US1648448A - Toothpick dispenser - Google Patents

Description

Nov'. s, 1927.

M. V. DERRICK TOOTHPICK DISPENSER Filed Sept. 9. 1925 ,gianna 4&6. Mz?

Patented Nov. a, 1927.

y UNITED STATESv MARK v. DERRICK, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA TOOTHPICK DISPENSER.

-Applcation filed September 9,1925. Serial No. 55,373.

,allow the toothpicks to be removed by taking hold of them at the middle or at theL end, and conveniently and without wasteseparating them either one 'at a time or in a bundle or bunch lby means fof the fingers of the "intending user.

It is desirable that the toothpicks be protected from dust and other impurities in the air and it is also desirable to prevent intending users from taking a quantity of toothpicks in excess of those intended for immediate use.

In restaurants, hotels, lunch counters, and other public eating places where toothpicks are made immediately available to the public, considerable loss to the proprietor of such places arises from the customers taking considerable bunches of toothpicks, and an object of this invention is to prevent such losses.

I have discovered that toothpicks can be served in a satisfactory Ainanner by loosely confining a bundle of toothpicks, giving thema semi-rotative impulse endwise of the bundle and intercepting the majority of they toothpicks in the bundle while allowing other toothpicks to be projected endwise from the bundle 4in separatedpositions; and by this method I kam able to project one or more toothpicks in. individual positions where they can be grasped by the fingers and drawn vout of the bundle, individually without handling any of the remaining toothpicks.

The most satisfactory means I have devised for practicing this novel method and effecting the desired result consists in a container having a diameter less than the length of the conventional wooden toothpick, and a height slightly greater than the length of such toothpick; and the container is provided with a flat head having round perforations therethrough, each of which perforations is of suiicient diameter to allow a toothpick to be drawn therethrough; and preferably the wallsA of the container are of transparent material through which the toothpicks may be seen, and the container is of such diameter .that a toothpickv contained therein will beheld alsant when the Vcontainer is upright. i

The container may be of any desired crossy sectional forin, but at present, I deem acircular cross section to be preferable and the open top is substantially of the same internal diameter as the body, the internal wall of the neck portion being relatively Vstraight and preferably the body is contracted at the middle to cause the loose bundle of toothpicks therein to spread out at topl andlbottorn and assume '-a more or less spirali arrangement when the container is upright; and in 11pright position of thefcontainer, thetooth'- picks will be on end either aslant or upright rand will have a general axial extension .to-

ward the head and bottom` ofthe container. Such middle contraction mayV also afford a convenient hand-hold forthe dispenser.

An advantage of this toothpick dispenserv is that the user has the satisfactory assur ance that the toothpick he selects is free fromY contamination bythe fingers of other users. Gther objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawingfthe lsubjoined detailedy description and the appended claims.` l

The improvementin the art, and the newly invented means for performing the same may he understood from the accompanying drawing.

this improvement `in- 'dispensing toothpicks. Fig. 21s a perspective view of the newly invented dispenser adapted to this art; showing `an upright position of the dispensing means shown in Fig. 1. Y l, Y Fig. 3 is an axialsection ofthe dispenser shown inV Figs.- 1 and 2, while upright.- A

bundle of toothpicks is shown in place.

Fig. 4 is an end view of thedispenser shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3.

The container in the form shown, is made of glass, open at the top and vbeing formed with. a neck`2, the interior wall 2 of which is such contraction, the lower end Aof the container is outwardly bulged at 4". The base of the container is concaved at 4 and a screw threaded head or closure 5, is adapted Figure l is a perspective View illustrating l to be screwed u pon thel threaded portion 3 of the neck and isprovided preferably with round perforations 6 of suiicient diameter to allow the toothpicks' to be projected therethrough and to beidrawntherethrough from a bundle of toothpicks 8 inthecon-N tainer.

The container and head may be rot any` Figs. 1,2 and 3.

In practice a loose bundle 8 of toothpicks will' befinserted into the rcontainer and the head 'will 'thenvbe secured in place. The tofothpiclts resultant o f the outwardly ybulged upper and lowerfportions, will lbe disposed asllant, withtheirfopposite ends positioned within the upper! and lower concavities farmed by thefbulged portions 4( and a", wliile'ftheV picks at the center ofthe bundle 8, Will'restiipon the concave portion 44' of they base, 'effecting a relatively spiral assembly of the y'picks *within :the said container. The operator; graspingfthe container, will give'"'ita` forward'movement, preferably in horizontal or in `a more or rless inverted position ofthe container, thus giving allotthe tothpicls a substantially semi-rotative momentum, tendingtol Vproject the bundle of toothpifc'lisv into engagement with the straight wall 2"-of'the` necli'and the greater majority of the toothpicks will be intercepted by such neck'wa'll Qfa limited'number of toothpicks willfbe Adirected through the round head perf forations;A and 'by reason of the mutualfricf' tion of the toothpicks in the loose bundle, oneupon another, and also the frictionY of eachftoothpick Von, the margin of the hole 'through which it has'jbeen projected, such to'otlipil Willbe retained `in position toA be graspedfbythefiree hand/vof the operator, or by any person whoifnay takel hold'of 'the "same to draw Yit from ythe dispenser.

Itis understood, that'the illustration. in

tiny:V handat Los Angeles,

tainer by a sliding lit producing sufficient i friction to` hold the head in place against the impact of the bundle of toothpicks:

It is'also understood'that the invention may beuse'd for dispensing matches-or liker` rl. A toothpick dispenser consis-tingot ad container open at one endand contracted be.-

tween its ends -andprovided atthe open end'- with a head having one or more roundiper forations adapted to permitAv atoothpick beV dra wnY therethrough the` .contractedlpors tion of the container being adapted .toallgwl the toothpicls in the container vto standfaslantonfend inspiral lines, and said contracted portion-alsoserving .to form a. hand-hold for thc purpose of holding the containerLwhile giving it' -momentum andalso while stopping itsuddenly to causeone or more.toothpicks` ofa bundle of toothpicks contained lin .the

' container to be projected by semi-rotative rne-` men-tuin through. the head so-as to be in pesi.;L

tion to be. grasped by one desiringgftoV be servedlwith a toothpick.-

2. A-toothpiclr dispensercomprising aref. ceptaele having an lopen neck portionand be?. ing" medi-ally contracted to. tormoutwardly bulged'upper and lower portions, said-'neck beingprovided with: Aa straight interionwall, a perforated` :cover adapted-for co-nnectionvte said neck, the outwardly bulged portions-otl saidreceptacle.y forming,r diametrically4 d isposedl concavities `adapted. .to receivelthefop` positeends of a number of the.toothpicks,and means for singly;4 delivering toothpiclis through the i cover Ip erforationswvhen the .said receptacle is thrust endwisefand-` suddenly In .testimonywhereoi I have .hereuntofvset California;` this 4th-dayfot`` September, 'l925.= Y

MARK; innemen.A y

Images