The present invention relates to improvements to a card dispenser of the type described in WO-A-9214389 which supports a stack of cards in a large capacity holder that is inclined rearwardly and upwardly behind a face plate, the cards being dispensed through a slot in the face plate.

In this specification the term ^λ card' is used to refer to any laminar member suitable for dispensing one at a time. A card may be a business card or voucher or even be a folded leaflet or flat packet.

As described in WO-A-9214389 there are many potential applications where, for advertising or other purposes, it is desirable to provide in conjunction with a display device means for allowing interested persons to remove and take away with them a single card carrying relevant information to the service or goods advertised. Such dispensers may also be useful in other non-display applications such as ticket dispensing, where the large capacity available with an inclined holder in which the next card to be dispensed is always in the same position can be an advantage. When dispensing cards it is desirable that only the required number of cards (typically one) should be removed at once and further research on this technical problem has revealed, contrary to expectation, that controlled card dispensing can be achieved more effectively by providing a "dispense" surface which is either substantially parallel to the plane of the face plate or inclined backwardly, over which the cards pass as they are dispensed. This contrasts with the card dispenser described in W0-A-9214389 where the slot was defined between the face plate and an inclined tongue projecting forward from the front face of the dispenser.

A further technical problem arises in connection with this type of dispenser in that the user must be able readily to pick up the card from a surrounding surface in which the dispenser may be mounted with the face plate flush with the remainder of the surface. To solve this problem in accordance with the invention the dispense surface preferably merges with

an "eject surface" which is inclined relative to the display surface to direct a card away from the surrounding surface. Such an eject surface may be produced by curving the dispense surface below the slot or providing an angular junction between the dispense and eject surfaces over which the card is dispensed as it leaves the slot to eject the card towards the user.

A further technical problem that has been encountered in connection with card dispensers of the type described in W0-A-9214389 concerns the stability of the stack of cards as it is pressed towards the face plate. There is a tendency for peaks to form in the stack, particularly adjacent to the face plate. In a preferred embodiment this technical problem can be overcome by providing a cover for the dispenser, which cover can preferably have a forward edge located in a corresponding groove in the face plate in order to prevent cards being pushed out between the cover and the face plate. The cover is preferably provided with openings to allow the number of cards remaining to be seen thus facilitating maintenance of the display.

A card dispenser in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a card dispenser;

Figure 2 is a side view of the dispenser;

Figure 3 is a front view of the face plate of the dispenser;

Figure 4 is a section on line A-A through the face plate; and

Figures 5a and 5b show enlarged details of possible configurations of the surfaces adjacent to the slot.

The dispenser is of essentially similar construction to that described in WO-A-9214389 and reference should be made to that earlier specification for a more detailed description of the parts which are described only briefly here.

The dispenser 2 comprises a main moulding of plastics material, for example, high impact styrene. The main moulding defines a holder 4 provided with a track 6 in its base along which a pusher 8 can move to hold a stack of cards (not shown) received in the holder towards the front. The presence of the pusher prevents the stack being moved backwards up the holder. The front of the holder is defined by means of a transparent face plate 10 which is substantially parallel to the cards in the stack. The face plate 10 has a peripheral inwardly directed flange 12 which locates the plate on the holder by means of engagement with projecting side posts 14 formed at the front of each side wall of the holder 4.

Lugs 16 which engage with hook formations on a corresponding cover or lid member (not shown) are formed at spaced intervals along the side walls of the holder. The lid is a separately moulded plastics part. It comprises a plate with openings in it so that the cards in the interior of the holder can be observed. A front edge of the lid is sized to be received in a corresponding groove 18 defined in the face plate 10 (see Fig 3). The sides of the lid member carry depending hook formations to engage with the lugs 16. The presence of the lid ensures that the force of the pusher 8 always directs the cards towards the face plate and is not diverted into forming peaks in the stack which would disrupt the feeding of the cards from the dispenser.

A slot 20 is defined between a bottom edge 22 of the face plate 10 and a dispense surface 24 at the front of the holder 4.

The face plate 10 defines a ^X U' shaped opening 26 through which a user can insert his finger in order to make contact with the card at the front of

the stack in the holder to draw it downwardly and out of the slot 20. In alternative applications of the dispenser it may be desired to dispense cards mechanically in which case a driven rubber roller or other means could be used to draw out a card through the slot. Such an automatic dispenser will not be described further.

