US3235318A

US3235318A - Dispenser for booklets and similar articles

Info

Publication number: US3235318A
Application number: US356449A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles H Rosenberg
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-04-01
Filing date: 1964-04-01
Publication date: 1966-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 1983-02-15

Description

Feb. 15, 1966 c. H. ROSENBERG DISPENSER FOR BOOKLETS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1, 1964 I NVENTOR. CHARLES H. ROSENBERG ATTOR EYS W66 c. H. ROSENBERG DISPENSER FOR BOOKLETS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed April 1, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

CHARLES H. ROSENBERG ATTO EYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,235,318 DISPENSER FOR BOGKLETS AND SlMlLAR ARTICLES Charles H. Rosenberg, Box 2275, Tallahassee, Fla. Filed Apr. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 356,449 Claims. (Cl. 31242) This invention relates to article dispensers and more particularly to dispensers comprising cartons in novel combination with support means therefor, whereby piecemeal removal of the contents of the cartons or containers is facilitated.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a novelly constructed, portable stand or rack for removably supporting a carton or similar container on a counter or other horizontal surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a stand or rack constructed in a novel manner from a single blank of sheet material, such as cardboard or other relatively stiff material, without the use of cements or other supplemental forms of fastening or connecting means.

A further object is to provide a novelly constructed container or carton adapted to cooperate in a novel manner with support means to facilitate dispensing the contents of the carton.

Still another object is to provide novel support means for replaceably supporting article dispensing cartons or containers and the contents thereof.

A still further object is to provide a novel dispenser for booklets or the like comprising a novel container and support means novelly associated therewith, whereby the booklets or similar articles may be removed one at a time from the bottom of the container therefor.

Another object is to provide novel means in the form of a wall rack or bracket for supporting an article dispensing carton in a novel manner.

The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will more fully appear from the following detail description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views,

FIG. 1 is an isometric view, with parts broken away, of one form of carton contemplated by the invention;

FIG. 1a is an isometric view of the bottom end of the container of FIG. 1 with the end closure flaps only partially folded;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a blank used in constructing the rack or stand illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view showing the blank of FIG. 2 in partially folded condition;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a stand or rack made from the blank of FIG. 2 for supporting the carton of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view showing the carton and rack of FIGS. 1 and 4 in cooperative relation;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken upon an enlarged scale substantially in the plane of the section line 66 of FIG. 5, the thickness of the Wall sections being exaggerated for clarity;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view illustrating the carton of FIG. 1 supported in the Wall bracket of FIG. 9;

FIG. 8 is a partial vertical sectional view taken upon an enlarged scale substantially in the plane of the section line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of one form of wall mounted support contemplated for use in combination with the carton of FIG. 1;

and is yet sturdy and durable.

3,2353% Patented Feb. 15, 19%5 FIG. 10 is a similar view of another form of wall mounted support with a container supported thereby being illustrated in phantom; and

FIG. 11 is a similar view, with parts broken away, of iijighel modified form of Wall bracket for the carton of The novel container or carton contemplated by the invention is illustrated in the drawings, by way of example, in the form of a dispenser for booklets, such as trading stamp booklets. As shown in FIG. 1, the dispenser carton or container 14 is rectangular in horizontal section to fit the booklets 11 stacked fiat or broadside therein (FIG. 6) and may consist of a folded blank or cardboard or the like with a vertical longitudinal seam (not shown). The upper end 12 of the carton may be closed in any suitable known manner, such as by folded fiaps, or the same may be left open to facilitate refilling.

The lower or dispensing end of carton it) is novelly formed with

side panel flaps

14, 14 folded inwardly from the

side panels

15, 15 of the carton. Said flaps may fold into overlapping relation or not, as desired, and width wise, the same extend forwardly from the rear panel 16 a distance which is less than the thickness or width of the carton from back to front.

