The present invention relates to a container for dispensing articles, the container

having more than one area so that reserves of the articles can be accessed in a

systematic way and stock control monitored and managed effectively.

There are a number of containers currently available which permit several

containers to be placed adjacent to one another in a modular fashion so as to

produce a "wall" of containers, each container housing different articles. Such

walls of containers are often used in the automotive and aerospace industries to

house a number of different articles such as nuts and bolts of varying sizes and such walls are often located close to or on a production or service site.

Commonly, each container has a bar code adhered to it in order to assist a stock keeper in identifying the correct parts with which the container should be

supplied. Whilst these containers have been used successfully in order to correctly locate stock and identify when new stock needs to be ordered, frequently, used stock is often dispensed at a rate greater than it is replenished and

hold-ups in completing tasks often result whilst waiting for the new stock to be delivered or if previously-dispensed stock is replaced into an incorrect containers.

hi order to address problems associated with these walls of containers, some

companies have two or more adjacent containers for dispensing the same articles,

therefore ensuring a plentiful supply of the required articles. This method also

allows for a storeman to easily identify those stocks which require replenishment.

These containers do, however, still have the problem in that there is no control

over the container from which stock is dispensed and frequently articles are taken

from any adjacent container which can make the task of the storeman to replenish

required stocks rather difficult. Whilst some companies try to implement a system

of dispensing articles from a predetermined row of containers prior to moving on

to a further row of containers after the first row has been depleted, these systems are often ignored by engineers due to the pressure and other constraints under

which they have to work.

Additionally, when a wall of containers has been built with appropriate containers labelled corresponding to the articles which they house, it is often difficult to

insert additional containers into the wall should extra articles need to be held close

by. Commonly, should the need arise for new containers to be added to the wall, they are often tagged on the end of the wall and this may be inappropriate if it would be more logically placed adjacent to another container(s) in the middle of

the wall.

GB2327668 discloses a dispensing device having a housing which is divided into

an upper loading chamber and a lower dispensing chamber by means of a shutter which is slidably mounted in the housing. The upper and lower chambers are

provided with a respective hinged lid to allow access and the shutter may be

withdrawn to allow the contents of the upper loading chamber to fall into the

dispensing chamber. WO 02/074138 also discloses a dispenser with an upper

loading chamber, a dispensing chamber located beneath the loading chamber, first

and second openable covers for the loading chamber and a dispensing chamber

and a gate means mounted in the housing between the two chambers and forming

a lower wall of the loading chamber. The gate means is movable to allow selective

communication of a loading chamber and the dispensing chamber to allow the contents of the loading chamber to fall into the dispensing chamber and the

opening of the gate means to an extent sufficient to allow the contents to fall into

the dispensing chamber that generates a signal from a limit switch indicative that

the loading chamber is empty. Whilst both devices address a number of problems previously cited, they allow for stock to be taken from both chambers, which can

still result in the store man from not being able to clearly identify which stock

requires replenishing

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a container which overcomes or alleviates one or more of the problems associated with containers that are currently available. It is also an object of the present invention to provide

a container which is capable of housing two or more reserves of articles for

dispensing, wherein each reserve can only be replenished in a sequential manner.

Furthermore, it is an additional object of the present invention to provide a

container which can be easily integrated into an existing wall of containers such that the labels can be altered in order to accommodate the additional containers.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a dispensing device

comprising a housing having an upper loading chamber, a dispensing chamber

located beneath the loading chamber and a gate means movable between a first,

open position and second, closed position to allow selective communication of the loading chamber and the dispensing chamber, entry to the lower chamber being by

means of door means, the device further comprising a locking means which

prevents the door means from opening when the gate is in the open position and

which prevents opening of the gate means when the door means is open.

The present invention therefore provides for a dispensing device which prevents articles from dropping into the dispensing chamber from the loading chamber

when the gate is disengaged, in addition to preventing movement of the gate,

when the dispensing chamber is being accessed. This dispensing device not only saves time in retrieving articles which have dropped in inappropriate locations within the device, but it also encourages the user into a systematic approach to talcing articles from the device from the dispensing chamber first.

Preferably, the opening of the movable gate means permits articles from the upper loading chamber to drop into the lower dispensing chamber. The gate means may comprise a handle projecting from the housing. Furthermore, the movement of

the gate means may be actuated by a handle situated between the door means of

the upper loading chamber and the door means of the lower dispensing chamber.

