WO2013154496A1

WO2013154496A1 - Storage and dispensing device, preferably for longish objects

Info

Publication number: WO2013154496A1
Application number: PCT/SE2013/050401
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leif Rickard HOLM; Payam KHALILI
Original assignee: Consalus Healthcare Solutions Ab
Priority date: 2012-04-13
Filing date: 2013-04-15
Publication date: 2013-10-17
Also published as: WO2013154496A4; SE1250373A1

Abstract

This invention relates to storage and dispensing device, preferably for longish objects, comprising a housing (2,6) including a storage member (3), a feeding member (4) and a dispenser opening (5), arranged to enable dispensing of objects, wherein the feeder member (4) comprises a feed portion (40) arranged to move transversely in relation to said storage member (3).

Description

STORAGE AND DISPENSING DEVICE, PREFERABLY FOR LONGISH

OBJECTS

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to storage and dispensing device, preferably for longish objects, comprising a housing including a storage member, a feeding member and a dispenser opening, arranged to enable dispensing of objects. BACKGROUND

In today's society there is a large use of disposable utilities, e.g. straws, spatulas/tongue depressors, etc., which are consumed in large amounts. For efficient handling of such utilities there is a need of practical storage devices that are easily refilled and also easily dispensed from. In many situations there is a need of handling storage and dispensing in a manner as hygienic as possible. Indeed there exists situations where such utilities may cause infections etc. if not handled in hygienic manner. However, due to undesired expenses and/or undesired complexity, hygienic storage and dispensing devices are often disposed of. As an alternative many utilities are instead provided with a hygienic package, which of course is undesirable from an environmental perspective and also from a cost perspective. Accordingly there is a need for a storage and dispensing device that may improve upon the situation.

From US 2008245814 there is known a dispensing device for dispensing spatulas (tongue depressors) presenting a relatively complex solution, wherein the spatulas are intended to be guided upwardly through a dispenser opening by the force applied by a set of springs. From US 2803378 there is known as dispenser for dispensing of spatulas and the like, wherein a spring member urges the whole pile of spatulas upwardly and wherein a feeding member by means of friction is arranged to enable feeding out of one spatula at the time, by means of actuating a gripping member of the feeding member. The design is complex and not reliable due to the fact that sufficient friction is needed to safeguard the feeding out. From US 1741295 there is known another kind of dispenser having a similar purpose, wherein a similar basic design as for US 2803378 is used. From US 5131565 there is known further known kind of dispenser having a similar purpose presenting very complex design including numerous separate details and complex mechanism. All in all, none of these known dispensers fulfill the need regarding reliability, cost-efficient production and/or easy use thereof. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object to provide a storage and dispensing device that eliminates or at least minimizes the problems mentioned above, which is achieved by means of storage and dispensing device according to claim 1.

Thanks to the invention there is provided a storage and dispensing device, wherein easy and practical storage is achieved and also dispensing of an object may easily and safely be performed, and wherein undesired contamination of the object may be avoided. Furthermore the design of the storage and dispensing device provides for a very cost efficient solution.

According to a further aspect;

- the feed portion is made of metal and the attachment of said rod like portion is arranged to enable maintaining the resilient properties also after attachment thereof, which provides for cost efficient production.

- The storage member is arranged within a blocking member providing a limit stop for the feeding member.

- The feeding member has a resting position and a feeder position wherein there is arranged a resting space within said storage member that is arranged adjacent the storage space within said storage member and that said feeding member in its resting position extends within said resting space,

said housing also includes a lid, which improves upon the hygienic ability of the storage and dispensing device,

- the lid is pivotal in relation to the storage member.

- The dispensing opening is in the form of a slot extending parallelly with the feed portion of the feeding member.

- A further slot is arranged transversally in relation to said dispensing slot.

