US2340090A - Combined package and dispenser - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 25, 1944.

L. H. M. VINEBURGH COMBINED PACKAGE AND DISPENSER Fii'ed Nov. 12, 1940 Ellie wan Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED PAc szzl ND DISPENS ER Lawrence H. M. Vineburgh, Hartford, Conn.

Application November 12, 1940, Serial No. 365,342 1 Claim. (Gl. 206-56) cated of simple and available materials which will serve as a neat package for paper or sanitary disposable cups and which may be readily converted into a dispenser of a character which will dispense one cup at a time as needed while maintaining the remainder in clean and sanitary condition.

It is another object of the invention to provide a combined transparent package and dis penser for paper or other sanitary disposable cups.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front view in elevation of a combined package and dispenser in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 with the cups in dispensing relation and with one of the cups substantially totally dispensed shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of' the device shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, the combined package and dispenser Ill comprises a body portion H which may be fabricated of sheet rubber, paper or other non-rigid or flexible material such as wax paper or transparent flexible plastics. When the body portion H is made from sheet mate rial, it may be rolled in the form of a tubeso that the edges i2 and I3 overlap and maybe joined together by the utilization of cement or in any other suitable manner. When the material of the body portion H is of rubber, the edges l2 and 13 may be vulcanized together or joined by the use of rubber cement. When the material of the body portion l l is a thermo-plastic substance, heat and pressure may be utilized to efiect this seal.

The bottom portion I! of the body H is gathered, as shown at l5, and means [6 are provided for holding the bottom or dispensing portion of the package Ill in yieldable gathered relation.

Means l6 may take the form of elastic material of smaller dimension than the circumference of the body portion H and such elastic of smaller dimension may be cemented to the body portion I II at its lower portion l4. The turned over pertion I! adds a decorative touch and at least partially hides the elastic it of smaller dimension.'

The turned over portion i! also presents a fin-' ished reinforced edge at the bottom l4 and serves to prevent tearing of the package as the cups -l8 are dispensed.-

- The stack S of cups 18 may be loaded withinthe combined package and dispenser I 0 either through the top or the bottom, and when they are loaded through the top, the cap [9 is sealedto the top portion 22 :of'the dispenser l0 after the loading operation. The cap l9 may be fabricated of rubber when the body portion II is rubber and the two vulcanized together or otherwise suitably joined to effect a finished combined package and dispenser. The cap l9 may be provided with a ring 20' with which may be associ-' ated a decorative string 21 for suitably supporting the combined package and dispenser on a wall whereby the cups may be dispensed by pulling the lowermost cup downwardly as shown by solid and dotted lines in Fig. 2 at the bottom thereof. As the lowermost cup is pulled downwardly, the bottom portion I4 of the dispenser l0 expands and permits the lowermost cup to be removed but catches the next cup and thereby serves to support the stack S within the body portion H pending withdrawal of the next cup.

When the device Ill serves as a package, the cups l8 are in the position shown in Fig. 1 and are in non-dispensing relation with the elastic I6 in contracted position. In this position, the cups are protected in a sanitary manner by the combined package and dispenser l0 and no dust or dirt can contaminate the inner portions or the lip portions of the cups. When it is desired that the package serve as a dispenser, the cups I8 are brought into the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 2 with the elastic means H5 in partially expanded position. As the cups l8 are removed, the elastic I6 is stretched to fully expanded position, shown in dotted lines. The pressure of the elastic means on the sides I8a of the cups serves to push the sides toward each other and thereby increase the transverse dimension of the interior of the cup being withdrawn so that it detaches itself from the remainder of the stack, thereby facilitating the dispensing action referred to.

In the operation described, it will be apparent stacked paper cups of generally trapezoidal ele-. Further, the device vation and as a dispenser. efficiently protects the cups from dustand dirt and is of such portable nature that it may be carried in the glove compartment of an automobile or in any other very small space andthen j hung on a tree or any other convenient support so that its use for picnics and the like is desir-- able. Further the package is of such inexpensive nature that it may be readily disposed of when the stack of cups therein have been used and the user may be assured that the cups will be protected until used.

Not only may the :body portion H of the package H) be made of opaque rubber and printed with decorative designs when desired, but it may be made of relatively thin translucent rubber or' oiled silk or other material which permits thetransfer of light therethrough so that the cups may be more or less visible to some extent when within the package. As the package I is relatively non-rigid, the user may also ascertain the relative number of cups by the sense of touch.-

It is to be understood that it is within the scope of the invention to close the top portion ZZ-of the package [0 in other ways than that shown and described and in fact that body portion II of thepackage may be fabricated of one piece with the entire top portion integral and all the gathering occurring along the sides andbottom. When the device is so fabricated, a cap similar to the cap 19 may be secured to the integral top in any suitable manner as described in order to provide for supporting the package when it is to be used as a dispenser.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in this device without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claim.

. What is claimed is:

" A package-dispenser and cup-stack combination. comprising a nested stack of cups located in a housing comprising an elongated body portion fabricated of normally relatively inelastic,

flaccidlimp, soft, thin walled material, the cross sectional dimension of said body portion being suflici'ently large as compared to the largest cross sectional dimension of the cups so as not to bind the said cups and permit relatively free movement of the cups from the tops of said body portion toward the bottom end of said body portion, said bottom end which is normally open being formed with av gathered edge of ring like configuration and of smaller dimension than the transverse sectional dimension of the body portion of the package, the said bottom edge being elasticized generally uniformly about its peripheryto permit the passage of cups therethrough when a pulling force is exerted thereon, the edge of. said bottom end being sufiiciently elasticized so as to be strong enough to normally hold the cups within the package and fit snugly about the lower portion of the lowermost cup of which the bottom protrudes therethrough, the combined dispenser and cup stack being relatively rigid as compared. with the inelastic, flaccid, limp, soft, thin walled material of the package body.

LAWRENCE H. M. VINEBURGH.

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