US3219244A

US3219244A - Shotgun shell dispenser

Info

Publication number: US3219244A
Application number: US352790A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bennett C Blask
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-03-18
Filing date: 1964-03-18
Publication date: 1965-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 1982-11-23

Description

Nov. 23, 1965 B. c. BLASK SHOTGUN SHELL DISPENSER Filed March 18, I1964 mvENToR. BEA/Narr 6. BLASK BY Z7? JM /xw Z/Jm rrokfvsrs United States Patent O 3,219,244 SHGTGUN SHELL DISPENSER Bennett C. Blask, 13417 Southridge Road, Minnetonka, Minn. Filed Mar. 18, 1964, Ser. No. 352,790 Claims. (Cl. 224-15) The present invention has relation to a shotgun shell dispenser and more particularly to a dispenser which will hold a number of shotgun shells and will mount onto the belt of a person using a shotgun to hold the shells in position ready for loading into the gun.

Hunters, as Well as trap and skeet shooters, have long needed a shell dispenser which holds the shells readily accessible to aid in the reloading of guns when time is of the essence. The conventional shell belts .and holders are diflicult to use and the shells are hard to remove therefrom.

The present invention relates to a dispenser which will clip onto the belt, or over a pocket or on the top Waders worn by a hunter and which will hold six shells in a vertical stack for easy dispensing one at a time from the bottom thereof. The dispenser comprises a case for the shells having an outlet at the bottom with resilient means for holding the shells in place. The case is provided with notched or relieved corners for receiving the rims of the shotgun shells so that the shells will stack neatly and rest in a horizontal position. The shells in the dispenser will therefore easily slide downwardly. as the lower shells are dispensed.

The corner relief on the case prevents the shells from binding in the dispenser so they will not move downwardly when desired. The dispenser includes a cover which can be snapped into place to prevent shells from being bounced out the top of the dispenser. The dispenser also has a clear view window so that the number of shells left in the dispenser can easily be checked.

The dispenser is compac-t, easily loaded, and can be used in many different locations by the hunter.

It is an object of the present invention to present a compact, durable, lightweight and easily used dispenser for shotgun shells whi-ch can be mounted onto the clothing of a shooter or hunter.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a shotgun shell dispenser made according to the present invention and shown with a cover in an open position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the device of FIG. 2 showing the cover in a closed position and partially ybroken away to show the position of shotgun shells when positioned in the dispenser;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken as on line 4 4 in FIG. 3 showing an insert utilized to make the dispenser usable for different size shells;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken as on line 5 5 in FIG. 3,' and FIG. 6 is an fragmentary enlarged sectional view `of the dispenser showing fan insert in place within the dispenser.

Referring to the drawings and the numerals of reference thereon, a shotgun shell dispenser 10 is comprised of a rectangular cross section receptacle 11 having a pair of spaced apart

opposite end walls

12, 12, a rear wall 13 and a front wall 14. The rear wall 13 and the front wall 14 eX- tend between the end walls and are joined thereto. The

end wa'lls

12, 12 each have a semi-circular lower end portion 15. A cover member 16 is attached to the rear wall 13 at 17. The cover can be suitably hingedly -attached or, if the device is made out of plastic, as shown, a small notch 20 can be made at the top of the rear wall to permit the cover member to hinge on the section where the material is reduced in thickness. The cover member 16 has a front lip 21 extending at right angles to the main portion of the cover member and which will snap over the upper portions of the front wall 14 and frictionally engage the front wall so that the cover member will stay in a closed position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The rear wall 13 has a belt clip 23 integral with or otherwise iixedly attached thereto. The clip 23 is resiliently mounted so that it will yield to permit the device to be clipped onto a belt, pocket, or over the top of waders Worn by hunters. A rib 24 is provided at the lower end of the ybelt clip 23 and is positioned to engage the member to which it is clipped so that the dispenser will not be easily removed.

As shown, the lower portion of the rear wall 13 is bifurcated and forms two edge portions or

sections

25, 25. The

sections

25, 25 are spaced apart and attached to the edge portion of the semi circular portion 15 of end walls 12. The spaced apart sections form an open notch 26 between the sections. The end sections 25 form a part cylindrical support. The end sections 25 support the end portions of shotgun shells in the dispenser. The notch between edge portions 25 forms a hand access notch for removal of shells.