- The feeding member is arranged with a retaining member arranged to retain objects from passing through the second slot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed figures, wherein,

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the the storage and dispensing device according to the invention, with its lid being open and the feeding member in a feeding out position, Fig. 2 shows the same perspective view as in Fig. 1 with the feeding member in a non- feeding out position, and

Fig. 3 shows the storage and dispensing device in a perspective view from another angle, and

Fig. 4 shows the storage and dispensing device having its lid closed,

Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view along line A-A in Fig. 1, but also showing a modified arrangement of the bottom of the dispensing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In Fig. 1 there is shown a preferred embodiment of a storage and dispensing device according to the invention in perspective view, wherein the lid 6 is in an open position. There is shown a basic body part 2. In the preferred embodiment the device is produced in metal (preferably stainless steel allowing autoclaving), by the use of sheet metal that have been bent into desired configurations, and wherein some parts are welded together. However it is evident for the skilled person that the device may be produced in many different materials, e.g. plastic material, wherein some parts or indeed integrated parts may be produced by means of form moulding of thermo plastics.

The basic body 2 is made from a single piece of sheet metal wherein the main part 20 forms the back side of the storage and dispensing device 1 and a perpendicularly bent lower edge 21 forms the bottom section of the storage and dispensing device 1.

Onto the front face of the basic body 20 there is arranged a storage space 3 preferably having a rectangular horizontal cross-section, wherein the long sides preferably are substantially longer than the short sides, e.g. in the range of 2: 1-30: 1. A limited portion of the lower edge 21 forms the bottom section of the storage space 3, presenting a bottom surface 21 A against which an object rests prior to be dispensed and slides against during dispensing. The sides of the storage base are delimited by means of L- formed members 36, 37 having one of the leg portions 37 A, 36A attached to the front face of the back wall 20 of main body 2, extending substantially perpendicularly in relation to the front surface of the back wall 20. The other leg portions 37B, 36B legs extend in parallel with the surface of the back wall 20, directed against each other, in a plane that is substantially in line with the front edge 20A of the bottom section 21.

In the shown embodiment the storage and dispensing device is intended to be used in connection with spatulas, which are in the form of flat shaped longish elements, and accordingly the distance between the side walls 37A, 36A of the storage space 3 is adapted to enable spatulas to fit in there between and to provide some minor play enabling easy movement of the spatulas.

As can be noted the length of each leg member 36B, 37B forming the front side limitation of the storing space 3, merely extend a small part along the front (of the whole length) of the storage space 3, e.g. in total less than 50%, to present a central opening, e.g. enabling access, in the front wall of the storage space 3, and which also brings about a less costly product. The back side of the storage space 3 is not directly limited by the front face of the basic body 20, but by two spacers 34 enabling the spatulas to be positioned within the storage space 3 at a distance X from the front face, of the back wall 20. In the shown embodiment the spacers 34 are in the form of rods that are attached to the front face of the back wall 20, which rods have a diameter corresponding to the distance X. These rods 34 are positioned at a distance away from the side walls 37A, 36A substantially in a region adjacent to the extension of the inner edges of the front leg portions 36B, 37B.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown) the spacers 34 are formed by bending the sheet metal of the main body 2, i.e. forming grooves/folds. The storage space 3 is open upwardly, allowing for easy refill of objects into the storage space 3.

On top of the bottom section 21 there is arranged a feeding member 4. The feeding member 4 is in the form of a resilient rod/thread, preferably in the form of a relatively thin rod made in spring steel, preferably having a diameter in the range of 0,5 - 3 mm, more preferred 1 - 2 mm. In an alternative embodiment (not shown), where the object to be dispensed is wider (e.g. a straw) it may be advantageous to instead use a blade spring for the feeding member 4, using the same principles as will be explained more in detail below. The feeding member 4 has a feed portion 40 that extends all the way along the long side of the storage space 3, which in its resting position (inactivated) is within a resting space 31, that extends in parallel with the front face of the back plate 20, substantially in contact therewith underneath the lower edges of spacers 34.

Accordingly the spacers 34 do not extend all the way down to the bottom portion 21, but end at a distance (about X) above the surface 21 A of the bottom portion 21, to enable the feed portion 40 of the feeding member 4 to retract into the space 31 formed along the corner area formed by the back plate 20 and bottom plate 21. Thanks to this arrangement the inner portion 40 of the feeding member 4 will be positioned inside of the object 8 resting at the bottom plate 21, i.e. the feed portion 40 is positioned alongside the object 8, between the back wall 20 and the lowermost portion of the storage space 3, enabling easy feeding out by means of pivoting the feeding member 4.