In order to ensure that a single card is dispensed each time a user inserts his forefinger through the 'U' shaped opening 26 to draw down the front card of the stack, it is has been found that the width of the slot can be critical in ensuring efficient operation. For the purposes of this description the width of the slot is to be measured in the plane X-Y shown in Figures 5a and 5b which is at right angles to the plane of the face plate. In the usual orientation of a dispenser with the face plate vertical the width of the slot is therefore to be measured in the horizontal plane. It will further be appreciated that it is not strictly essential for the closest points of the face plate and the dispense surface 24 to be in the same horizontal plane. The edge 22 of the face plate may be slightly above or below the junction of the base of the holder and the dispense surface 24.

In the earlier design shown in W0-A-9214389, the card was made to flex over a dispense surface which projected forward. In accordance with the present invention, however the dispense surface 24 at least in the region of the slot is substantially parallel to the plane of the face plate and the cards in the stack, or inclined rearwardly relative to that plane. In order to ensure that the card is not dispensed so that it lies in the same plane as a surrounding surface of the dispenser in which the holder is mounted such that the card is difficult to pick off or peel away from that surface, the dispense surface may merge with an "eject surface" 28 which projects the card out of the plane of the surrounding surface. The merging between the two surfaces may be a smooth curve or a sharp angle as illustrated in Figure 5b. Other readily moulded transitions are also possible. The eject surface 28 need not project at any substantial angle to a vertical dispense surface, for example, an inclination of between 5°

and 10° is typically sufficient to allow the user to pick the card up as it is dispensed. A relatively shallow profile is also attractive in allowing the front surface of a display device to be essentially flush. This is particularly advantageous where an array of dispensers is arranged together on a board. Therefore even if the surface 28 is not necessary to carry out an ejection function, it may be useful for aesthetic purposes to ensure that the surface of the holder below the slot projects to the same extent as the front surface of the face plate. It is also possible, whether for purely aesthetic or functional reasons, or a combination of the two, for the eject surface to project beyond the front surface of the face plate or be recessed relative to the face plate.

A single dispenser may be used either separately or in conjunction with a display board which carries a larger advertisement or be mounted in any other appropriate surroundings.

As illustrated in Figure 4, the bottom edge 22 of the face plate which defines the slot is tapered at an angle of approximately 25° to the plane of the front surface of the face plate. Substantially all of the taper lies adjacent to the eject surface to define a passage through which the card must pass. The edge 22 may also be curved or be square as shown in Figure 5a.

Two possible configurations for the slot are illustrated in Figures 5a and

5b, which it will be appreciated are not drawn to scale. It is assumed for convenience in this description that the face plate is lying in a substantially vertical plane.

In the simplest configuration shown in Figure 5a the slot is defined as a horizontal gap between a straight cut bottom edge 22' of the face plate and an edge where an inclined base of the holder which supports the stack of cards joins a vertical dispense surface 24. The horizontal width of the slot in the plane X-Y is selected to be equal to the width of the number of cards to be dispensed at one time plus a clearance. A typical value for

the clearance will be O.lmm when a single card of width of 0.25mm is to be dispensed making an overall slot width of 0.35mm. For a card of this thickness the width of the slot could lie in the range of 0.30mm to 0.45mm or, more generally from 120% to 180% of the card width for single card dispensing or where a group of "n" cards is to be dispensed n20% to ri80% of the single card width. A range of clearances is possible depending on the nature of the card but generally the clearance will not be so great as the width of a card. Figure 5a shows a card 30 about to be dispensed through the slot 20. The card does not drop down through the slot because it is held by the combined effect of the pusher and the friction between the cards in the stack and the face plate surface. There may also be a contribution to the retention of the card within the holder because of static electricity. This retaining force is overcome when the card is drawn through the slot in use but the width of the slot is selected to allow only the dispensing of the required number of cards.

In the configuration shown in Figure 5b the slot 20 becomes a passage through which the card must pass as it is ejected. In this configuration the edge 22 of the face plate is tapered, in this case to match the inclination of the eject surface 28. The eject surface facilitates movement of the card away from a surrounding surface. As in Figure 5a, the width of the slot in the horizontal plane X-Y is chosen to be the width of the number of cards to be dispensed plus a clearance.

The width of the slot may be narrowed by reducing the projection of the side posts 14 so that the face plate 10 sits closer to the holder.

It has been found that the described slot configuration virtually eliminates undesired multiple card dispensing.