The handle may simply be an aperture disposed in part of the gate which protrudes from the device and a hole to accommodate a finger or number of fingers.

The gate means and/or the door means may be operably coupled to the locking

means. Furthermore, the device may further comprise a locking means which

prevents the opening of the door means of the upper loading chamber until

movement of the gate means has been actuated. The locking means may also

prevent access to the loading chamber until the dispensing chamber has been

accessed once and/or the gate has been disengaged once. Preferably, the movement of the gate is manually disengaged by hand by pulling a handle situated

between the door of the upper loading chamber and the door of the lower dispensing chamber towards the user. The gate can then be re-engaged by pushing

it back into its original position so as to release the door of the upper loading

chamber in order that it can be replenished. The movement may be along the

horizontal plane and the gate may be received in slots disposed horizontally within the device or alternatively ride along a ledge formed in the housing.

The lower dispensing chamber may comprise a receptacle in the shape of a square

or rectangular cup or similar shape that corresponds to the interior of the chamber which in turn may be attached to the door such that the draw or cup moves relative to the door when it is open. Preferably, the doors are pivotally mounted on the housing.

The housing may be moulded or constructed in such a fashion as to direct any

articles from the loading chamber directly into the lower chamber when the gate is

opened. To this end, the interior of the housing between the gate and the

receptacle of the dispensing chamber may be flush or inclined so that articles do

not become lodged behind the receptacle of the dispensing chamber. Therefore,

the interior of the housing may be shaped so as to recess and/or overhang at least part of the receptacle of the lower chamber. The interior of the housing may also

comprise an inclined surface from the loading chamber to the dispensing chamber

so that when the articles drop from the loading chamber to the dispensing chamber, they are directed to the centre of the receptacle, rather than being allowed to drop behind the part of the receptacle. It will be evident that this

feature will be particularly useful when the articles in question are small and

individually held in the device, rather than held in bags.

It is also preferred that the dispensing chamber door comprises two side panels that are in turn connected to the housing by means of an axis about which they pivot. The side panels may also be received in within two recessed channels in

the housing, again so as to prevent articles from snagging or hampering the

operation of the device .

The locking means may employ a number of mechanisms by which to prevent the

door of the dispensing chamber from being opened unless the gate means has previously been disengaged and/or the gate is in an engaged position. Preferably,

the locking means comprises a pin or latch. The pin or latch may be capable of

being received in an aperture, depression or notch in the gate and/or the receptacle. The receptacle may further comprises curved inclined surfaces on

which the pin or latch can travel over when the slidable gate is closed thereby

allowing the door means to be opened. The gate means may also be slidable

within two parallel orifices disposed within the interior of the housing. If a pin is

employed in the device, it is preferable that the end of the pin that travels over the

curved inclined surface is of an inclined/diagonal shape which is substantially

complementary to the inclined surface. Furthermore, it is also preferred that the

end of the pin also comprises an inwardly-extending projection or foot which

contacts a curved inclined surface of the receptacle.

The door means may comprise handles. The doors of the chambers may have handles attached thereto and such handles may be located within the upper half of the door. The handles may further comprise a panel for receiving labels. Such a panel may be capable of receiving a label bracket with a label disposed thereon.

Preferably, the label bracket is provided with an attachment means for releasably

connecting a label to the label bracket. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the attachment means may employ a number of methods in order to allow for the label to be connected thereto. For example, the label may comprise a label tab that has one or more connection members that are received by one or more

apertures on the label bracket. Furthermore, in order to assist in the positive engagement of the label with the label bracket, the connection members may protrude in a downward direction, that can be received in apertures on the label brackets that are in the shape of slots. In order to assist the positive engagement

yet further, the connection members may terminate in a flange and the slot may be

wider towards the top of the bracket so as to allow the insertion of the flange, but

when the connection members are inserted in the apertures and the label pushed

downwards, the flanges abut the underside of the label bracket and the label is

firmly held in position by friction. The connection members and/or the label may

also be produced from a resilient material so as to allow for the label to be easily placed and/or moved and/or replaced. The provision of the handle having a panel

for receiving labels will allow walls of devices to have additional devices inserted

and the labels rearranged if necessary in order to incorporate new or different

articles as and when required. Such integration of new devices for articles will

permit reordering of the articles to be relatively easy and accurate. Placing the

labels on the handles themselves also assists the storeman identifying stogks which require replenishment as the label is not obscuring the view of the interior

of the device should the doors be transparent unlike most prior art devices. The

labels also allow for "buffer" dispensing devices to be incorporated in a wall of many devices, so that new articles can be easily incorporated into the wall.