The front wall 14 terminates as at 27, spaced above the outer edge surfaces 30 of the edge sections 25 of the rear wall. The wall 14 terminates above the sections 25 a distance sufficient to permit a shotgun shell to pass between the edge surfaces 30 and the termination line 27 of the main portion of t-he front wall. This forms a discharge opening 29.

In order to prevent the shotgun shells in the dispenser from falling out through the opening 29 just described, a pair of

resilient retainer tabs

31, 31 are attached to the front wall 14. As shown, the retainer tabs are molded as an integral unit with the front wall. The dispenser, as shown, is made from a suitable plastic material. However, if the dispenser was made from other material the resilient tabs 31 could be attached in any usual or preferred manner to the front wall 14. A window opening 33 is provided in the front wall 14 so that a hunter can visually check the number of shells in the dispenser Without opening the cover 16.

The rear Wall 13 and the front wall 14 are provided with notches 32 adjacent each of the

end walls

12, 12. The notches 32 are of .a size to receive the normal rim 34 on a shotgun shell 35 (see FIG. 3). The notches will permit the shotgun shells to closely slidably t between the front and rear walls respectively and still be free to slide downwardly in the dispenser as the lower shells are dispensed. No binding occurs with the relieved corners.

The shotgun shells are inserted into the receptacle and alternated in position so that the head end of one of the shells is adjacent a rst of the side walls 12 and the next shell above and below it is adjacent the other end wall 12. The shells also can be placed with all of the head ends of the shell at one end of the dispenser, if desired. The notches 32 permit the outer ends of the shells to rest on each other without binding. To dispense a shell the hunter merely places his hand at the hand access notch 26 between the curved sections 25 of the rear wall 13 and pulls laterally outwardly toward the front wall. The resilient retainer tabs 31 will yield to permit the shell to be removed and will immediately snap back into place to prevent other shells from falling out through the opening between the lower end 27 of the main portion of the wall and edge portions 30` of the sections 25 of the rear wall. The shells in the dispenser will then move downwardly under force of gravity so that one will rest on the end portions 25 of the rear wall in position ready to be dispensed.

It will be noted that the notches 32 in the rear wall extend all the way down around the curved end portions 25 so that the cylindrical surfaces of a shell will rest on these curved portions.

The notches 32 in the walls will prevent a shell from turning endwise or in a vertical direction when the dispenser is not full. The rim of the shell is held so that the free end cannot pivot upward. The shells are always held in a horizontal position. This prevents jamming of the dispenser when it is partially empty. The shells will be dispensed evenly and one at a time.

In order to accommodate shells of different size one or more inserts 40 can be slipped into the dispenser. (See FIGS. 4 and 6.) The insert 40 is shaped to iit within the dispenser against the rear wall 13. It in eltect makes the rear wall 13 thicker and reduces the distance between the front and rear walls. The dispenser can then be utilized for dispensing smaller shells. For example, without any inserts the dispenser will accommodate 12-gauge shells. With one insert 40 the dispenser will receive and hold 16- gauge shells. If two inserts of the size illustrated are used, the dispenser will accommodate ZO-gauge shells.

The inserts include spaced, lower semi-cylindrical portions 42 which rest on andy correspond to the portions 25. Therefore the opening 29 for discharging the shells is also reduced in size. The inserts include edge notches 41` which receive the rim of the shells. The distance between the inner surface of the insert 40 and the inner surface of front wall 14 is greater than the diameter of the shell being dispensed and less than the diameter of the rim of the shell.

With no inserts, the front and rear walls of the dispenser are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the shell for which the dispenser is designed and less than the diameter of the rim of the shotgun shell. The rims will then iit into the notches 32.

The dispenser can be loaded by the hunter and clipped onto' his belt or in any desired location and be immediately available for reloading his gun. The shells are easily dispensed and the dispenser is light weight. The notches for the rims of the shotgun shells will permit even feeding of the shells as the lower ones are dispensed.

