US3101157A

US3101157A - Cigarette dispenser

Info

Publication number: US3101157A
Application number: US7437A
Authority: US
Inventors: George F Russell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-02-08
Filing date: 1960-02-08
Publication date: 1963-08-20
Anticipated expiration: 1980-08-20

Description

Aug. 20,1963 F. RUSSELL CIGARETTE DISPENSER Filed Feb. 8. 1960 INVENTOR. GEORGE F. RUSSELL 4 rill/Ill; I!

mmil h h 3,101,157 CIGARETTE DISPENSER George F. Russell, 13144 Huston St,

Sherman Oaks, Calif. Filed Feb. 8, 1960, Ser- No. 7,437 9 Claims. (Cl. 221-227) This invention relates to a cigarette dispenser and more particularly to such a device of novel design having very thin, economically made and assembled ejecting means contained therein.

It is an object of this invention to provide a very thin cigarette dispenser which may contain up to about fifteen cigarettes. and dispense one of them at the pleasure of the user upon application of digital pressure to an ejector member over a relatively short distance. Another object is to provide a simple, easily constructed cigarette dispenser having novel cigarette ejection means which are assembled within the dispenser case by simple assembly operations suitable for mass production type manufacturing.

States Patent Generally stated, the invention consists of a case provided with a delivery port and. having space for a plurality of adjacent parallel cigarettes. In its interior the case also includes means for urging the cigarettes as a group toward the delivery port, an-ejector for moving a cigarette partially through the port and very thin ejector actuating means contained between the rear wall of the case and a divider wall, the divider wall and front wall confining the cigarettes within the case.

- The invention also consists of forming raised and recessed areas in the case wall near which a divider wall is placed, the raised and recessed areas providing various bearing surfaces and confining cavities which cooperate with the ejector, ejector actuating means and cigarette urging means to provide a device of this character of unusual economy of manufacture andassembly.

The invention further consists of placing a rod spring within a confining cavity of such dimensions that the spring is forced to involute in a particular manner during operation.

Further objects and advantages will be seen as an exemplary embodiment of cigarette dispenser according to the invention is hereafter more fully described and clamed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette dispenser ac- I cording to the invention in an open position;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the dispenser of FIG. 1, the cover being shown only fragmentarily;

FIG. 3 is a frontal detail view of the dispenser with parts removed, showing the ejection mechanism in relaxed, inoperative position and the follower or pusher in position corresponding to fully loaded condition of the case;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 except showing the ejection mechanism in ejecting position and the follower or pusher in position corresponding to partially emptied condition of the case; and

FIG. 5 is a detail on an enlarged scale showing the follower and the chamfered block of the cover with the ice 2 case; and ejector actuating means, indicated generally at 70. The case is preferably provided with sufiicient space therein so that when body portion 20 and cover 30 are closed upon each other, a plurality of cigarettes 80 may be contained within the case in a generally vertical, adjaoent, parallel and longitudinally disposed array. Cigarettes 80 are preferably constantly yieldably urged rightwardly as seen in FIG. 1, toward one end of the case. At that end they may be individually ejected through a delivery port 14, as shown by the illustrated position of end cigarette 82in FIG. 1, by the cooperation of the ejecton as indicated generally at 60, and the ejector actuating means, indicated generally at 70. Delivery port 14 is formed in the top of the case at one end by cutting out parts of the peripheral flanges 22 and-32, as shown in FIGS. .1 and 2'.

As best seenin the exploded view of FIG. 2, the body portion 20, including a rear wall 21 and peripheral flange 22, and the cover 30, including front wall 31 and peripheral flange 32, are connected by a hinge 12 which may be spring loaded to maintain the case in a normally closed position without the use of latch or locking mechanisms. Rear wall 21 may be provided with preferably integrally formed

recessed areas

23 and 24 and raised

areas

25 and 26, as shown in FIG. 2. I

Divider wall partitions 40' and 41, preferably of thin generally flat construction, are placed in close generally parallel relationship to rear wall 21. Between the partitions extends a horizontal slot 42 adapted to slidably re,- ceive the cigarette urging means, and a vertical slot 4 4 in partition 41 slidably receives the ejector 60. Vertical slot 44 is preferably disposed in vertical alignment beneath delivery port 14. v

When divider wall means 40 and 41 are placed in close generally parallel relationship with rear wall 21, either contacting raised

areas

25 and 26 or being in close proximity thereto, cavities are formed therebemeen where the

recesses

23 and 24 are located. As will become more readily apparent subsequently, the cavity formed by recess 23 is adapted. to receive a portion of the cigarette urging means, while the cavity formed by recess 24 is adapted to receive substantially all of the ejector 60 and the ejector actuating means, indicated generally at 70'.

