way, wrapped straws are composite asymmetrical elements which have behavior which is less repeatable when subjected to a force. The dispenser  20  is arranged to operate without certainty as to which wrapped straw is to be ejected next and to condition the load of straws to position a straw for dispensing. Hence the hopper  30  is not a static arrangement, but one which subjects the straws in the hopper to shuffling forces with each straw dispensed. These forces are applied to the straws by the agitator assembly  40  which is comprised of reciprocating agitator elements  100 , shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , each agitator element  100  has a plastic agitator plate  38 . The plate  38  may be about ⅛ inch thick, and about 3¼ inches tall. Each plate  38  is mounted to a sliding beveled base plate  102  which is mounted perpendicular to the agitator plate and which is retained by two keyed rails  104  mounted to the bottom wall  42  of the housing  22  for transverse motion with respect to the center of the cam plate  35 . Each sliding base plate  102  has beveled edges which engage with corresponding beveled edges of the rails  104 , as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . A cam follower element  105 , such as an inverted screw, projects up from each base plate  102  beneath the agitator plate  38 . The cam follower element  105  extends into one of the converging slots  74  of the cam plate  35  such that motion of the cam plate will cause the agitator elements  100  to move transversely guided by the rails  104 . 
     The actuator handle  32  is mounted for vertical travel within a slot  106  on the front wall  24  of the housing  22 . A vertical rack  108  extends into the interior of the housing, where a spring  110  biases the handle  32  in an up position. The rack  108  engages a gear train  112 , shown in  FIGS. 1 .  4 A and  5 A, which is comprised of multiple gears  114 , including a final gear  116  which engages a horizontal rack  118  which is mounted to the cam plate  35  and extending in an axial direction which extends between the front wall and the rear wall of the housing. The handle  32 , the vertical rack  108 , the gear train  112 , and the horizontal rack  118  comprise the actuator assembly  34 . Depression of the actuator handle  32  causes the vertical rack  108  to rotate the gears of the gear train  112  which, by acting on the horizontal rack  118 , causes the cam plate to advance axially towards the front wall of the housing. 
     The dispenser  20  may be placed on a counter, or it may be mounted within a drawer beneath a counter so that the front wall and the handle  32  are accessible to a user  120 . When a user  120  desires to dispense a wrapped straw  28  from the dispenser  20 , the handle  32  is engaged and depressed, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 . The depression of the handle  32  causes the actuator assembly  34  to operate to advance the cam plate  35  towards the front wall  24 , and to thereby bring the composite plunger assembly  36  forward so that the four ejector members  88  pass through an opening  56  in the end wall  64  of the end bracket  62 , bringing the plunger assembly  36  into the hopper  30  where the heads of 92 the ejector members may engage against wrapped straws within the hopper. The four ejector members  88  extend as much as an inch and a quarter from the body  80 . A resilient cushion  128 , shown in  FIG. 7 , may be mounted to the housing front wall  24  to absorb the shock of the cam plate reaching the frontmost position of its travel. 
     It is likely that more than one of the multiple ejector members  88  will encounter a wrapped straw within the filled hopper  30 . Yet some of the wrapped straws will respond to the pressure of the ejector member which engages it by traveling off axis, and will abut against the front wall  24  of the housing where it is impossible for the wrapped straw to be dispensed. In such a case the ejector member  88  is depressed against the force of a spring  96 . The engaged straw may bend, but should not be permanently deformed. To restrict the ends of the wrapped straws from traveling too far off axis, the front wall  24  may be provided with a semicircular upper barrier  122 , shown in  FIG. 7 , which engages wrapped straw ends traveling upwardly. The upper barrier  122  may be made of transparent plastic and may cross a transparent observation panel  124  which is a part of the front wall  24 . Some of the ejector members  88  may not encounter a wrapped straw at all, and one of the ejector members is likely to engage a wrapped straw which is in position to be pressed in the direction of the hopper front wall, but in a direction which will cause the straw to pass through the dispensing outlet  26 . As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , this wrapped straw will be urged through the dispensing outlet  26  so a portion, perhaps ¼ to ½ inch length of straw will protrude. The protruding segment of wrapped straw  28  can then be engaged between the fingers of the user  120  and removed from the dispenser  20 . 
     It should be noted that it is a matter of probabilities whether a wrapped straw within the hopper will be properly positioned to be ejected. One possibility is that actuation of the handle  32  will not successfully dispense a wrapped straw. However this is an acceptable outcome, because of the shuffling effects of the apparatus, to be discussed below, the apparatus can be engaged by the user again, with a good chance that the straw will be dispensed on a subsequent try. 
     The same motion of the user  120  which causes the plunger assembly  36  to urge a wrapped straw towards the dispensing outlet  26  simultaneously activates the agitator assembly  40  to agitate and adjust the position of all the wrapped straws  28  within the hopper  30 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , when the cam plate  35  is moved forward by the actuator assembly  34 , the cam follower members  105  of each agitator element  100 , engaged within the converging slots  74  of the cam plate will be moved transversely to the direction of travel of the cam plate, driving the agitator plates  38  apart and causing them to withdraw within the slots  52  of the trough element  48 . This movement generally causes the stack of straws to collapse downwardly as the agitator plates move outwardly as shown in  FIG. 7 . When the user releases the handle  32 , the spring  110  urges the handle and its attached vertical rack upwardly, which, acting through the gear train, causes the cam plate  35  to return to its rearmost position. This also reshuffles or agitates the arrangement of wrapped straws, causing many to move upwardly and inwardly. This random rearrangement of the wrapped straws opens up the possibility that the next time the dispenser  20  is operated, a wrapped straw will be properly positioned for dispensing. 
     As best shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , in the unactuated state the region between the four agitator plates  38  is narrow, preferably less than the width of three abreast wrapped straws  28 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , the inwardly facing perimeter of each agitator plate may be configured to define multiple volumes within the hopper  30 . A first segment  130  is steeply inclined, about 3 degrees from the vertical. A second segment  132  is inclined about 18 degrees from the vertical, and a third segment  134  is nearly horizontal, being inclined about 4 degrees above a horizontal plane. Thus it will be observed that when the agitator plates are returned to the unactuated condition, the volume between the plates decreases and the wrapped straws  28  are urged up the inclined segments of the agitator plates, where the majority of the wrapped straws in a full hopper will reside above the segments  134 . 
     It should be noted that the cam plate  35  may be activated for axial motion by other mechanisms than the rack and gear train arrangement illustrated. For example, the dispenser  20  may be provided with a pull knob which serves to directly advance the cam plate, or a linkage arrangement may be used. 
     The dispenser  20  is readily adjustable with a single screwdriver to accommodate wrapped straws of different dimensions. The mounting plate  84  may be positioned axially along the platform  74 , and the end bracket  62  may be adjusted axially to define the rear extent of the hopper  30 . 
     It should be noted that a dispenser of the invention may be configured for dispensing a variety of wrapped articles, for example stir sticks, or elongate utensils. 
     It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.