US2887248A

US2887248A - Cigarette dispensing pocket case

Info

Publication number: US2887248A
Application number: US546568A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sr Hughes W Woodson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1955-11-14
Filing date: 1955-11-14
Publication date: 1959-05-19
Anticipated expiration: 1976-05-19

Description

' y 1 H. w. WO-ODSON, SR 2,887,248

CIGARETTE DISPENSING POCKET CASE Filed NOV. 14, 1955 INVENTOR. HUGHES W.WOODSON SR.

ATTORNEY invention relates to a cigarette dispensing pocket case or, more particularly, a-cigarette case which can readily be carried about in the pocket of-the user and frqmwhich. single cigarettes can be mechanically ejected e ne de r r Cigarette,dispensing pocket cases are old. Normally they comprise: a case providing. space for one ormore rows ;of vertically arranged cigarettes extending horizontally from therear to the front of the case, the case having an openingin its top wall for the delivery of the foremost or ,leadtcigarette at the front end of the row; 'a spring follower pushing the cigarettes forwardly toward the ,front end of the case; and an ejector for l fting the foremost orlead cigarette at the front end of the case upwardly through its delivery opening. "These, devices have notjbeen too successful. Some are too complicated me- "2,887,248 Patented May 19 1959 Case The case provides space for two adjacent rows of verti cally arranged cigarettes extending in single file forma tion horizontally from the rear end of the casetd the front end thereof with the cigarettes of one row staggered in relation to the cigarettes of the other row, the case also providing an opening for the delivery of cigarettes from the front end of each row. The case, as a whole, has two major faces and 4 perimetric walls. It is composed of a front part F and a rear part R telescopically connected together. i i

The front part F; as shown in Figure 1, comprises a single sheet of metal fabricated to have top, front and bottom perimetric walls'l, 2 and 3, and one vertical side wall 4 providing one face of the case, this front part being open at its rear perimetric end and along its other side face except for the marginal face flanges 5, 6 and 7 on

walls

1, 2 and 3 respectively. The front part F has a vertical slot 8 in its front perimetric wall 2 and a pair of cigarette delivery openings 9 and 10 in its top perimetric wall 1.

chanically to be commercially feasible. Others fail,

for-,one reason or other, to work satisfactorily. For example, lone'common fault is that as soon as the lead cigarette is partially ejected, the next cigarette. is apt to bemoved by the follower into a vertically canted position in which it interferes withthe retraction of the partially eiectedlead cigarette or, after complete ejection thereof, thencanted cigarette is either damaged upon the return of theejector it or held in such a way that it cannot be successfully moved into a proper delivery position. j

:41 The principal object of the present invention is to provide; acigarette dispensing pocket case which permits the lead cigarette to be partially ejected and then retracted .wvithoutwda'mage to. any cigarette, which permits the lead cigarette to becompletely ejected and the ejector retracted without damage to, any cigarette and which accomplishes :these objectives by holding the next cigarette completely out ofits delivery position until the lead cigarette is completely-ejected and the ejector is completelyretracted.

. Another important object of the present invention is to ;p'rov ide,a, cigarette dispensing pocket case which holds alhcigarettes in vertically parallel relationship at all times randlunderconditions preventingthe canting of any cig- 8161162 41 Other important objects are; to provide a device of this character which is simply and inexpensivelyconstructed; to provide one which is easily and quickly opened, loaded ,and-closed; and to provide one having an ejector whiclr tworks easily, quickly and consistently without damaging wthe-cigarettes. l ;An embodiment. of the invention is illustrated in the e 1,:accompanying drawing wherein:

I; ;Figure .1 is a perspective view of a housing member :forming the front part of. the case;

:w Figure 2 isja perspective view of another housing mem- .ber forming the rear part of the case;

- Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally throughthehousing to show the case with. a charge of ,cigarettesinit and with one cigarette partially ejected;

Figure 4 is a side elevationalview, partly in section, of the ejector assembly and shuttle member;