Follower means indicated generally at are provided for yieldably urging the group of cigarettes 80 right- Wardly and thus to position the end cigarette 83 in alignment with the delivery port 14 for ejection out of the case. In the preferred exemplary embodiment, these follower ca-mmed upwardly out of the notch by the closure means include a follower sleeve 51 carried by a slide block 52 which slides within horizontal slot 42, the slide block 52 having slide channels 53 and 54 to slidably contact the edges of the slot 42. A notch 43 is provided at one end of the slot 42 opposite the end near the de livery port 14 and is offset from the slot axis to partially receive block 52 and thereby to constrain the follower 50 in a locked, retracted position while loading the cigarettes 8t) into the case. A chamfered block 16 having an inclined top surface 17 may be provided on the inside of the flange 32 of cover 30 to raise the follower 5t up out of the notch 43 by cammingly contacting sleeve 51 as shown in FIG. 5 when the cover 30 is closed upon the body 20. Follower 50 is thereby released from its locked position to an active cocked position. A thin rod spring 55 urges the follower sleeve 51 against the cigarettes toward the end of the case where the delivery port 14 is positioned. Rod spring 55 is attached at one end to a nub 18 protruding from the rear wall 21 and is connected at its other end to the slide block 52 by suitable means such as out-turned end 56 received in hole 57 formed in block 52. Rod spring 55 desirably has an unbent length considerably greater than the length of recess 23 between the nub 18 and the point to which Patented Aug. 20, 1963 3 follower Ell may be fully extended, as shown in FIG. 4. Rod spring 55, therefore, is forced in the FIG. 4 position of follower 519 ,to form the general shape of a horizontally disposed block letter S. The rear wall 21,

divider walls

40 and 41 and raised area 26 cooperate to constrain the rod spring 55 within the recessed area 23. Recessed area 23 is shaped generally like a horizontally disposed tear drop and is preferably of such size that when the follower St is moved from the fully extended position of FIG. 4 to the cocked or loaded position of FIG. 3, rod spring 55 is forced to involute or loop upon itself assuming a shape generally corresponding to a script letter S, as shown in FIG. 3. In its effort to resume a straight unbent configuration, rod

. spring 55 applies a yieldable force against the follower 5% which in turn urges the cigarettes Sll in the desired direction toward the delivery port 14.

When the end cigarette 82 is aligned below the delivery port 14 by the aforementioned means, it is engaged by an ejector 60. Ejector '61 is positioned in a portion of the recess 24 being laterally constrained by the raised area 26 and the body flange 22. Rear Wall '21 and the

divider walls

40 and 41 provide constraint upon ejector 6t) in a direction perpendicular to the walls of the case. A platform 61 is provided on the lower end of the ejector do which extends through the vertical slot 44 formed in the divider wall 41 to engage the lower end of the leading cigarette 82. Recesses 27 may be formed in the lower flanges of body 29 and cover 30* to receive the ejector platform 61 and 'thus to allow the platform to be disposed lower than the bottom of end cigarette 82 as it is slidably urged thereon. The top end of the ejector -61 is provided with an enlargement 62.

Ejector actuating means, indicated generally at 70, are associated with the ejector en to move it vertically within the recess 24 from a cigarette receiving position in which the lead cigarette 821s received upon the platform 61, as shown in- FIG. 3, to a cigarette delivery position, shown in FIG. 4, in which the lead cigarette 82 protrudes through the delivery port 14. The ejector actuating means in the exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, are substantially contained between the rear wall 21 and

divider walls

40 and 41 within a portion of the recess 24. These means may consist in part of a lifter arm 71 having two

ends

72 and 73 and an intermediate bearing portion 74. End 72 is preferably adapted to protrude out of the case through a slot 28 in the top portion of the body flange 22 and is provided With a push button 75. The other end 73 of the lifter arm 71 is provided with a crescent shaped portion 76 having a concave recess for engaging with coplanar enlargement 62 and thus moving the ejector 60.

Preferably, the intermediate bearing portion 74 is positioned upon the lifter arm 71 near the end 72 to provide a greater relative movement of end 72 than of end 73 when the lifter arm 71 is pivoted. A relatively short movement of button 75, upon the application of digital pressure thereon, will thereby result in a movement of ejector 60 over a greater distance moving an end cigarette 82 up through delivery port 14 as desired. Lifter arm 71 is constrained from undue movement in a direction perpendicular to the sides of the case by the rear wall 21 and the divider walls '41) and 41 which are in close proximity to and parallel to each other.