An end closure flap 17 may consist of an extension of rear panel 16 folded forwardly to underlie

side flaps

14, 14. Flap 17 may be divided into three integrally connected sections by score lines 13 and 19, such that when the flap is in folded or closing position, the score 18 will line up with the forward edges 26* of

side flaps

14, 14, and score 19 will be in substantial alignment with the front panel 21 of the carton. Thus, the outer section or flap 17 may be tucked between the front panel 21 and the forward edges of the pile of stacked booklets 11 when the filled carton is in storage or transit. When flap 17 is folded along score line 18 and the central and outer sections thereof are folded back and tucked between the inner surfaces of side flaps 14 and the bottom of the pile of booklets 11, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the booklets may be readily removed one or several at a time through the transverse opening or slot 22 between the folded edge 18 of flap l7 and the lower edge of front panel 21. If desired, a notch 23 may be provided in front panel 21 to facilitate grasping the edge of the bottom-most booklet 11 with the thumb and fingers for edgewise removal thereof, as illustrated by dotted lines in PEG. 6.

Novel support means are provided by the invention for novel combination with the above-described dispensing container whereby the latter may be readily and suitably displayed and the booklets may be readily and easily removed therefrom. The embodiment illustrated, by way of example, in FIG. 4 is in the form of a portable counter rack or stand 30 which may be inexpensively constructed As shown, stand 30 consists of a single blank 31 (FIG. 2) cut from or died out of a sheet of cardboard, plastic or other suitable foldable material and novelly folded and interlocked to receive and firmly support carton 10 with its contents in a novel manner.

Blank 31 as viewed in FIG. 2 is preferably divided into a number of sections or panels by fold lines which are shown dotted and along which the blank may be scored to facilitate folding thereof. Longitudinal lines 32 and transverse line 33 divide one end portion of the blank into a central or base panel 34 and two L-

shaped side panels

35 and 36. The remainder of the blank is divided by

fold lines

33, 37 and 37, 38 into a front panel 39, a ramp or support panel 40 and a ramp positioning panel 41. The blank is also provided with a U-shaped slit 62 to form a tongue or lip 43 which may be folded on line 44 parallel with

line

37, 37.

To form the supporting rack as seen in FIG. 4, blank 31 is first folded or bent along

lines

33, 37 and 38 so that front panel 39 assumes a generally vertical position (FIG. 3), ramp panel 40 slopes downwardly and rearwardly from the upper edge of front panel 39, and positioning panel 41 lies flat against base panel 34 with the marginal edge portion of panel 41 and its laterally extending ears or

tabs

42, 42 projecting beyond the rear edge of the blank. Tongue 43 is then folded back along line 44 to assume a position generally parallel to and slightly above ramp panel 40. L-

shaped side panels

35, 36 are now folded upwardly and inwardly and are interlocked in criss-cross relation by means of oppositely facing

slots

45 and 46 to form an inverted V above base panel 34.

The forward edges 47 of the longer upright legs of

panels

35, 36 preferably are inclined rearwardly at an angle of about 90 to the upper surface of ramp 40 so that when the bottom end of carton 10 is seated on the ramp panel, the rear panel 16 of the carton will rest against the upstanding interlocked legs of

panels

35, 36. The shorter or horizontal legs of the L-

shaped side panels

35, 36 project upwardly beyond the surface of ramp panel 46 and thus overlap and engage the side panels of the carton to hold the base of the latter against lateral movement.

The fore and aft length of ramp 40 is such that carton 16, when seated in the stand (FIG. 6), extends forwardly beyond front panel 33 and hence, the front edge of ramp 40, a distance approximately equal to the width of opening 22 in the bottom end of the container. The tongue 43 may thus be inserted between the bottom of the stack of books 11 and the tucked-in portion of closure flap 17 (FIG. 6). The tongue and ramp thus form a bight to receive the end closure of the carton 10 edgewise and thus secure the carton on the stand or rack while leaving the dispensing slot or opening 22 unobstructed for the easy edgewise removal of booklets 11 from the bottom of the pile or stack as above described.

Any tendency of the carton 10 and ramp panel 40 to move forwardly as the booklets are pulled out is prevented by

tabs

42, 42 which engage the rear edge of

side panels

35, 36 and thus limit the forward movement of ramp panel 40. If desired, the ramp positioning panel 41 may be terminated between

side panels

35, 36 and the tabs 42 may then project through or into slots 48 at the base of said panels, one such slot being indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 5. The tabs 42 may even be attached to the edges of ramp panel 40 to project into suitable openings in the side panels.