As can be seen in Fig 2 the inner portion 40 has a pivot point 42 adjacent the lower left hand side corner of the storage space 3. This pivot point 42 is arranged by forming a passage 38 in the lower end of left hand side wall 36 A, providing an edge 36C for pivoting of the feeding member 4. Thanks to this solution the arrangement of the pivot point 42 does not affect the material of the feeding member 4, i.e. there is no need of any specific treatment to safeguard it's resilient properties (if welded at this spot the heat would reform the material and thereby most likely destroy its resilient properties). Instead the inner portion 40 extends a further distance Y away from the pivot point 42, which is sufficiently long to allow for safe (non-destroying) attachment of the end of the inner portion 40, e.g. by means of a spot weld 41, without affecting the material in the pivot point 42. Accordingly, this design safeguards maintaining the desired properties of the inner portion 40 of the feeding member 4, i.e. enabling resilient flexing a large number of times forth and back to feed out objects from storage space 3.

At the other end of the feeding member 4 there is arranged a 90° bend 43 that makes the rod continue in a direction that is perpendicular to the inner portion 40, substantially in the same plane, and the same distance, as the right hand sidewall 37A of the storage space 3. In order to allow for the feeding member 4 to be movable, in and out, underneath the right hand sidewall 37A there is arranged a gap 33 extending there between and the bottom plate 21. The gap 33 extends substantially all the way along the side wall 37A, and is terminated by a stop member 35 positioned in the corner area of the leg 37B. Thanks to this gap 33 the feeding member 4 is freely movable on top of the upper face of the bottom plate 21, between its resting position and the stop member 35.

Furthermore there is a second perpendicular bend 45 at the end of the feeding member 4, allowing for the arrangement of a gripping member 46, at a practical position on the right hand side of the device 1. Between the two bends 45, 43 the rod forms a retaining member 44, which retaining member 44 in an inactive position of the feeding member 4 will block the gap 33 between the sidewall 37A and the bottom plate 21, thereby hindering objects within the storage space 3 to enter out from the storage space sideways.

At the lower portion, at the front of the storage base 3 there is arranged a dispenser opening 5, which partly is formed by a right hand gap 51 in the front wall 37 B, forming a kind of extension of the gap 33, but on the other side of said stop member 35, and partly by a similar, but more limited gap 51 arranged at the left-hand side. Accordingly the dispensing opening 5 extends in parallel with the bottom surface 21 A adjacent the upper surface thereof, to allow for objects in the storage space 3 to be dispensed.

The lid 6 is rotatably fixed to the left-hand edge of the basic body 2, by means of a hinge device 60. The lid 6 is arranged with an upper cover plate 62 that forma a top cover for the storage base 3 when the lid 6 is in its closed position. To enable easy snap- in closure of the lid 6 there is arranged a snap-in closure arrangement 7, here in the form of a protruding dent 71 on the lid 6 and a mating, resilient female member 72 attached to the base body 2.

The base body is preferably arranged with appropriate holes 22, enabling easy attachment of the storage and dispensing device 1 onto a vertical wall.

In use the lid 6 of the dispenser is opened to allow supply of objects, e.g. spatulas, into the storage space 3. At this time the feeding member 4 (if not activated) will be positioned substantially in contact with the front face of the back wall 20, underneath the spacers 34 to allow for the lower most object 8 in the pile to be positioned onto the upwardly facing surface 21 A of the bottom plate 21, also forming the bottom 35 of the storage space 3. Once a sufficient number of objects have been positioned into the storage space 3, the lid 6 may be closed. Thereafter an object is easily fed out by activating the feeding member 4, which is achieved by pulling the gripping member 46 thereof, whereby it will resiliently move along the face 21 A of the bottom plate 21 until it hits the stop member 35, and thereby push an object out through the dispenser opening 5. Thanks to the design the feed portion 40 of the feeding member 4 will pivot (and also flex in a curved manner) and therefore the object 8 will merely be partly pushed out through the dispenser opening 5. Hence it will not fall out from the dispenser opening 5 but partially be maintained therein at the same time as exposing a larger part thereof outside of the dispenser opening 5. Accordingly the object 8 will then be in an easy grip able position wherein the user may easily choose to grip into a desired part of the object 8. In some embodiments it may be desired to arrange a kind of ridge 21B that protrudes some millimeters (e.g. 1-3 mm) above the bottom surface 21A, to enable safe feeding also of twisted objects. This is presented in fig 5, which in this regard shows a modification of fig 1 (i.e. fig 1 is without ridge and fig 5 with a ridge, but other features are the same in figs. 1 and 5) The ridge is preferably positioned centrally, e,g. a small (e.g. 2-5 mm wide) transverse dent (or weld, or glued on plastic device) that extends along a substantial distance above the bottom surface 21 A, to enable feed out of a spatula also if it is twisted, since then it will not be lying flat onto the flat bottom surface 21 A, but allow some twisting at the ends of the spatula but having its centre part in contact with the ridge 2 IB, on top of which the feeding member 4 slides. The ridge 2 IB will then facilitate that also a twisted spatula will be reliably fed out by the feeding member 4.