Bearing means are provided which pivotally support the lifter arm 71 within the case for pivotal movement about a single axis. These means, in the preferred exemplary embodiment, may consist of a fulcrum element 90 having an upwardly facing convex bearing surface and which is integrally formed in the rear wall 21 as a portion of the raised area 104 to be later described further. Intermediate bearing portion 74 of lifter arm 71 preferably has a downwardly facing concave bearing surface 77 on its bottom surface which rides upon the generally convex surf-ace of the fulcrum element 90.

Lifter arm 71, therefore, turns about a single axis within the case, the location of which is determined by the shape of the bearing surface 90. An additional bearing surface may be provided to-.-give added stability to the pivotal'rnovement of the lifter arm 71. This additional bearing surface may be obtained in the exemplary em bodiment by the provision of an upwardly facing convex surface '78 upon the intermediate bearing element 74 and a concave surface-d journal element 92 integrally formed in the rear wall 21. Journal element 92 may beformed as part of the raised area 25 and is positioned upon the rear wall 21 vertically above the fulcrum element and spaced therefrom by the width of the bearing ele-. ment 74. Lifter arm 71, therefore, may be constrained between the fulcrum element 99 and the journal element 92 in a vertical direction for pivotal movement about a single axis in a very stable manner.

Means for biasing the lifter arm 71 against ejecting movement are-provided to'cause the lifter arm 71 to automatically return to a cigarette-receiving position, as shown in FIG. 3, after being moved to a delivery position, as shown in FIG. 4, by digital pressure having been applied to the push button 75. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, these means may consist of a rod or wire spring 1'90 having one end attached to the rear wall 21 by means of a groove 162 formed in the raised area 25. The other end of the spring 1136} may be adapted to y-ieldably urge or bias the lifter arm 71 into a cigarette-receiving position, as shown in FIG. 3. Lifter arm 71 is preferably slid-ably abuttingly engaged by the spring 190 near the end 73 upon which the interengaging means 76 is provided. Spring is held within the slot or groove 192 by the presence of the divider wall 40 which, together with the rear Wall 21, prevents undue movement of the spring 1130 in a direction perpendicular to the sides of the case.

A stop portion 104 may :be provided as part of the raised area which includes raised fulcrum 90 and being integral with the rear wall 21; the lifter arm 71 may abut stop 104 under the urging of the spring 100.

It can therefore be seen that the cigarette dispenser made according to the invention may be easily and simply constructed. Rear wall 21 may be stamped or cast in one piece of metal or plastic material providing raised and recessed areas as previously described. The ejector 60, spring 1%, lifter arm 71 and spring 55 arethen easily placed in their respective locations within the

recesses

23 and 24 on the rear wall 21. The

divider walls

40 and 41 having the follower 50 mounted thereon and connected to rod spring 55 may be then pressed into the body portion 20 into close proximity to the rear wall 21. With the further addition of the hinged cover 30, the cigarette case is substantially assembled, the entire operation being very simple and adaptable for fast production methods. The finished cigarette dispenser, so constructed, is very thin and need be only sightly thicker than the diameter of one of the cigarettes 80.

It should be understood that the embodiment described herein is merely exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a cigarette case adapted tohold a plurality of cigarettes, and having means for yieldably urging said cigarettes toward one end of said case, a top above said cigarettes having a cigarette delivery port positioned therein at said one end, an ejector movable to eject a cigarette through said port, and an elongated ejector actuating means to control movement of said ejector, the provision of: a rear Wall and thin divider wall means placed in close proximity to said rear wall wherein said rear wall is provided with raised and recessed areas form-ed integrally therein to provide cavities between said rear wall and divider wall means to contain substantial portions of the ejector md elongated ejector actuating means, one of said cavities loosely receiving the elongated ejector actuating means, one of said raised areas providing a bearing surface against which the actuating means is rockably fulcrumed, said thin divider wall means including two coplanar divider walls having parallel edges spaced apart to form therebetween a horizontal slot substantially traversing the length of said thin divider wall means; said means for yieldably urging cigarettes toward one end of said case comprising a follower slidably mounted in said horizontal slot for lateral movement relative to said case to advance said cigarettes toward said one end; and a thin rod spring positioned within one of said cavities between said rear wall and divider wall means and having one end attached to said follower, the other end attached to said rear wall, said spring being of such length that it forms a generally horizontal block S-shape when the follower is in a fully extended position and involu-tes upon itself within the said one cavity forming the general shape of a script 8 when the follower is moved to a cocked position.

2. The invention as stated in claim 1 including a second thin rod spring positioned within the ejector actuating means cavity for resiliently biasing the ejector actuating means against ejecting movement.

3. The invention as stated in claim 1 wherein said ejector and ejector actuating means include thin flat coplanar interengaging elements movably received in the ejector actuating means cavity for transmitting therebetween mo tion in their common plane.