Figure 5 is a face view of the shuttle member; and

The rear part R, as shown in Fig. 2, also comprises a single sheet of metal fabricated to form top, rear and bottom

perimetric walls

11, 12 and 13 and one vertical side wall 14 providing the other face of the case, this part R being open at its front perimetric end and along its other side face except for the marginal face flanges 15, 16 and 17 on

walls

11, 12 and 13 respectively. a

Each of the front and rear parts has its vertical side wall, 4 or 14, dished to restrict the contact of such side Walls with the cigarettes to the upper and lower ends of the cigarettes and thereby minimize resistance to the movement of the cigarettes through the case. The front part F and the rear part R are assembled together with the front part telescopically entering the rear part and with the

side walls

4 and 14 positioned to form the opposite side walls of the case. When they are fully telescoped, so thatthe side wall of each part covers the open side face of the other part, the rear vertical edge ofside wall 4 on front part F extends underneath flange 16. of the rear part R and cooperates therewith to form a simple type of spring snap latch.

The width of the space, in which the cigarettes areheld by the case, is slightly less than two full diameters of a cigarette. This is done, in accordance with my invention, to compel the cigarettes of one row to occupy positions which are staggered in relation to the positions of the cigarettes of the other row. Consequently, while there are two rows of cigarettes, there can only be one lead cigarette at any one time and the tworows will'alternate in providing the lead cigarette; hence the plane of stagger between the foremost cigarettes, the lead cigarette in one row and the front cigarette in the other row will change correspondingly. The phrase plane, of stagger" is used hereinto designate a vertical plane passing through the long axes of the foremost cigarettes.

Spring follower I} the case and thus force the pusher plate 20 forward so as to hold it yieldably against the rear cigarettes of each row. Each arm 21 is U-shaped with its bight at its free end. These bights move toward each other as the case is emptied, ultimately engagingeach other when the case is either emptied or opened and, through such engagement, holding each other against further movement. In accordance with -my invention,-the plate 2t) has its cigarette engaging face surfaces offset, to a degree corresponding to the. offset or stagger of the cigarettes, so that one surface will engage the rearmost cigarette of one row and the other surface will engage the rearmcst cigarette of the adjacent staggered row. This olfset in the plate 20 obviously helps to maintain the cigarettes of each row in staggered relationship.

Ejector The ejector is mounted in the front end of the case for movement from a cigarette receiving position up- I of the Other row wardly to a cigarette delivery position during which movement it engages the lead cigarette and moves thesame partially through its delivery opening. The ejector illustrated comprises: a C-shaped member 25 positioned at the'front end of the case with its .bight extending vertically along the front Wall 2, with its legs extending rearwardly and .with its bottom leg terminating in a pair of rearwardly diverging

feet

26 and 27, one of which extends under the lead cigarette of one row and the other of which extends under the lead cigarette position of the other row; a handle 28 projecting forwardly from the bight of the C-shaped member 25 and outwardlythrough slot 8 of the front wall 2 sufliciently to permit its being readily grasped for operation purposes; a vertical rod 29 mounted in the upper and lower walls of the front part of the case and extending through the free ends of the legs of the ejector member 25, this rod 29 being operative to guide the ejector member during its vertical movements; and a spring 30 for biasing the member 25 in its cigarette receiving position.

' Obviously, when the ejector member 25 is lifted, whichever of its two feet underlies the lead cigarette will engage .thelower end of that'cigarette and raise the same causing it to project upwardly through its delivery opening where it can be readily grasped by the user and removed'from the case. When the ejector member 25 is released, the spring 30 will biasit downwardly into its. cigarette receiv- :ing position wherein its

feet

26 and 27 are positioned on alevel slightly lower than that of the lower end ofthe nearest cigarette.

Shuttle member The shuttle member .is mounted across the front end of both rows for back and forth oscillating movement between one canted position, in which it about parallels one plane of stagger, which exists when one row provides the lead cigarette, to another canted position, in which it about parallels the other plane of stagger which exists when the other row provides the lead cigarette, the shuttle member, in each canted position being operative not only to hold the lead cigarette in its delivery position wherein it is aligned with its delivery opening, but also to hold the front cigarette of the other row out of its delivery position until the lead'cigaretteis completely ejected and the :ejector is completely retracted.

