Patent ID: 8016158

Claim:
A lid dispensing device comprising: a base unit; a lid holder operatively connected to the base unit for holding a stack of lids; and a slidable blade cassette assembly constructed from sheet material folded back on itself and operatively mounted to the base below the stack of lids, the assembly including a blade moveable in the assembly between a first position and a second position and wherein the stack of lids is supported by the blade engaging a first lid in the stack of lids while the blade is in the first position and wherein the blade allows the first lid to fall away from the stack of lids through the cassette assembly and an aperture in the blade while still supporting the remaining lids in the stack of lids as the blade moves to the second position, the blade including a horizontal groove within the cassette assembly and wherein the blade slides horizontally within the base unit: wherein the blade includes: opposite first and second faces and opposite first and second ends, a first cutout on the first face near the first end, a second cutout on the first face near the second end which intersects the first cutout and is larger than the first cutout; a third cutout on the second face near the second end, wherein the cutouts on the first face form an aperture through the blade, and wherein the groove is in between the cutouts and approximately parallel to the faces of the blade near the intersection of the cutouts.