The device may have two or more dispensing chambers and it will be apparent that multiple chambers may be provided such that the device is itself a wall of

devices or a substantial part of one. Preferably, the devices have a connection means so as to permit a plurality of devices to be stacked adjacent to one another

(either horizontally or vertically). Thus, the present invention provides for a modular dispensing device system which can be easily adapted depending on the

requirements of the user and further adapted as and when required.

The dispensing device may additionally comprise a second locking means for

preventing the door of the loading chamber from being opened. The second

locking means may comprise a tab which can be manually engaged and

disengaged such that this tab is only disengaged manually when the articles contained within the loading chamber have been completely depleted. The

provision of a tab also reminds users of the dispensing device that access to the

loading chamber should only be gained if articles have been depleted in the

dispensing chamber beneath. The tab may be a bar which "clips" over the handle and such a bar may be manufactured so as to be lockable by a key, but equally a

bar or a wire spanning a number of horizontally disposed dispensing devices may

also be employed so as to prevent access to multiple loading chambers should it

be required. The tab may move from an engaged to a disengaged position by the tab being disposed on two arms which are pivotally mounted on either side of the

housing. Furthermore, the tab may also comprise a clip that positively engages the tab with the handle. It is therefore envisaged that in certain situations, the storeman is the only person with a key and therefore only authorized to have

access to the loading chamber. It would be evident to one skilled in the art, that preventing complete access to the loading chamber without authorization may be appropriate in circumstances such as the pharmaceutical industry were stock replenishment may require validation etc. Preferably, the tab or bar is brightly

coloured and optionally has words disposed thereon stating that the locking means

must not be disengaged unless there are no more articles in the lower dispensing

chamber/without validating some form of documentation. Thus, the user's

attention is brought to the existence of the second locking means and also to any system or steps required to gain access to the second chamber.

The movement of the gate means and/or a door may be sensed electronically so

that "real-time" stock levels can be monitored and access to each container logged

if appropriate. Furthermore, the presence of articles in a given chamber may also

be sensed electronically and this may be implemented by a simple circuit which

requires two contacts to be brought together if there is any weight in any chamber.

The electronic sensing may be relayed to a central processing unit for further

analysis and/or stock ordering purposes. For example, the electronic sensing may

be relayed to the central processing unit by means of an analogue or digital radio frequency transmission. In order to assist the central processing unit in its

ordering and analysis, it is preferable to assign individual devices and/or chambers of respective devices with an identification code such that the location and

quantity of articles can be appropriately monitored.

It will be evident to one skilled in the art that the electronic sensing means may be disposed in a number of positions within the device so that the stock levels and

access to each container can be monitored accordingly. For example, an electronic sensing means may be disposed on a plate adjacent to the gate so that

the actuation of the gate can be monitored and therefore the movement of stock from the loading chamber to the dispensing chamber monitored.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of

example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a dispensing device in

accordance with the present invention;

Figs. 2a and 2b illustrate a cross-sectional side view of the lower chamber of the

dispensing device as shown in Fig. 1 with the door shown in a closed and open

configuration respectively;

Figs. 3a, 3b and 3c illustrate a top, side and underneath view of the pin shown in

Figs. 2a and 2b;

Fig. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a second embodiment of a dispensing in accordance with the present invention, differing from Fig. 1 by the housing having

an inclined surface; and

Figs. 5a and 5b illustrate a cross-sectional side view of the lower chamber chamber of the dispensing device as shown in Fig. 4 with the door shown in a closed and open configuration respectively.