The invention is not limited by the embodiment describe above but may be varied within the scope of the pending claims. For instance, it is evident for the skill person that instead of a resilient portion of the feeding member 4 (that acts in an integrated manner) it is possible to instead use a rigid feed portion, which instead has a hingely arranged pivot point 42. Such a feeding member may be arranged with a spring that urges it to return the feeding member into its resting position, whereby substantially the same function will be achieved as with embodiment described above. Further it is realized that the invention may be produced in many different sizes to fulfill different needs for feeding out of objects and that also different kind of materials may be combined to produce a dispenser according to the invention. Moreover, it is foreseen that electronic activation (e.g. a solenoid) may used to achieve more or less automatic activation of the feeding member, e.g. controlled by a photo cell that detects when a hand is positioned close to the dispenser opening 5.

Claims

1. Storage and dispensing device, preferably for longish objects, comprising a housing (2,6) including a storage member (3), a feeding member (4) and a dispenser opening (5), arranged to enable dispensing of objects, wherein said feeder member (4) comprises a feed portion (40) arranged to move transversely in relation to said storage member (3) and characterized in that said storage member (3) comprises a gap (33) through which the feeding member (4) extends and that said feeding member (4) comprises a retaining member (44) which in an inactive position is arranged to block said gap (33).

2. Storage and dispensing device according to claim ^characterized in that said feed portion (40) is arranged to move transversally at the bottom of said storage space (3) by means of pivoting.

Storage and dispensing device according to any proceeding claim,

characterized in that said feeding member (4) has a resting position and a feeding out position, wherein there is arranged a resting space (31) within said storage member (3) that is arranged adjacent the storage space (32) within said storage member (3) and that said feeding member (4) in its resting position extends within said resting space (31).

Storage and dispensing device according to any proceeding claim,

characterized in that said storage member (3) is arranged with a stop member (35) providing a limit stop for said feeder member (4).

Storage and dispensing device according to any preceding claim,

characterized in that said feed portion (40) is made of a resilient material, preferably metal.

Storage and dispensing device according to claim 5, characterized in that the attachment of said resilient feed portion (40) is arranged to enable maintaining the resilient properties also after attachment.

Storage and dispensing device according to claim 6, characterized in that said resilient feed portion (40) is attached by means of a weld (41) at a distance (t) from a pivot point (42) of said resilient portion (40).

8. Storage and dispensing device according to any proceeding claim,

characterized in that said housing (2, 6) includes a base body (2) and a (6).

9. Storage and dispensing device according to claim 6, characterized in that said lid (6) is pivotally arranged in relation to said base body (2).

10. Storage and dispensing device according to any proceeding claim,

characterized in that said dispenser opening (5) is in the form of at least one slot (50, 51) extending in parallel with the feed portion (40) of the feeding member (4) extending in said storage member (3).

11. Storage and dispensing device according to claim 10, characterized in that a further slot (33) is arranged transversally in relation to said dispenser slot (50, 51), forming a passage for a gripping member (46) of said feeding member (4).

12. Storage and dispensing device according to claim 11, characterized in that said feeding member (4) is arranged with a retaining member (44) arranged to retain objects (8) from passing through said second slot (33), which retaining member (44) preferably forms an integrated part between said gripping member (46) and said feed portion (44).

13. Storage and dispensing device according to any proceeding claim,

characterized in that said housing (2,6) includes a bottom section (21) with a substantially flat upper surface (21 A).

14. Storage and dispensing device according to claim 13, characterized in that a ridge (21B) is arranged to protrude above said upper surface (21A).