GB2210866A

GB2210866A - Dispensing apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2210866A
Application number: GB8723836A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Victor Hymanson
Original assignee: Seldoren Ltd
Current assignee: Seldoren Ltd
Priority date: 1987-10-10
Filing date: 1987-10-10
Publication date: 1989-06-21
Also published as: GB8723836D0

Abstract

Dispensing apparatus (10), for supplying to a user, cylindrical articles (20) such as cotton wool rolls retained within a storage cassette (18), has a housing (15) and a pusher (23) and an operating handle (38). By moving the operating handle (38) the pusher (23) is caused to move, pushing a single article (21) into an intermediate position (dotted line) ready to be dispensed. On releasing the handle (38) the object (20) is dispensed to the user under the effect of compression spring (34). <IMAGE>

Description

DISPENSING APPARATUS This invention relates to dispensing apparatus for dispensing generally cylindrical articles singly on each operation of the apparatus. In particular the invention relates to apparatus for dispensing cotton-wool rolls for use in dentistry, surgery or the like.

Conventionally cotton-wool rolls are supplied in cartons or boxes. When a roll is required for soaking up blood, saliva or other liquids, the dentist, surgeon or assistant removes a roll from the carton or box and places it in the required location. During such an operation, the hand can easily contact the other rolls in the carton or box, and this could lead to contamination of the remaining rolls.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus in use of which the abovementioned risk of contamination is avoided or substantially reduced.

The invention provides a dispensing apparatus comprising a housing, storage means for a plurality of cylindrical articles disposed within said housing with said articles being retained in said storage means, pusher means operable to move from a respective inoperative position to a respective operative position and to move an endmost one of said articles from said store to an intermediate position within said housing, and operating means movable from a respective inoperative position to a respective operative position to effect said movement of said pusher means and movable from said respective operative position to said respective inoperative position to move said one article from said intermediate position to a dispense position extending from said housing.

Preferably said movement of said operating means from its respective operative position to said inoperative position causes movement of said pusher means from its respective operative position-to its respective inoperative position.

The apparatus may comprise biassing means operable to bias said operating means towards its inoperative position, and said biassing means may comprise a compression spring.

Preferably said storage means is adapted to locate said articles in an uptstanding column, and said column may be substantially vertical. The axes of said articles may be substantially horizontal. The pusher means may move a lowermost one of said-articles from said column.

One embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation, and Fig, 2 is a part-sectioned front elevation.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown a dispensing apparatus 10 which comprises a housing 11 having a base 12 and a cover 131 The base 12 has an upstanding flange 14, or spigots, over which the cover 13 is a push fit so as to be retained on the base 12.

Within the housing 11 is an inner housing 15 which is a push fit onto the base 12 inside the flange or spigots 14. The inner housing 15 has a top 16 which has an aperture 17 to receive a storage "cassette" 18. A flange 19 on the storage cassette 18 locates the cassette 18 in position in the aperture 17 and flanges 19 provided inside the top of the cover 13 locate the top end of the cassette 18 so that the latter is held in a substantially vertical position on the top 16. Within the cassette 18 is a plurality of cylindrical articles 20, such as cotton wool rolls, which are disposed in an upright, preferably substantially vertical, column with their axes substantially horizontal. The lowermost roll 21 will fall from the cassette 18, through the aperture 17, to rest on a horizontal receiving surface 22 of the inner housing 15.

Two small ribs 24 are provided on the receiving surface 22 to prevent the lowermost roll 21 from rolling and failing to support the remaining rolls 20 in the column within the cassette 18.

A pusher 23 is slidably received on the receiving surface 22, and has a depending flange 48 which passes through a slot 25 in the receiving surface. An L-shaped lever 26, which is pivotally mounted at pivot 27 in the inner housing 15, has a spigot 28 which engages a slot 29 in the depending flange 48 of the pusher 23. The other end of the lever 26 has a second spigot 30 which engages an operating device 31 as hereinafter described.

