US2538185A - Cup dispenser - Google Patents

Description

S. F. ANDERSON CUP DISPENSER Jan 16, 19s;

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 26, 1946 llllllik Ill IHIIW Jan. 16, 1951 s, F, ANDERSQN 2,538,185

CUP DISPENSER Filed Sept. 26, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UNITED STATES at oFFics CUP DESPENSER Swan F. Anderson, Rockford, 111., assignor of one.- half to Edith M. Anderson, Rockford, Ill.

ApplicationSeptember 26, 1946, Serial No. 699,576

7 Claims. 1

This inventionpertains to an improved cup dispenseryof the type which may be employed to automatically dispense paper cups or the like in an ice cream filling machine.

An object of the invention is the provision of a cup dispenser-which may be readily coordinated with the operationof afilling machine to positively dispense a single. cup atpredetermined intervals and .whichis-rugged, inexpensive and foolprooi. cup dispenser which, maybe readily adapted for use with cups of different depths and sizes.

Otherobjects-and advantages will become apparent ,from the following-description, in connection with-the drawings; in which Figure 1 is a side view of a cup dispenser made in accordance with the present invention shown in the normal or downstroke position;

Fig. 2:--is a top; partially cut-away view of Figure -1, WithiCHDS-Omittfid; taken "on the line 22 Fig, 3 isa-sectional-side rview of Figure 1- taken on. linee3--3 5 Fig; 4 is alview similartoFigure 1 showing the dispenser in'theupstroke-position just after. the bottom cup hasbeen ejected;

Fig; 5-is asectionalside view of:thed-ispenser takenon the--line 5 5 of Fig; 2showing the-parts in the normalposition;

Fig: dis a. View similar;v to Fig.- 5 showing the parts'inaniintermediateposition, .just before ejecting; the. bottom cup;

Fig. '7 isa-.viewsimilar to Fig. 51showing the parts-at the topof the upstroke position (this is the.- same position as also'showngin Fig. 4), and

Figgs is antenlarged: vertical sectional view of Fig;- 2 taken on 1ine-8.-3.

In the--drawings,- a stationary frame generally designated I has a horizontal rectangular plate 2 with: atcircularwopening-'3' and is supported by screws-ton .a'zvert-ical plate fi which carries stud l=mounted-by -wing -nut 8 onthe member. 9 which is fragmentarily shown and which, will usually be'a partof the-frame'structure of the filling machine with-which the dispenser'is adapted to be used; At' the-bottom ofplate ii another horizontal plate-sitis;mounted-, by screws 12; and servesasarguicle for the movable frame now to be described;

The movable frame includes a-member it (Fig.

8) rhaving-a-rectangular plate portion-iE;-with an opening-ii-imralignment with an integral annulare-Xtension. 18. The opening H is beveled at. I9to facilitate the entrance of cups. The

movable .frame member -l l.-carries-.-fonrupstanding iguidelrods 2 l terminatingina-l spacer fitting.

Another object is the provision of a.

2 22.for maintaining. them in proper spacedrelation, the guide'rods defining a vertical feedchannel or magazine forthe round paper cups -23. These cups are generally frusto-conical in shape to facilitate stacking and. will. usually have. a rolled or beaded top edge 24. Such rolling ,top edge, however, is not essentiaLto. the... operation of the present cupdispenser. inasmuch as it, will operate satisfactorily without an enlargeduedge.

Cup retaining or supporting. means, in, this case a skirt comprising two pairs. of. diametrically opposed cup retaining pawl members 25, is. provided to support the stack of cups and to ,be displaceable at times to permit the bottom .cup. to be ejected fromthestack 27. Each of, the supporting members 26 has. an upper. (arcuate portion28 fitted to. loosely engage theoutside of the-movable frame extension I8. Eachofthe supporting pawls-Zficarries aninwardly extending pin 2.9. which is loosely engaged within holes 3! in the movable frame ld for pivotal support. The supporting pawls 26. each have alower portion 32.with an inwardly extending 1ip,33, to supportably engage the under sideof the. rolling top 24 of the bottom cup, thereby in turn supporting the other cup in. the stack. Means is provided-to urge'the lips-33radially inward to a position to normally supportthe-bottom cup in this manner; this means may comprisevv weighted lever means (not shown) or as shown in the drawings a resilient member such as the endless coil spring 34 carried in grooves 36 formed beneath the pins 2.9. Thus, it will be seen that the spring 34 serves both to hold the retaining members 25 in place on the frame Mas well as to urge the lips 33 inward to their; normal position where they will-beinline' to support the stack of cups.