With reference to Fig.l, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, a dispensing device comprises a

housing 10 in the shape of a rectangular box with two parallel, planar side walls

2,4 parallel upper and lower walls 6,8 extending perpendicular to the side walls

1,4 and a planar rear wall 9 extending perpendicular to the side walls 2,4 and to

the upper and lower walls 6,8. The housing is divided into two discrete areas; a

loading chamber 12 and a dispensing chamber 14, both of which can be accessed

by means of hinged transparent doors 16 and 18 respectively, which are opened by

means of a handle 20,22. Both doors 16 and 18 pivot about an axis towards the

base of the doors extending in a direction perpendicular to the side walls. A

slidable gate 24 is also provided in the device (shown in the engaged position in

Fig. 1) which is disposed between the loading chamber 12 and the dispensing

chamber 14. The gate 24 is received in two channels (not shown) provided on each opposed inner faces of the side walls 2,4 and can thereby slide in and out in direction 26 parallel to the upper and lower walls 6,8. The gate 24 also forms the

base of the loading chamber 12 when engaged, and when disengaged permits

communication between both chambers. The gate is slid into position by means of a handle 28 formed by a projecting portion of the gate which conveniently has a finger hole 30 disposed therein for a person to place a finger. The dispensing

chamber 14 comprises an upwardly open receptacle having a planar front wall 18a, a parallel, shorter rear wall 18b, a planar base wall 18c extending

perpendicularly between the front and rear walls and two planar side walls

18d,18e extending perpendicularly to the front, rear and back walls. The uppermost edges 50 of the side walls of receptacle 14 are curved convexly and at its front most portion the uppermost edge of one side wall 18d terminates in a

locking recess 48, for engagement with a locking pin, as will be explained. The

front of the receptacle forms the door 18. The loading chamber 12 is not attached to a receptacle and the gate 24 forms the base of the chamber 12, however the loading chamber has a door 16 which permits access to the chamber.

The uppermost front edge of the front face of each of the doors 16,18, is formed

into a downwardly projecting handle 20,22 extending across the width of the door

and a label 32 is attached to the handle 22 of the dispensing chamber 14. The label

32 contains information pertaining to the contents of the device and is supplied in addition to a bar code or similar tag. The label 32 can be placed or adhered to the

handle 22 and may itself be capable of being fixed onto other handles either by

means of a "snap fit" mechanism or alternatively the label may be inserted into an

elongate aperture disposed within the handle 22 capable of receiving a label.

The locking chamber of the device is also provided with a locking bar 34 that is

used to maintain the closure of the door 16 of the loading chamber 12 until

opening is required. The locking bar consists of an elongate member 35 that is attached at either end to parallel arms 37 that are in turn pivotally connected to the side walls 2,4 by means of a pivot 39. The inner surface (not shown) of the elongate member 35 closely corresponds to the handle 20 of the door 16 such that

the locking bar 34 (that may be brightly coloured with words or symbols disposed

therein in) can clip over the handle 20 and therefore prevent entry to the loading chamber 16 without first un-clipping the locking bar and pivoting the arms 37 to a position such that the locking bar does not impede the movement of the door 16.

As shown in Figs 2a, 2b, 3 a, 3 b and 3 c (which includes reference numbers that

correspond to those of Fig 1) gate 24 is provided with a hole 46 or depression of

non-circular cross-section which slidably receives a locking pin 42 of the same

cross-section. The lower end of the locking pin 42 is provided with a horizontally

and inwardly projecting lip or foot 52 which contacts the curved upper edge 50 of

the side wall 18d. The lower end of the locking pin is complementarily shaped

with the notch 48 in the upper edge of the side wall as described previously. The

door 18 forms an integral part the receptacle and pivots about a stub axle 40.

When the door 18 is in the closed position (Fig. 2a) the pin 42 drops by gravity

into the notch 48. The notch 48 has an inclined surface corresponding to the base

of the pin 42 and therefore the pin is received in the notch to allow the gate 20 in

Fig. 2a to be moved freely in and out in the horizontal plane 44. When the gate _c 24

is slid outwardly, as shown in Fig 2a, the hole 46 in the gate is no longer aligned

with the pin 42 and as a result the upper end of the pin abuts the undersurface of

the gate and is thereby held in engagement with the notch 48. Consequently, the

door 18 is presented from pivoting about the axis 38 by its engagement with the

pin 30.

When the gate 24 is in the closed position (as shown in Fig. 2b), the pin 42 is

aligned with the orifice and is free to move through the aperture 48 in the gate 20.

As the door 18 is pivoted forwardly, the inclined surfaces of the pin 42 and notch

48 cause the pin to be displaced upwardly, into the orifice 46 thereby both locking

the gate in position and enabling the doors to continue to pivot about the axis 40.