What is claimed is:

1. A shotgun shell dispenser comprising a receptacle having an open top and being made up of a pair of spaced apart end walls and iirst and second spaced apart parallel side walls joining said end walls, said irst side wall having lower portions thereof curved in direction toward the secondside wall to form a part cylindrical'bottom surface, said part cylindricalV bottom surface having a hand access notch in the center portion thereof, said` second side wall being terminatedA a sutiicient distance above the terminal edge of said part cylindrical surface to permit a shotgun shell to pass between the terminal edge-of said part cylindrical surface and the second side wall, and resilient means comprising two spaced apart tabs integral with and inthe plane of said second side wall andextending downwardly toward the terimnal edge of said part cylindrical surfaces to yieldingly retain a shotgun shell supported on said part cylindrical bottom surface.

2. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein the portions of said side walls next adjacent said end walls are relieved to form notches adjacent each end wall of size to receive the rim of standard shotgun shells which will closely t within the receptacle.

3. The combination as specilied in claim 2 wherein said side walls are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the shell which lits within said receptacle and less than the diameter of the rim portion of the shotgun shell. y

4. The combination as speciiied in claim 3 wherein the notches defined in said iirst side wall extend along said side wall throughout its entire length, including the curved lower portions thereof.

5. A shotgun shell dispenser comprising a receptacle having a lpair of spaced apart end walls having curved lower end portions and a pair of spaced apart side walls joining said end walls, said side walls being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the size shotgun shell'for which said receptacle is designed and less than the diameter of the rim portion of the said shotgun shell, a lir'st of said side walls being bifurcated at a lower portion thereof and having opposite edge portions formi'ng spaced apart cylindrical bottom surfaces, said edge portions joining the curved lower end portions of said end walls, said edge portions terminating short of a plane passing along the inner surface of a second of said side walls, said second side wall being terminated along a line above the terminus of said edge portions a suicient distance to permit passage of a shotgun shell which can be received by said dispenser between the' edge portions and the bottom edge of said side wall, and resilient means comprising spaced apart depending tabs attached to said second side wall and extending downwardly a s'uiicient distance to resiliently engage` and retain a shotgun shell supported on said part cylindrical bottom surfaces formed by said edge portions, but yielding sufficiently to permit removal of a shell subjected to hand forces acting laterally toward the resilient means, each of said side walls and the portions thereof next adjacent the end walls being relieved to form notches of size to closely receive the rim of the size of standard shotgun shells for which the receptacle is designed, the rim being thus held in notches on opposite sides of the shell.

FOREIGN PATENTS 56,43() 10/1890 Germany. 29,724 12/1906 Great Britain.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner. HUGO O. S'CHULZ,fExaminer.

Claims

1. A SHOTGUN SHELL DISPENSER COMPRISING A RECEPTACLE HAVING AN OPEN TOP AND BEING MADE UP OF A PAIR OF SPACED APART END WALLS AND FIRST AND SECOND SPACED APART PARALLEL SIDE WALLS JOINING SAID END WALLS, SAID FIRST SIDE WALL HAVING LOWER PORTIONS THEREOF CURVED IN DIRECTION TOWARD THE SECOND SIDE WALL TO FORM A PART CYLINDRICAL BOTTOM SURFACE, SAID PART CYLINDRICAL BOTTOM SURFACE HAVING A HAND ACCESS NOTCH IN THE CENTER PORTION THEREOF, SAID SECOND SIDE WALL BEING TERMINATED A SUFFICIENT DISTANCE ABOVE THE TERMINAL EDGE OF SAID PART CYLINDRICAL SURFACE TO PERMIT A SHOTGUN SHELL TO PASS BETWEEN THE TERMINAL EDGE OF SAID PART CYLINDRICAL SURFACE AND THE SECOND SIDE WALL, AND RESILIENT MEANS COMPRISING TWO SPACED APART TABS INTEGRAL WITH AND IN THE PLANE OF SAID SECOND SIDE WALL AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY TOWARD THE TERMINAL EDGE OF SAID PART CYLINDRICAL SURFACES TO YIELDINGLY RETAIN A SHOTGUN SHELL SUPPORTED ON SAID PART CYLINDRICAL BOTTOM SURFACE.