4. The invention as stated in claim 3 wherein one of said elements constitutes a crescent shaped portion provid ing a concave recess for receiving therein a portion of the other said element.

5. The invention as stated in claim 1 wherein said case includes a body portion provided with said rear wall and said divider wall means and further including a cover hingedly connected to the body for swinging movement between open and closed positions and provided with a front wall which, in closed position, is parallel to the divider wall means and spaced therefrom to receive therebetween a cigarette with its axis parallel thereto.

'6. The invention as stated in claim 5 wherein the divider wall means, adjacent the other end of said case, is provided with an enlarged locking notch communicating with said slot and offset from the axis thereof for at least partially receiving said follower and retaining the follower in retracted cigarette-loading position.

-7. The invention as stated in claim 6 wherein said cover includes means for moving the fol-lower out of the 6 locking notch into the slot when the cover is moved into closed position.

8. In a cigarette case adapted to hold a plurality of cig arettes and having means for yieldably urging said cigarettes toward one end of said case, a top wall above said cigarettes having a cigarette delivery port positioned therein at said one end, said case including a body portion having a rear wall and thin divider wall means parallel thereto and in close proximity therewith and a cover hingedly connected to the body for swinging movement between open and closed positions and including afrontwall which,

in closed position, is parallel to the divider wall means and spaced therefrom to receive therebetween a cigarette with its axis parallel thereto, the provision of: an ejector movable to eject a cigarette through said port and ejector actuating means to control movement of the ejector, said ejector and ejector actuating means including thin flat coplanar interengaging elements received between the rear wall and divider wall means and movable parallel thereto for transmitting motion in the common plane of the elements, said rear well being provided with raised portions contactingthe divider 'wall means and defining cavities therebetween, and said ejector actuating means including an elongated thin arm movably received in one of said cavities for movement parallel to said rear wall, the raised portions including a fulcrum element spaced from said interengaging elements against which the arm rockably abuts.

9. The invention as stated in claim 8 including resilient means in said one cavity biasing the actuating means against ejecting movement. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 600,552 Parker May 15, 1898 1,108,018 Stiglich et a1. Aug. 18, 1914 1,168,437 Stone Jan. 18, 1916 1,278,879 Denemark Sept. 17, 1918 1,575,573 Gregory Mar. 2, 1926 2,462,231 Stein Feb. 22, 1949 2,519,020 Breitwiesser Aug. 15, 1950 2,753,025 Reis July 2, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 215,507 Great Britain May 15, 1924 556,444 Canada Apr. 22, 1958 807,323 Great Britain Jan. \14, 1959

Claims

1. IN A CIGARETTE CASE ADAPTED TO HOLD A PLURALITY OF CIGARETTES AND HAVING MEANS FOR YIELDABLY URGING SAID CIGARETTES TOWARD ONE END OF SAID CASE, A TOP ABOVE SAID CIGARETTES HAVING A CIGARETTES DELIVERY PORT POSITIONED THEREIN AT SAID ONE END, AN EJECTOR MOVABLE TO EJECT A CIGARETTE THROUGH SAID PORT, AND AN ELONGATED EJECTOR ACTUATING MEANS TO CONTROL MOVEMENT OF SAID EJECTOR, THE PROVISION OF: A REAR WALL AND THIN DIVIDER WALL MEANS PLACED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SAID REAR WALL WHEREIN SAID REAR WALL IS PROVIDED WITH RAISED AND RECESSED AREAS FORMED INTEGRALLY THEREIN TO PROVIDE CAVITIES BETWEEN SAID REAR WALL AND DIVIDER WALL MEANS TO CONTAIN SUBSTANTIAL PORTIONS OF THE EJECTOR AND ELONGATED EJECTOR ACTUATING MEANS, ONE OF SAID CAVITIES LOOSELY RECEIVING THE ELONGATED EJECTOR ACTUATING MEANS, ONE OF SAID RAISED AREAS PROVIDING A BEARING SURFACE AGAINST WHICH THE ACTUATING MEANS IS ROCKABLY FULCRUMED, SAID THIN DIVIDER WALL MEANS INCLUDING TWO COPLANAR DIVIDER WALLS HAVING PARALLEL EDGES SPACED APART TO FORM THEREBETWEEN A HORIZONTAL SLOT SUBSTANTIALLY TRAVERSING THE LENGTH OF SAID THIN DIVIDER WALL MEANS; SAID MEANS FOR YIELDABLY URGING CIGARETTES TOWARD ONE END OF SAID CASE COMPRISING A FOLLOWER SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID HORIZONTAL SLOT FOR LATERAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID CASE TO