US3109538A

US3109538A - Blade dispenser

Info

Publication number: US3109538A
Application number: US86087A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert W Boxer
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-01-31
Filing date: 1961-01-31
Publication date: 1963-11-05
Anticipated expiration: 1980-11-05

Description

R- W. BOXER BLADE DISPENSER Nov. 5, 1963 Filed Jan. 51. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W ,7 o m M w v mu 0 o R 5 E E H w I I mw \Q f ///T M Q 9 0 M /a I M Nov. 5, 1963 R. w. BOXER 3,109,538

BLADE DISPENSER Filed Jan. 51, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet z United States Patent 3,lti,533 BLADE DISPENSER Robert W. Boxer, 720 5. Wolcott Sit, Chicago, Ill. Filed lien. 31, 1961, Ser. No. 86,0?!7 2 Claims. (El. 2%37) The invention relates to a portablecontainer for dispensing disposable blades of form'snaintaining sheet material, one at a time, from a pack of blades carried in the container.

Although the device may be capable of other applications, it is particularly adapted for use in the dispensing of small wooden strips or blades such as are used by physicians in depressing the tongue of a patient in order to permit better view of the mouth or throat of the patient as an incident to a medical examination. Such blades are generally termed depressors.

Under existing practice in vogue for many years, the physician carries a supply of these depressors on his person or obtains them from some place in his ofice Where they are supposed to be kept in clean, sanitary condition. Under these conditions, there is always the possibility that the physician or his assistant may pick up a depressor which is believed to be sanitary but may have become contaminated with dirt or other outside agent, and should not be used in making the examination. Hence, it is quite desirable that the physician, before he commences his examination, should have on his person a supply of these depressors and that the depressors may be readily available so that the physician may quickly obtain a sanitary one if the one he is using has become contaminated by prior use or otherwise. It is equally desirable that a clean, sanitary depressor should be available and conveniently obtained from the person of the physician without delaying the examination by a search for a sanitary depressor.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a portable dispensing arrangement capable of being detachably secured to the person of the physician so that a supply of the depressor blades may be carried and dispensed one at a time whenever the physician finds that he has a need for a depressor blade, while at the same time, the blades are safely held or supported so that they will not be dropped or spilled by any sudden or unexpected movement of the physician.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a container or depressor of the character referred to Which will keep the blades clean and in a sanitary condition until they are needed by the physician, while still having the blades readily accessible and dispensable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispenser, of the character referred to, which can be readily re-charged or re-filled with a number of the blades whenever the blades carried in the dispenser have all been taken out, used and disposed of.

In view of the fact that the invention has particular use in connection with the dispensing of physicians depressor blades, the invention is described and illustrated herein in connection with such an embodiment.

In the drawing accompanying this description and illus trating the invention as used for dispensing depressor blades:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the device viewed from the front as arranged to be carried in the pocket of a physicians garment;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation of the device viewed from the side;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the device, partly in section, taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional elevational view of the device taken from the side, which view shows another embodiment of the device.

3-,l,53'8 Patented Nov. 5, 1963 Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the principal element comprises a tubular casing 10 having spaced parallel, vertically-extending front and rear walls 11 and 12 and

side Walls

13 and 14. The casing It} may be made of rustproof metal or other conventional material such as a hard plastic. The bottom" of the casing is permanently closed by means of end plate 15 secured to thelower ends of the casing walls by welding, cementing, or any other suitable manner.

The length of the rear wall 12 and the

side walls

13 and 14, as shown in FIGURE 2, is slightly in excess of the length of the depressor so that when a pack 16 of said depressors is placed in the casing, and is supported by the lower closure element 15, the tops of the depressors are positioned slightly below the top edge of said walls. The front wall 11 is shorter than the depressors so as to expose the upper end of the pack 16.

in order to support the casing on the person of the physician, there is provided a clip 17 of conventional design secured to the front wall 11 of the casing so that the casing with its contents can be placed within a pocket of the physicians garment and securely retained in the pocket by clasping the edge of the pocket under the spring clip 17 in the usual manner.

The top or upper end of the casing Ill is made with a cap or closure in the form of a top plate 118, the underside of which is level 'with the top edges of the

walls

12, 13 and 14 of the casing. The front edge 19 of said cap or top plate 18 is set back from the inside face of the trout wall (extended) a sufiicient distance to permit the outer blade 20 of the pack 16 to slide upwardly freely past the edge 19 of the closure element 18, but less than the thickness of two blades.