A vertical lift rod 3! has its upper end'bolted to the movableframe-I l. The rod 3! is guided within openings 38 and 39 in the stationary plates -2 and! I, respectively. The bottom end of the rod 3! carries a stud M and lock nut 42 and an operating lever i3 is carried therebetween.

This operating lever will:be periodically driven through a lift (to Fig. 4 position) and return (to Fig. 1 position) operation by thefilling machine with-which the dispenser is used. The filling machine itself forms no'part of the present inv vention and-hence it and its connection with the rammatically as; theabelt l ll moving in, the direction of the arrow 46. As shown in Fig. 3 a guide rod 47 is bolted at its top end to the frame I4 and is reciprocably journaled within opening 48 formed in plate 2.

A second set of pawls 49 is provided for dis engaging the bottom cup by holding it against upward movement when the movable frame is moved upward to lift the supporting pawls 26. Each of these disengaging or cup ejecting pawls 49 has an inwardly extending lower lip 5| abuttably engageable with the top edge of the lower cup. At the upper end each of these pawls is pivoted on a pin 52 carried by the arms of a U-shaped member 53 (see Fig. 2) which is supported on the stationary frame I by screws 54. Each pawl 49 is inwardly urged by a formed wire spring 56 supported on the under side of the plate 2 by screws 51; obviously, weighted lever means may also be employed for this purpose.

While it is preferable that the movable frame I4 which carries the cups be movable so as to assure that the stack of cups will be kept periodically loosened to feed positively downward with each operation of lever 43, this is not essential, as frame I4 may be fixed and frame I may be movable by suitably rearranging parts. It is important, however, that with the particular modification illustrated in the drawings the pawls 26 and 49 be moved with respect to one another, but which is fixed and which is actually movable is a matter of preference, depending on the peculiarities of a particular installation.

As will be seen, each of the retaining pawls extends around frame 14 somewhat less than a full quadrant, leaving a space 58. This space is widened somewhat by cutting back one side edge of each of the retaining pawls 26 to provide an outwardly and downwardly facing diagonal shoulder or cam surface 59 which is engageable with the inner surface 6| of the disengaging pawls 49 for moving the latter outward to clear the tops of the cups when the movable frame l4 carries a retaining cam surface 59 downward during the downstroke of lever 43.

Operation In explainin now the operation of the device, assume that the modification shown is used to stack and dispense frusto-conical Dixie cups to a machine which moves the dispensed cups automatically from station to station to fill them with ice-cream and cap them. The lever 43 will be moved once through an up and down cycle to drop a single cup onto the moving belt 44 at predetermined intervals.

Normally the dispenser parts will be positioned as shown in Figs. 1 and 5 with the bottom cup being held by the supporting member lips 33. Each other cup in the stack will be seated on the false bottom 62 of the cup beneath so as to provide a definite spacing between adjacent top edges. In the present instance, the supporting lip 33 is made to engage the underside of the roll top 24; in other types of cups, as for instance those not formed with a roll, the supporting members 26 may be formed to engage the bottom cup in any other suitable place. In this normal (Fig. 1) position the disengaging pawls 49 will be held outwardly against springs 56 by engagement of the supporting member outer surface 64 with the pawl internal surface 6|.

When the operating lever 43 is moved to lift the movable frame M the supporting members 26 and the stack of cups will be lifted simultaneously. As the supporting members are lifted their outer surfaces 64 will be moved upward out of engagement with the pawl surface 6!. These pawls 49 will then be urged inwardly by springs 56 to a position of alignment with the top edge of the bottom cup (see Fig. 6). Further upward movement of the supporting member lips 33 will force the bottom cup aginst the lips 5i of the disengaging pawls 49. The outward pressure thus created against the supporting member lips 33 will expand the latter against the spring 34 until the bottom cup is released to drop by gravity onto the belt 44. The supporting members 26 will then be contracted immediately by spring 34 and the lips 33 will engage the next cup rim to prevent it from dropping. The operating lever 43 will then complete its upstroke to the uppermost position shown in Figs. 4 and 7.

