Patent ID: 8297473

Claim:
A cutlery dispenser comprising: a storage chute for containing a plurality of cutlery, each piece of cutlery having a handle end and a food-contact end; and a dispense mechanism comprising at least two cams, each cam comprising a resting surface and a displacing portion, wherein the resting surface of a first cam is configured to contact a piece of cutlery at a first location and the resting surface of a second cam is configured to contact the piece of cutlery at a different second location, wherein the displacing portion of the first and second cams is configured to discharge the piece of cutlery, and wherein the displacing portion of the first cam is offset relative to the displacing portion of the second cam in a direction of their rotation, wherein the cams are adapted to dispense a piece of cutlery from the storage chute, by presenting a handle end of the dispensed piece of cutlery for retrieval by a user and retaining the food-contact end of the dispensed piece of cutlery until released upon retrieval by the user.