In order to maintain the outer or front blade of the pack in proper dispensing position as shown in FIGURE 2, whether it 'be the first or the last remaining blade in the pack 16, there is provided a suitable plate spring 21 behind the pack 16. Said spring 21 is slightly narrower and slightly shorter than the blade and is permanently secured to the interior face of the rear wall ll of the casing, for example, by means of a rivet 22. The spring 21 is made of a highly flexible material, for example, a suitable metal or plastic, and is preferably proportioned so that its upper end will press firmly against the central portion of the pack 16 regardless of the number of blades remaining in the pack. The upper end of the spring 21 is desirably curved as shown to facilitate insertion of a new pack of blades. The exposed upper end of the outer blade is of sufiicient length to provide. space for the doctors finger to engage it frictionally and then slide it upwardly out of the casing.

Although the top closure element or plate 18 may be permanently united to the upper ends of the

walls

12, 13 and 1d of the casing, it is of advantage to be able to insert a fresh supply of blades quickly and conveniently when the supply in the casing has been exhausted. To this end, the top plate 13 may be movable so as to permit all of the blades comprising a pack, for example six blades, to be inserted at one time instead of singly. One way of accomplishing this result is to provide the plate 18 with a rear depending hinge arm 23, the lower end of which has a pair of spaced lugs 24 connected by a hinge pin 25 extending through a pair of similar spaced cooperating lugs 26 projecting rearwardly from the rear wall 12 of the casing.

In order to hold the cap piece 18 securely in place so as to prevent improper upward movement of the pack of blades, the plate 18 is made with depending side flanges 27 on the lower end of each of which there is an inwardly projecting protrusion 28 engaging an aperture 29 in each or both of the

side walls

13 and 14. It will be understood that the material from which the top cap closure anoaees 18 is made is sufliciently flexible to enable the depending parts 27 of the cap to spring out slightly in order to perm-it the cap plate 13 to be swung back on its hinge pin 25.

In order that the blades may be easily dispensed by the device, a means may be provided as shown in FIG URE 4, for causing'the forward-most blades, such as the blades and 3b, to be maintained in a somewhat staggered relationship to the remainder of the pack 16. This may be accomplished by providing a platform 31 disposed at the lower forward edge of the interior of the container.

The platform 31 as shown is of trapezoidal cross-section and is provided with an upper ledge 32 and an inwardly facing inclined surface 33 along which the lower edges of the blades ride as they are moved upwardly to the ledge 32. The platform 31 may be formed as an integral part of the casing 11 or lower closure element 15, or may be formed of a separate piece of material and suitably fastened in place. Also, the inclined surface 33 may be fiat or curved. I

In the particular embodiment shown, order to insure that the outer blade 2% will he staggered with respect to the remainder of the blades, the width of the ledge 32 is made equal to or less than one of the blades of the pack 16. The height of the platform 31 is rnade greater than the distance between the top of the pack 16 and the lower surface of the top plate 18. i I It can be seen, therefore, from FIGURE 4 that when the device is constructed in accordance with the above description, the top edge or" the outer blade 20' extends upwardly a short distance past the lower surface of the horizontal top plate 18. Hence, when the outer blade is pushed inwardly (i.e., toward the left in B6 RE 4), as when it is desired to grasp and withdraw the blade, the upper edge of the blade 26 will not be moved into the interior of the casing 11, but will contact the .front edge 19 of the top plate 118, thus facilitating its removal.

The embodiment disclosed herein may be changed or modified without departing from the scope of the invention.

Various features now believed to benew and patentable are set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a portable device for dispensin disposable blades of form-maintaining sheet material, one at a time, the

' combination of a'tubular casing receiving and supporting a pack of such blades having substantially the same length and cross-sectional dimensions, said casing having a top end provided with a closure for limiting upward longitudinal movement of the said pack of blades and having at said top end a discharge opening for permitting the outward longitudinal movement of only a single blade on the outside of the said pack, the opposite end of said casing being provided with a bottom closure for preventing all of the blades of said pack from escaping'out of the bottom of said casing, a platform disposed within said casing adjacent said bottom closure, a portion of said platform being vertically aligned with said discharge opening and including an inwardly facing inclined surface, spring means tending to move said pack of blades transversely toward said inclined surface of said platform so as to position the upper endof said outside blade of the pack in register with the said discharge opening and so as to move the said outer blade into said discharge opening wherein the upper edge of the blade extends beyond the lower surface of said top end closure so as to cause the outside blade to be backed by the top end closure when being removed from the casing, and means carried by said casing for attaching the device to the clothing of the person so as to hold said device in substantially upright position.