A further embodiment of support means for the above described dispensing carton or container is illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 9 in the form of a simplified wall bracket type of support. It consists simply of a relatively stiff sheet metal member bent intermediate the ends thereof to form a vertical wall engaging part 50 and a horizontal shelflike part 51. A rectangular band 52 formed of wire or strap metal to surround carton 10 is suitably secured to part 59 of the bracket above shelf 51. In the most simplified construction band 52 is rigidly secured to the wall engaging section 50, such as by soldering or brazing, at a suitable distance above shelf 51. Preferably, the latter does not extend horizontally outwardly from part 50 beyond the rear edge of the dispensing opening 22 in the bottom end of the carton.

The wall bracket support 50, 51 may be secured to a vertical wall 53 by any suitable means, such as screws 54 or the like, but the same is preferably secured in a novel manner by means of one or more strips 55 of double faced adhesive tape. The strips are adhesively adhered to the wall engaging surface of panel 50 of the bracket, and the outer or exposed surfaces of the adhesive strips are adhered to a wall which may be glass or other type of polished surface. outer adhesive surfaces of strips 55 may be protected in Prior to mounting the support, the

4. a known manner by removable paper or similar backing sheets 56 (FIG. 9).

A modified wall bracket type of support for dispenser carton 10 is shown in FIG. 10 wherein the upper end of the carton is positioned or held by a U-shaped wire band or bale 57 which is pivotally mounted on rear panel 58 of a support made of metal, plastic or other suitable material. The upper end of panel 58 is curled over or otherwise formed to provide transverse journals for pivotally receiving transverse extensions of wire band 57. As also illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the supporting shelf part 59 of the support may be bent upwardly and reawardly or otherwise shaped to provide a lip or rib 60 to engage the forward edge 18 of the partial bottom end closure for the carton to restrain outward movement of the carton while booklets are being pulled through opening 22 from the bottom of the stack.

A further modification is illustrated in FIG. 11 wherein the upper end of the carton is retained by a forwardly and downwardly bent extension or latch 61 of a metal or plastic bracket support otherwise similar to that illustrated in FIG. 10. The material is preferably sufficiently resilient to permit the top or latching panel 61 to be sprung into and out of operative engagement with the upper end of carton 10 to thereby permit ready removal and replacement of the cartons. The latter may also be inserted and removed from either side of the supporting bracket if space permits without deflecting the upper holding panel 61.

Although only a limited number of embodiments or modifications of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing specification, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not limited thereto. For example, separate features of each embodiment or modification may be utilized in other embodiments illustrated and described, and if desired, the resilient latch 61 of the embodiment of FIG. 11 may be replaced by two similar oppositely disposed latches engageable with the vertical sides of the container. Various other changes may also be made in the details of construction illustrated and in the materials suggested without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as will now be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A dispenser in which fiat articles are adapted to be stacked comprising a carton made from a blank of stiff material folded to form a tubular container having a transverse cross-section enclosing said stack of articles, said container including a front wall connected to a pair of spaced side walls on either side thereof and a back wall, said walls terminating at a lower edge of said blank defining a lower open end of the tubular container, a pair of side flaps connected to the side walls along the lower edge of the blank and folded into the open end of the tubular container in close spaced relation to each other, said side flaps being spaced from the front wall to accommodate a dispensing slot at the lower end of the tubular container from which a lowermost article may be withdrawn, an end closure flap connected to the back wall extending below the side flaps and having a folded portion foldable between a closing position closing said lower open end of the tubular container and a dispensing position folded about the side fiaps to form said dispensing slot at the lower end of the tubular container, said front wall having a notch formed in the lower edge of the blank for exposing said lowermost article when supported on top of the folded portion of the closure flap in the dispensing position thereof, and support means for holding the tubular container in a substantially vertical position.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said support means includes a member encircling and rcleasably supporting said container, an adhesive coating on said support means by which the latter and said container may be mounted upon a supporting surface.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said support means comprises a rack supporting the container in a rearwardly inclined position, said rack having a tab portion folded above the folded portion of the closure flap to resist forward displacement of the container upon withdrawal of said lowermost article therefrom.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said rack is made from a folded blank of stiff material having a base panel, a pair of side panels connected to the base panel, said side panels having vertically elongated leg portions interconnected to support the back wall of the container in said inclined position thereof, and side wall portions engageable with the side walls of the container to resist lateral displacement thereof, a ramp panel, means connecting said ramp panel to the base panel in a downwardly inclined position between the side wall positions of the side panels to receive the end closure fiap thereon, and means connected to the ramp panel and engageable with the side panels for resisting displacement of the ramp panel from a position supporting the container in said rearwardly inclined position, said tab portion of the rack extending upwardly from the means connecting the ramp panel to the base panel.