"Theshuttle member 35 comprises: a vertical plate, also designated 35, having a'verticalplanar central section, also designated 35, which is:slotted at 36 from its lower end upwardly over a distance sufficient to accommodate the vertical movement of the ejector, the plate 35 also having marginal forwardly diverging

wing sections

37 and 38; upper and

lower lugs

39 and 40 mounting the plate 35 on rod 29 for oscillatory shuttle movement between one canted position, in whichits central portion 35 more or less parallels one stagger plane and its slot 36 centrally overlies one .foot 26 of the ejector, to another position, in .which its centralport-ion 35 more or less parallels the Operation The case preferably is"takenapart-when it is to be loaded, but it may be'loaded without completely separating the front and rear parts F and R. When loaded and closed, one row of cigarettes will naturally'he' sta'ggered in relation to the other. The follower, in pushing both rows forwardly, causes the leadcigarette to push against one vertical side of the shuttle plate 35 forcing that side of the plate to move forwardly and the other vertical side to move rearwardly until it engages the front cigarette With the lead cigarette in one row-and thefrontcigarette in the other row, both engaging theshuttle plat "35f, itis held in a canted position corresponding totlieprevail ing stagger plane. In this position, its slot 36 'cent'rally overlies one' foot, say 26; of the: ejector member 25. J In this'position, foot 26 underlies the lead cigarette-while the shuttle plate' '35 keeps the foremost-cigarettein fthe other row-from moving over the opposite-foot 27. consequently;-only the lead cigarette is in a-positiontob'e ejected.- Now when'theej ector member'ZS is' raisei its foot 26 will engage --the-lower-'end of menaceamu and, through such engagement, raise-the -lead 'cigai1ctte causing it to project through its delivery' opening 9} n reaching this position, i the fejector-fo6t 26. 'entered and passed'upwardly along' slot 36in-the shuttleplat'e 35w "Once this foot enters the slot 36, it-ope'rates to lock the shuttle plate35 its canted position." As a c'on sequence, the'front cigarette of the other row isprevented, by the locked shuttle plate, from canting orothe'rwis'e moving forwardly. This front-cigarette,-being -'1'o"cked against movement, prevents the next cigarette of fthedead row from canting or otherwisemovingforwardly. Oonsequently, there is nothing to preventthe*complete retraction' of the ejector member with'out any possibilitiy of damage toany cigarette. -'Likewise-tl1ere is:nothing'-to prevent the'lead cigarette from being either retrac'ted or completely ejected and, when retractedor ejected;-=tirere can be no damage done to any cigarette in theease: 1 i

It will be observed that the shuttle member car'i'not move out of either of its canted cigarette delivering-posi tions until the ejector member is 'fullyretrac'ted and the lead cigarette is completely ejected; Howeven when the ejector member is completely retracted and the l ead cigarette completely ejected, the follower automatically becomes effective pushing both rows of ;cigaret'tes -for wardly sufficiently to move the shuttle member to its other-canted cigarette delivering position whichacorrsponds to the other plane ofstaggerwherein the front cigarette of the other row becomes the lead cigarettel Having described my invention, I claim: l