2. In a portable device for dispensing disposable blades of form-maintaining sheet material, one at a time, the combination of a tubular casing receiving and supporting a pack of such blades having substantially the same length and cross-sectional dimensions, said casing having a top end provided with a closure for limiting upward longitudinal movement of the said pack of blades and having at said top end a discharge opening for permitting the outward longitudinal movement of only a single blade on the outside of the said pack, the opposite end of said casing being provided with a bottom closure for preventing all of said blades from escaping out of the bottom of said casing, a platform disposed within said casing adjacent said bottom closure, said platform including a ledge disposed below said discharge opening and an inwardly facing inclined surface extending from said ledge to said bottom closure, said ledge being raised from the bottom closure at distance greater than the distance from the top of the pack to the lower surface of the top end closure, said ledge having a width which is less than about the width of one blade, spring means tending to move the pack transversely toward said inclined surfiace of said platform so as to position the upper end of said outside blade of the pack in register with the said discharge open,

ing and so as to move said outer blade into said discharge opening wherein the upper edge of the blade extends beyond the lower surface of said top end closure so as to cause the outside blade to be backed by the top end closure when being removed from the casing, the uppermost portion of the wall of said casing adjacent the outside face of the outer blade of the pack being removed to permit access to the upper portion of the said oute. face of the outer blade by a finger of the user, and means carried by said casing for attaching the device to the clothing of the person so as to hold said device in sub stantially upright position. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 92,986 Metzgel July 27, 1869 461,702 ElSOn Oct. 20, 1891 798,261 Brown Aug. 29, 1905 806,506 Sherwood Dec. 5, 1905 912,110 Gill Feb. 9, 1909 912,804 Brush Feb. 16, 1909 1,040,051 Swihart Oct. 1, 1912 1,062,174 Long May 20, 1913 1,155,791 Cabell O'ct. 5, 1915 1,390,979 Braunsdorf Sept. 20, 1921 2,283,599 Dickinson May 19, 1942 2,492,480 Johnson Dec. 27, 1949' 2,564,518 Bedinger Aug. 14, 1951 2,981,408 Gamble Apr. 25, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 975,852 France Oct. 17, 1950

Claims

2. IN A PORTABLE DEVICE FOR DISPENSING DISPOSABLE BLADES OF FORM-MAINTAINING SHEET MATERIAL, ONE AT A TIME, THE COMBINATION OF A TUBULAR CASING RECEIVING AND SUPPORTING A PACK OF SUCH BLADES HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME LENGTH AND CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSIONS, SAID CASING HAVING A TOP END PROVIDED WITH A CLOSURE FOR LIMITING UPWARD LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF THE SAID PACK OF BLADES AND HAVING AT SAID TOP END A DISCHARGE OPENING FOR PERMITTING THE OUTWARD LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF ONLY A SINGLE BLADE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE SAID PACK, THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID CASING BEING PROVIDED WITH A BOTTOM CLOSURE FOR PREVENTING ALL OF SAID BLADES FROM ESCAPING OUT OF THE BOTTOM OF SAID CASING, A PLATFORM DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CASING ADJACENT SAID BOTTOM CLOSURE, SAID PLATFORM INCLUDING A LEDGE DISPOSED BELOW SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AND AN INWARDLY FACING INCLINED SURFACE EXTENDING FROM SAID LEDGE TO SAID BOTTOM CLOSURE, SAID LEDGE BEING RAISED FROM THE BOTTOM CLOSURE A DISTANCE GREATER THAN THE DISTANCE FROM THE TOP OF THE PACK TO THE LOWER SURFACE OF THE TOP END CLOSURE, SAID LEDGE HAVING A WIDTH WHICH IS LESS THAN ABOUT THE WIDTH OF ONE BLADE, SPRING MEANS TENDING TO MOVE THE PACK TRANSVERSELY TOWARD SAID INCLINED SURFACE OF SAID PLATFORM SO AS TO POSITION THE UPPER END OF SAID OUTSIDE BLADE OF THE PACK IN REGISTER WITH THE SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AND SO AS TO MOVE SAID OUTER BLADE INTO SAID DISCHARGE