The operating device 31 comprises a body part 32 having a recess 33 at its underside. A compression spring 34, located on a locating spigot 35, which is upstanding from the base 12, has its free end disposed within the recess 33 so as to bias the operating device 31 upwardly into an inoperative position thereof as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The body part 32 can slide upwardly and downwardly in the space between the sides and the front wall 36 of the inner housing 15 and a front support wall 37 of the receiving surface 22. Extending forwardly of the body part 32, through slots 39,40 in the front walls 41,36, of the cover 13 and inner housing 15 respectively, is a handle part 38.Extending rearwardly of the body part 32, through a slot 42 in the front support wall 37 of the receiving surface 22, is an operating rib 43 in which there is a slot 44 engaged by the second spigot 30 of the lever 26. The upper surface of the body part 32 has a channel formation 45 and has one edge chamfered at 46. In the inoperative position of the operating device 31, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the channel formation 45 extends into an aperture 47 in the cover 13.

Operation of the dispensing apparatus 10 is as follows.

The cover 13 is removed from the base 12 and a cassette 18 containing the cotton wool rolls 20 is inverted and placed with its open end within the aperture 17 in the top 16 of the inner housing 15. The then lowermost roll 21 will fall onto the receiving surface 22, with the remaining rolls 20 in a column supported on thelowermost roll 21. The cover 13 is then replaced on the base 12, flanges 19 assisting in maintaining the cassette 18 in a vertical position. When a cotton wool roll is required, the handle 38 is depressed, causing the operating device 31 to slide downwardly from its inoperative position to its operative position against the force of the compression spring 34. Such movement causes pivoting of the L-shaped lever 26 in an anti-clockwise direction, thus causing forward movement of the pusher 23 to.an operating position thereof. The pusher 23 causes the lowermost roll 21 to roll over the forward rib 24 and roll onto the channel shaped top part 45 of the operating device 31.

In the meantime the column of rolls 20 is supported by the pusher 23. The operative positions of the pusher 23, roll 21, channel formation 45, spigots 28,30, and rib 43 of operating device 31, are shown in dashed lines in Fig. 1.

On release of the handle 38 the spring 34 causes upwards movement of the operating device 31 back to its inoperative position. This causes the roll 21 to be lifted upwardly until one end 49 engages an edge 50-of the aperture 47 in the cover 13, which edge 50 is chamfered internally at a similar angle to the chamfered edge 46 of the body part 32. In consequence the roll-21 is tilted about its end 49 so as to extend outwardly of the dispensing apparatus -10 at a convenient angle for withdrawal and use. As the operating device 31 moves upwardly, the lever 26 pivots in a clockwise direction and the pusher 23 moves back to its inoperative-position as shown in Fig. 1. This allows the column of rolls 20 to fall so that a new lowermost roll 21 is located between the ribs 24 on the receiving surface 22o The device 10 is then ready for the above operation to be repeated when another roll is required.

By means of the invention cotton wool rolls or other cylindrical articles may be readily dispensed without risk 6f contamination prior to use of each roll or article.

Claims

1. Dispensing apparatus comprising a housing, storage means for a plurality of cylindrical articles disposed within said housing with said articles being retained in said storage means, pusher means operable to move from a respective inoperative position to a respective operative position and to move an endmost one of said articles from said store to an intermediate position within said housing, and operating means movable from a respective inoperative position to a respective operative position to effect said movement of said pusher means and movable from said respective operative position to said respective inoperative position to move said one article from said intermediate position to a dispense position extending from said housing.

2. Dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein movement of said operating means from its respective operative position to said inoperative position causes said pusher means to move from its respective operative position to its respective inoperative position.

3. Dispensing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein biasing means is provided operable to bias said operating means towards its inoperative position.

4. Dispensing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said biasing means comprises a compression spring.

5. Dispensing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said storage means is adapted to locate said articles in an upstanding column.

6. Dispensing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said storage means locates said articles with their axes substantially horizontal.

7. Dispensing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said pusher means, in moving from its inoperative position to its operative position, moves a lowermost one of said articles from said column.

8. Dispensing apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.