During the last half of the operating cycle, namely, as the lever 43 is moved downward to return to normal position, the supporting members 26 will be moved downwardly to cause cam surfaces 59 to move the disengaging pawls 49 radically outward to clear the bottom cup rim and place the disengaging pawl lips 5| in an upward position with respect to the bottom cup rim so as to eject that cup on the next operation.

Succeeding operations Will be as described above. One cup will be ejected from the bottom of the stack with each movement of the operating lever 43.

While a particular form of the present invention has been shown it will be apparent that minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

I claim:

1. A cup dispenser comprising a stationary frame, a movable frame for supporting a stack of cups, a plurality of circularly arranged supporting members pivotally depending from said movable frame having surfaces for supporting the bottom cup in said stack, yieldable means for normally maintaining said members in a position to support said bottom cup on said supporting surfaces, a plurality of circularly arranged pawls depending from said stationary frame, means for urging said pawls inwardly to engage the bottom cup, means for effecting movement of said movable frame through a cycle of movement toward and away from said stationary frame, and cam means actin between said pawls and supporting members to move said pawls inwardly to engage the bottom cup of said stack and force the cup past the point of engagement with said supporting members as said movable frame moves away from said stationary frame.

2. A cup dispenser having a circularly arranged vertically movable member in which cups may be stacked and through which cups may be moved by gravity, said member having pivoted thereon a plurality of circularly extending radially movable elements engageable with the bottom cup in said stack to normally support it therein, resilient means for yieldingly retaining said elements inwardly to engage said bottom cup, said resilient means also serving to hold said elements in pivoted relation on said member, and another member having a plurality of circularly arranged inwardly urged pawls engageable with an upwardly facing edge portion of said bottom cup, said pawls and said radially movable elements having mutually engaging cam surfaces thereon to permit the inward movement of the pawls to 5. engage said upwardly facing edge portion of the bottomcup and move the latter downwardly past said elements when said movable member is moved upwardly with respect to the other.

3. In a cup dispenser, the combination of, a member in which cups may be stacked and through which cups may be moved by gravity, said member including a plurality of spaced radially movable elements forsupporting said stack of cups, means for yieldingly holding-said elements inwardly to a position to engage the bottom cup of said stack, fixed means having a plurality of radially movable pawls shaped'to engage-the bottom cup, mutually engageable surfacesformed respectively on said pawls and said radially mov l able elements for controlling the inward movement of the pawls, and means for effecting relative movement between said pawls and said elements whereby said pawls move inwardly to engage the bottom cup and strip the same from its position of support on the elements.

4. In a cup dispenser the combination of a magazine for retaining a stack of cups of the type having a rolled rim including a movable plate having an aperture for the passage of the cups, an annular flange encircling said aperture and extending downwardly from said movable plate, cup retaining pawls disposed about the periphery of said flange andhaving an inturned end portion shaped to engage the rim of the bottom cup in said stack to support the latter in the magazine, a pivotal connection between each cup retaining pawl and the flange, spring means engageable with said pawls at a position between the pivotal connections and the inturned ends normally urging the inturned ends toward their cup retaining position, means i or moving said magazine between opposed vertical positions, a fixed frame having an aperture shaped to pass a cup therethrough and receiving the cup retaining pawls, cup ejecting pawls disposed about said aperture in the fixed frame and disposed between adjacent cup retaining pawls, said cup ejecting pawls having an end shaped to abut against the top edge of the rim, a pivotal connection between each cup ejecting pawl and the fixed frame, spring biasing means acting between the frame and the cup ejecting pawls to normally urge the ends of said cup ejecting pawls to a position in which they are engageable with the rim of a cup, and cam means operable to effect movement of said cup ejecting pawls radially outwardly from their normal spring biased position to clear the rim of the bottom cup when the magazine moves toward the frame and to effect movement of the cup ejecting pawls to engage the rim of the bottom cup in the stack and force the bottom cup past the cup returning means when the magazine moves away from the frame to strip the bottom cup from the magazine.

