AU595889B2

AU595889B2 - Improvements in drinking straw dispensers

Info

Publication number: AU595889B2
Application number: AU74210/87A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Christopher Mobbs
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-06-11
Filing date: 1987-06-11
Publication date: 1990-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2007-06-11
Also published as: AU7421087A

Description

specification (Form 10 and true copy).

AUSTRALIA Plo00a011 Form PA'TENTS ACT 1952 CO1MPLETE4' SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICEF USE Short Title.

Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: 13' !zed Art: This docurne~nt contains the aimendments mad~e unde r Section 49 and is correct for printing. Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor:, TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT CHRISTOPHER RJICHARD MOBBS 4 JAYNE STR!8ET, WEST RYDE, N. 2114 CHRISTOP'HER RICUARD MOBBS Address for Service: Car'e of PAUL F. KILLDEA, PATENT AND TRADE MARK ATTORNEY, 19 LOGAN STREJET, NARRAZUNDAH, 2604 Complaet Speclfication for the invention entitled: IMPROVEMENTS XN DRINKING STRAW

DISPENSERS

The following statement is a full description of this Invention, incli~ding the bes! method of performing it known to me:- Note: The description Is to be type.1 In 0ouble spacing, pica type fac' In an area not exceeding 250 mm In depth and 160 mm in width, on tough white pap.er of good quality, rd It Is to be Inserted Inside this form, 14S99/78-L 1459978-.LPrinted by C. J, TiloNpsoN, Commonwealth Government Printer; Canberra -2- IMPROVEMENTS IN DRINKING STRAW DICPENSERS Field of Invention The invention relates to dispensers for drinking straws, particularly dispensers suitable for use in commercial establishments such as milk bars, drug-stores, hotels, restuarants, taverns and the like. In those establishments, drinking straws may be dispensed either by staff or customers.

Description of the prior art Many commercial establishments offering drinking straws for customer use do not provide special drinking straw It dispensers. Drinking straws are held in an upright or ta inclined disposition in an open-ended vessel such as a drinking glass or a mug or the like. This practise is unhygienic as all of the drinking straws are exposed to atmospheric contamination. Furthermore, the ends of several straws are usually handled whenever one or more 1 straws are extracted. When customers rather than staff extract straws, the hygiene problem is increased.

r In one known dispenser, the straws are carried, substantially up ight, on a movable support within a cylindrical container. The support is raised to expose the upper ends of the straws above the rim of the container for selection by a user. While this reduces r 3 the exposure problem, this type of dispenser suffers from the disadvantage caused by the handling of the ends of several straws by different users.

In another known dispenser, the straws are disposed substantially horizontally within a container provided with an aperture through which a straw may roll onto a resting ledge. Near to its centre, the ledge is broken away thereby exposing the central portion of a straw for handling by a user. In dispensers of this type, the risk of different people handling the ends of straws is too* minimised. Dispensers of this type have previously been 0 0 made of metal. They are relatively costly to manufacture 4 4 and are bulky products to transport and store.

ct Dispensers of this type have a number of moving parts to assist the dispensing action. This increases the cost of a dispenser and frequently causes the dispensers to be unreliable in operation, particularly the case of a slightly bent straw, Brief summary of the invention It is an object of tbe invention to provide a drinking straw dispenser which is relatively hygienic in use, reliable in operation, inexpensive to produce and requires a minimum amount of storage space at the place of manufacture, during transportation and warehousing.

4 r tQ I t .F I 4 It is also an object of the invention to provide a drinking straw dispenser in which the dispensing action is not dependant upon moving parts.

Accordingly, a dispenser for drinking straws includes a container adapted to accommodate a plurality of straws in a substantially horizontal disposition, said container comprising a plurality of longitudinal panels, including a bottom panel, a front panel and a closure panel, attached at the ends thereof to a pair of similar upright side walls, said bottom panel inclined so that straws will roll towards the front of the container, said front panel extending upwardly from the bottom panel and having a bottom edge connected at its ends to the bottom panel, an intermediate portion of the bottom edge of the front panel being spaced from the bottom panel to form an aperture through which a straw may roll out from the container, the bottom panel extending forwardly of the front panel, a rib extending upwardly from the front edge of the bottom panel to provide a rest for a straw so that a straw resting against the rib will block the aperture so that the remainder of the straws are retained in the container, characterised in that the panels of the container are formed by injection moulding plastics material in a single substantially flat unfolded sheet with a plurality of predetermined fold lines, the dispenser being formed by folding the sheet L along said fold lines with ends of the panels positively interengaging with the side walls to form a substantially rigid construction. The side walls may be made separately or they may be moulded integrally with the sheet and joined to the respective ends of a panel by transverse fold lines.