l. A cigarette dispensing device comprising: a cigai'e'tte case'providing'space for two adjacent rows=of-vertieally arranged I cigarettes extending horizontally hetween the rear and the front of the. case with the cigarettes ofieaeh row staggered in relation to the cigarettes"of the other rowwhereby the two rows alternately' pro'vide'" a lead cigarette that is offset forwardly relativeltd -the frofit cigarette in the opposite row, saidvcase providing an opening for each row -'for the delivery of a Iead ei' ette from that row} a spring follower fo'r pushing-the cigarettes of both rows forwardly; in -staggered relationship; an ejector mounted, in 'the frontend of -thei*case, for movement from a receivingposition, in which it is aligned with the lead cigarette, to a deli-very" position, said ejector being operative duringsuch movement to engage the lead cigarette-and "move the sa me partia'lly through its delivery opening; and a shuttle member extending vertically within the front end of the case and across the front end of both rows, said member being mounted for back and forth oscillating movement between one canted position, in which it about parallels the plane of stagger which exists between the lead cigarette of one row and the front cigarette of the other row, to another canted position, in which it about parallels the stagger plane when the other row provides the lead cigarette, said shuttle member, in each position, being operative to hold the lead cigarette in its delivery position wherein it is aligned with its delivery opening and to hold the front cigarette of the other row out of its delivery position.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the width of the space occupied by both rows of cigarettes is less than the sum of the diameters of two cigarettes.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein: the sides of the case are dished to restrict contact between the case and the cigarettes substantially to the upper and lower ends of the cigarettes.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein: the cigarette engaging surfaces of the follower are ofiset to accommodate the stagger between the cigarettes of one row and that of the other and to maintain contact with the rear cigarettes of both rows.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein: the ejector has a pair of rearwardly diverging feet which are vertically aligned with the delivery position of the lead cigarette of each row.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein: the rear end of one foot is spaced forwardly from the front cigarette of one row when the other row provides the lead cigarette.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein: the shuttle member includes a vertically arranged plate mounted for oscillating movement from one plane of stagger, in which it engages the lead cigarette of one row and the front cigarette of the other row, to another plane of stagger, in which it engages the lead cigarette of the other row and the front cigarette of said one row.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein: the ejector is guided during its vertical movement by a vertically extending rod mounted on the case; and the shuttle member is mounted for oscillating movement about said rod.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein: the ejector member has a pair of diverging feet one of which extends under the lead cigarette of one row and the other of which extends under the lead cigarette position of the other row; and the shuttle member has a slot to receive whichever foot extends under a lead cigarette.

10. A cigarette dispenser comprising: a cigarette case accommodating two rows of vertically arranged cigarettes extending horizontally between the rear and front of the case with the front cigarette of each row alternately providing the lead cigarette, said case having a cigarette delivery opening for the endwise removal of the lead cigarette; means yieldably urging each successive lead cigarette into a ready position wherein it is ready for removal through said cigarette delivery opening; an ejector mounted on the case for movement from a receiving position, in which it is operatively aligned with a lead cigarette in its ready position, to a delivery position, said ejector being operative during such movement to project the lead cigarette from its ready position through said delivery opening; and holding means to prevent the succeeding lead cigarette from being moved into its ready position until the preceding lead cigarette is removed from the case and the ejector mechanism is returned to its receiving position, said holding means being alternately engaged by successive lead cigarettes and, through such alternate engagement, moved by said yieldable means into alternate positions, in each of which it is and remains blocked against movement to its other alternate position not only by the lead cigarette which is effective as a block in all of its positions until it is removed from the case but also by the ejector mechanism Which is effective as a block in all of its positions outside of its receiving position.

11. A cigarette dispenser comprising: a cigarette case providing space for two adjacent rows of vertically arranged cigarettes extending horizontally between the rear and the front of the case with the cigarettes of each row being staggered in relation to the cigarettes of the other row whereby the two rows alternately provide a lead cigarette that is oifset forwardly relative to the front cigarette in the other row, said case having an opening for the delivery of a lead cigarette from each row; means yieldably pushing the cigarettes forward in staggered relationship; an ejector mounted in the front end of the case for movement from a receiving position, in which it is aligned with the lead cigarette and offset relative to the front cigarette in the other row, to a delivery position, in which it lies in the forward movement path of the front cigarette, said ejector being operative during such movement to engage the lead cigarette and push it partially through its delivery opening; and means separate from said ejector for holding the front cigarette in the other row from being moved forwardly against said ejector until said ejector is again returned to said receiving position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 914,208 Waag Mar. 2, 1909 1,918,956 Belt July 18, 1933 2,499,652 Kirby Mar. 7, 1950