5. In a cup dispenser the combination of a magazine for receiving a stack of cups of the type having a rolled rim, annularly spaced cup retaining pawls depending from said magazine, means for mounting said pawls on said magazine to be moved between positions in which the cup retaining pawls engage the rim of the bottom cup in said stack to support said stack in the magazine and a position permitting passage of the bottom cup past the cup retaining pawls, means for moving said magazine between opposed vertical positions, a fixed frame below said magazine having an aperture for receiving said magazine and cup retaining pawls, cup ejecting pawls, means for mounting said cup ejecting pawls on said-' fr'ame-ato be movable between positions in which'theyarefree of -the cups in the stack and a' pos-ition in which they are normally engageable with-tli'e-rim of "the bottom cup, and cam means actingb'e'tween the cup retaining and cup ejecting pawls permitting movement of 5 the cup ejecting paw-ls into engagement'with the rim ofthe bottom cup-andt'o-fo'rce'the bottom cup past the cup retaining-pawls when the magazine moves away fromthe frame and to move the cup ejecting pawlsto 'b'e free of the cups when the magazine moves toward "the fixed frame;

In: a cup dispenser the combination of a first horizontal plate having an aperture, a second horizontal plate disposed above said first horizontal plate and having an aperture in alignment with thelaperture in the first plate, means for moving *said second plate toward and away from said first plate between adjacent and remote positions, vertically extending guide rods rigidly mounted on said second plate in annularly spaced relation with the aperture thereon to define a magazine for storing cups in nested relation, cup retaining pawls depending from said second plate in annularly spaced relation to the aperture thereon and extending through the aperture in the first plate, means for pivotally mounting said cup retaining pawls on said second plate, means for normally urging said cup retaining pawls into engagement with the bottom cup in said magazine to provide a support therefor, cup ejecting pawls on said first plate, means for mounting said cup ejecting pawls on said first plate in an annularly spaced relation to the aperture thereon and to depend therefrom, biasing means normally urging said cup ejecting pawls in a direction for engagement with the bottom cup and restraining means on the cup retaining pawls acting on said cup ejecting pawls for restraining movement of the ejecting pawls by said biasing means when the plates occupy said adjacent position, said restraining means being operative to permit movement of the cup ejecting pawls by said biasing means into engagement with the bottom cup in response to movement of the second plate toward the remote position to strip the bottom cup from the magazine and to effect movement of the cup ejecting pawls to the restrained position free of the stack in response to movement of the second plate toward said adjacent position.

'7. In a cup dispenser for cups having a beaded upper edge, the combination of a first frame having an aperture for the passage of cups therethrough, a second frame disposed above said first frame and having an aperture for the passage of cups therethrough. means for fixedly mountsaid first frame, reciprocable means for moving said second frame toward and away from the first frame between adjacent and remote positions, means on said second frame for defining a magazine for a stack cups in nested relation, cup retaining pawls depending from said second frame in annularly spaced relation to the aperture thereon and extending through the aperture the first frame, said pawls having a portion shaped to engage the head of the bottom cup in said stack, means for pivotally mounting said cup retaining pawls on said second frame, spring means normally urging said cup retaining pawls toward the position in which said portions engage the head of the bottom cup of said stack to provide a support for the stack of cups in said magazine, cup ejecting pawls having an end shaped to abut against the extreme top edge of 7 the bead of said bottom cup, biasing spring means normally urging said ends of the cup ejecting pawls to a position to be engageable with the bead of said bottom cup, and restraining means acting between said cup retaining and cup ejecting pawls for restraining movement of the ejecting pawls by said biasing means when the frames occupy said adjacent position, said restraining means being operative to permit movement of the cup ejecting pawls by said biasing means into engagement with the bottom cup in response to movement of the second frame away from the first frame to effect movement of the cup ejecting pawls and to effect movement of the cup ejecting pawls to their restrained position free of the stack in response to movement of the second frame toward said adjacent position.

SWAN F. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

l UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,093,976 Claussen Apr. 21, 1914 1,173,648 Cooley Feb. 29, 1916 10 1,524,420 Bohlman Jan. 2'7, 1925 1,582,451 Cooley Apr. 27, 1926 1,636,208 Bergmann July 19, 1927 1,683,950 Borchert Sept. 11, 1928 1,690,920 Bergmann et a1. Nov. 6, 1928 1,963,621 Geyer June 19, 1934 15 2,017,521 Whiting Oct. 15, 1935

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