The invention also includes a method of making that dispenser and a sheet blank of plastics material formed with a plurality of fold lines from which such a dispenser may be formed.

"Brief description of the drawings ~r tr One embodiment of dispenser according to the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dispenser in assembled condition; 1114 SFig. 2 is a plan view of a substantially flat one-piece moulding in the form of an unfolded sheet which may be folded along predetermined fold lines to form the dispenser of Fig. 1; c Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and including an enlarged view illustrating a fold line; and Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the middle of the assembled container of Fig. 1.

6 Detailed description In this specification, "front", "bottom", "horizontal", "upright" and similar terms refer to a dispenser in assembled condition standing on a horizontal surface.

The longitudinal dimension of the container is substantially parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the drinking straws accommodated therein. Straws are dispensed at the front of the container.

An assembled dispenser for drinking straws is illustrated in Figs.l and 4, This dispenser includes a container adapted to accommodate a plurality of drinking straws 14 in a substantially horizontal disposition. The container comprises a pair of similar side walls 1, a closure

E

r t panel 2, a back panel 3, a front panel 4, and a bottom It C panel 5. The side walls 1 extend below the container to form supporting legs 12 for the dispenser. This positions the front of bottom panel 5 at a height convenient for straw extraction. As illustrated, closure panel 2 is in the form of a lid which is hinged to the 20 top edge of the back panel 3.

The bottom panel 5 inclines downwardly towards the front of the container so that straws which are accommodated within the container will roll towards the front thereof.

The front panel 4 extends upwardly f7om the bottom panel The bottom edge of front panel 4 is connected at its

I

7 ends to the bottom panel 5 (see Fig.2). The intermediate portion of the bottom edge of front panel 4 is spaced from bottom panel 5 to form an aperture 13 through which a straw may roll out from the container. The height of the aperture slightly exceeds the diameter of a straw.

Bottom panel 5 extends at its front end forwardly of front panel 4 and a rib 10 extends upwardly from the front edge of bottom panel 5 to provide a rest for a straw. The parts are so dimensioned that a straw resting on rib 10 will block aperture 13 so that the remainder of the straws are retained in the container.

Mating openings 11 are formed in the bottom portion of front panel 4 and the forward portion of bottom panel 4 Thus a straw resting against rib 10 has its centrP'l tt* portion exposed to facilitate handling by a user of the 0 disDenser.

S" In this embodiment, both side walls 1, closure panel or «i ,i lid 2, back panel 3, bottom panel 5, and front panel 4 ,are formed by injecting moulding plastics material in a single substantially flat unfolded sheet with a plurality of predetermined fold lines 6. There are longitudinal fold lines between closure panel or lid 2 and back panel 3 and between back panel 3 and bottom panel 5. There are also two short longitudinal fold lines between front panel 4 and projections on bottom panel 5. There are :i i 8 transverse fold lines between the ends of back panel 3 and each of side walls 1, respectively. The thickness of the moulded sheet is reduced along the fold lines as illustrated in the detail shown in Fig.3.

A substantially U-shaped pocket (shown in section in Fig.3) is formed during the moulding process along the upright side of each side wall 1. In the assembling operation, those pockets 8 are adapted to receive the ends of front panel 4. Each pocket 8 has a short branch 110 pocket to receive the ends of the projections of bottom panel 5. Moulded within pockets 8 are suitable interference latches 7 to facilitate snap-fastening of the ends of front panel 4 in pockets 8 to provide a substantially rigid assembled construction.

r a The fold between closure panel 2 and back panel 3 acts as a hinge to allow opening and closing of closure panel or lid 2. Lid 2 is provided during the moulding operation Swith interference latch 9 so that lid 2 may be retained bo in its closed position. Opening lid 2 allows access to the interior of the container for filling it with straws.

Assembling the dispenser is effected by folding along the 4 longitudinal fold lines 6 so that the panels are disposed relatively to one another in the manner shown in Fig.4.