5. In combination with a container or the like, a supporting rack made from a folded blank of stiff material having a base panel, a pair of side panels connected to the base panel, said side panels having vertically elongated leg portions interconnected to form a back support, and side wall portions, a ramp panel, means connecting said ramp panel to the base panel in a downwardly inclined position between the side wall portions, means connected to the ramp panel and engageable with the side panels for resisting displacement of the ramp panel from a rearwardly inclined position, and an anchoring tab extending upwardly from the means connecting the ramp panel to the base panel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,5 84,441 5/ 1926 Engelken 31242 2,263,956 11/1941 Russell 2483 11 2,730,231 1/1956 Ryan 206-30 2,765,998 10/1956 Engert 24829 2,825,519 3/1958 Potts et a1 248-174 2,883,139 4/1959 Dobkin 248311 2,903,225 9/ 1959 Weinstein 248-311 2,825,519 3/1958 Potts et al 248174 2,970,027 1/1961 Bulger et al 312-42 2,976,095 3/1961 Taves 3 l242 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A DISPENSER IN WHICH FLAT ARTICLES ARE ADAPTED TO BE STACKED COMPRISING A CARTON MADE FROM A BLANK OF STIFF MATERIAL FOLDED TO FORM A TUBULAR CONTAINER HAVING A TRANSVERSE CROSS-SECTION ENCLOSING SAID STACK OF ARTICLES, SAID CONTAINER INCLUDING A FRONT WALL CONNECTED TO A PAIR OF SPACED SIDE WALLS ON EITHER SIDE THEREOF AND A BACK WALL, SAID WALLS TERMINATING AT A LOWER EDGE OF SAID BLANK DEFINING A LOWER OPEN END OF THE TUBULAR CONTAINER, A PAIR OF SIDE FLAPS CONNECTED TO THE SIDE WALLS ALONG THE LOWER EDGE OF THE BLANK AND FOLDED INTO THE OPEN END OF THE TUBULAR CONTAINER IN CLOSE SPACED RELATION TO EACH OTHER, SAID SIDE FLAPS BEING SPACED FROM THE FRONT WALL TO ACCOMMODATE A DISPENSING SLOT AT THE LOWER END OF THE TUBULAR CONTAIN FROM WHICH A LOWERMOST ARTICLE MAY BE WITHDRAWN, AN END CLOSURE FLAP CONNECTED TO THE BACK WALL EXTENDING BELOW THE SIDE FLAPS AND HAVING A FOLDED PORTION FOLDABLE BETWEEN A CLOSING POSITION CLOSING SAID LOWER OPEN END OF THE TUBULAR CONTAINER AND A DISPENSING POSITION FOLDED ABOUT THE SIDE FLAPS TO FORM SAID DISPENSING SLOT AT THE LOWER END OF TUBULAR CONTAINER, SAID FRONT WALL HAVING A NOTCH FORMED IN THE LOWER EDGE OF THE BLANK FOR EXPOSING SAID LOWERMOST ARTICLE WHEN SUPPORTED ON TOP OF THE FOLDED PORTION OF THE CLOSURE FLAP IN THE DISPENSING POSITION THEREOF, AND SUPPORT MEANS FOR HOLDING THE TUBULAR CONTAINER IN A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL POSITION.