10-1* i -9- By folding along the transverse fold lines 6, side walls 1 are moved into position and the ends of front panel 4 and the projections of bottom panel 5 are fitted into their respective pockets with a snap fit. By this means, a dispenser of substantially rigid construction is formed. If extra stability is required for the assembled dispenser, this may be achieved by providing pressure sensitive tape to the feet of legs 12 or by attaching a suitable weight to the underside of bottom panel The sheet may be injection moulded from any suitable plastics material and polypropylene is preferred. It is also possible to use a laminate of plastics material and some other material such as cardboard. Whereas one tt t embodiment of the invention has been described, it is emphasised that various changes and modifications may be o made within the broad concept- of the invention defined in the appended claims. For example, side walls 1 may be formed separately and from different material to the remainder of the dispenser. The side walls could be fastened to the main body by hinging clips which could be moulded in situ. Instead of the interference latches described, the dispenser may be held in assembled condition by tab or glue fastening. Although the dispenser has been described in relation to drinking straws, it is obviois that a similar dispenser may be used for other elongated articles, such as chopsticks for which there are similar hygiene considerations.

p

Claims

2. A dispenser according to Claim 1, characterised in that said side walls are moulded integrally with the sheet and are joined to the respective ends of a panel by transverse fold lines.
3. A dispenser according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said side walls extend below the container to form supporting legs therefor and position the front of the bottom panel at a height convenient for straw extraction.
4. A dispenser according to Claim 1, 2, or 3, characterised in that, near to the middle of the aperture, mating openings are formed in the bottom portion of the front panel and in the front portion of the bottom panel to facilitate grasping the central portion of a straw.
5. A dispenser according to Cla1% 4, or 4, t characterised in that t 9 closure xane a hinged lid.
6. A method of making a dispenser 4-x drinking 'traws which includes a container adapted t~ aq Omme plurality of straws in a subs ta1t4'alty h'rizontal disposition, said container plurality of I-11LY 12 longitudinal panels, including a bottom panel, a front panel and a closure panel, attached at the ends thereof to a pair of similar upright side walls, said bottom paiel inclined so that straws will roll towards the front of the container, said front panel extending upwardly from the bottom panel and having a bottom edge connected at its ends to the bottom panel, an intermediate portion of the bottom edge of the front panel being spaced from the bottom panel tc form an aperture through which a straw may roll out from the container, the bottom panel extending forwardly of the front panel, a rib extending upwardly from the front edge of the bottom panel to provide a rejt for a straw so that a straw resting ,t t against the rib will block the aperture so that the remainder of the straws are retained in the container, said method being characterised in that the panels of the container are formed by injection moulding plastics material in a single substantially flat unfolded sheet Swith a plurality of predetermined fold lines, the 5dispenser being formed by folding the sheet along said tc fold lines with ends of the panels positively interengaging with the side walls to form a substantially rigid covntruction. i
7. A method according to Claim 6, characterised in that said side walls are moulded integrally with the sheet and are joined to the respective ends of a panel by transverse fold lines. *A -I 13
8. A blank formed by injection moulding plastics material in a single substantially flat unfolded sheet for making a dispenser for drinking straws which includes a container adapted to accommodate a plurality of straws in a substantially horizontal disposition, said container comprising a plurality of longitudinal panels, including a bottom panel, a front panel and a closure panel, attached at the ends thereof to a pair of similar upright side walls, said bottom panel inclined so that straws will roll towards the front of the container, said front panel extending upwardly from the bottom panel and having a bottom edge connected at its ends to the bottom O tct panel, an intermediate portion of the bottom edge of the front panel being spaced from the bottom panel to form an aperture through which a straw may roll out from the container, the bottom panel extending forwardly of the front panel, a rib extending upwardly frnm the front edge of the bottom panel to provide a rest for a straw so that a straw resting against the rib will block the aperture so that the remainder of the straws are retained in the container, said blank being characterised in that said S sheet includes the panels of the container and is formed Swith a plurality of predetermined fold lines so that the "dispenser may be formed by folding the sheet along said fold lines and positively interengaging the ends of the panels with .the side wallv tO form a substantially rigid construction. ~~C_1I_ 14
9. A blank according to Claim 8, characterised in that said side walls are moulded integrally with the sheet and are joined to the respective ends of a panel by transverse fold lines. A dispenser for drinking straws, a method of making the dispenser and a blank for making the dispenser, each substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. DATED this 11th. day of JUNE 1987. rrrr CCIP i: r t i r r CHRISTOPHER RICh. MOBBS By his Patent Attorney, PAUL F. KILDEA t r )i