The lower end of the pin 42 can then slide over the curved inclined upper edge 50

of the side wall 18d of the receptacle to allow the door 18 to open. In this way the

gate 24 is prevented from being slid when the door 18 is open.

In use, articles of the same or similar goods are placed in both the loading

chamber 12 and the dispensing chamber 14 in preparation for dispensing. .The bar

34 is clipped over the upper handle 20 to prevents ttte inadvertent opening of the

door 16. The articles are readily identifiable by means of the label 32 disposed on

the handle 22 and the articles held within the lower dispensing chamber 14 are removed by opening the dispensing chamber door 18. When the lower chamber 14

is empty and requires refilling, the dispensing chamber door 18 is closed, which

causes the locking pin 42 to drop into the notch 48. This allows the gate 24 to be

slid outwards and at the same time engagement of the pin 42 in the notch 48 prevents the door 18 from being opened while the gate is open. Opening the gate

24 causes articles in the holding chamber 14 to drop into the dispensing chamber

14. The gate can then be slid shut, which causes the locking pin 42 to drop into t the notch 48 but since the pin is aligned with the article 46 in the gate, the pin can be displaced upwardly into the orifice to allow the door 18 to be opened.

The loading chamber door 16 is further locked by the bar 34 which ma5' have

words disposed thereon to the effect that it may only be opened by authorised

personnel etc. In its closed position, the pin 42 permits the gate 20 to move about

the plane 26,44 and releasably locks the door 18 so that articles held in the loading

chamber 12 can drop into the dispensing chamber 14 without becoming lodged in the space 49 formed by the receptacle which is attached to the lower door 18. The bar 34 can be unlocked to replenish stocks in the loading chamber as and when

required.

Therefore, articles from the loading chamber cannot fall into the space 49 formed

when the door 18 is opened (as shown in Fig 2b).

The device can be used either singularly or placed adjacently to other devices.

Structures on the exterior of the housing 10 can also be provided (not shown) thus assisting the device to the releasably attached to other device of a similar design.

The door 16 and 18 can be produced from a substantially transparent material such

that a storeman or similar personnel may assess the quantity of articles contained within either the upper chamber 12 or the lower chamber 14. The device 10 may also have two or more loading chambers, whereby entry to the top chamber is only

by means of actuating one or more gates below. The housing 10 can also have structures on the exterior such that it can be releasably attached to other devices so as to form a modular dispensing device. The label 32 may have a bar code or information relating to which articles are contained within device and it is

envisaged that this label can be used for pre-ordering or tracking of stock.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figs. 4 to 5b and has

almost identical features and therefore the same reference numbers are used as for the common features in Figs. 1 to 3b, In the second embodiment,, a panel 31 is

also provided immediately above the gate 24 for attaching additional

labels/instruction (and/or an electronic sensor for detecting tlxe movement of the

gate 24) to the device. The rear wall 9 of the housing 10 is also formed into an

inwardly-directed projection having inclined upper and lower planar walls 29a,

29b which serves to direct articles into the receptacle of the lower dispensing

chamber 14. The side walls 2,4 are also each provided with a recess 61 having a

curved lowermost wall 33 which corresponds to the shape of a respective one of

the upper edges of the dispensing chamber 14. This also helps to prevent articles

from becoming lodged between the dispensing chamber 14 and the housing, whilst allowing the chamber to be pivoted as described previously. As the

receptacle of the dispensing chamber 14 is recessed within the housing 10 (by

means of the curved lowermost wall 33) and the housing further has an inclined surface 29, the articles are directed towards the interior of the dispensing chamber, so that the articles do not drop behind or to the side of the receptacle.

Multiple dispensing devices may be joined to one another by a range of methods

and structures may be provided on the exterior of the housing may permit the devices to be joined to one another in a modular fashion. The movement of the gate can be linked to electronic switches/sensors, so that its movement can be detected and relayed to a computer such that the ordering of stock can be

automated or semi-automated. Should more than one device be used, each device

can have an identification code assigned to it, so that the correct part or prodxict is ordered. Whilst the electronic switch/sensor can be placed in a number of

positions on the device, ideally, it will be positioned adjacent to the gate 24, on the panel 31 so as to monitor the movement of the gate. The electronic switches

and/or sensors can be incorporated into the device during its production, or

retrofitted to existing devices if need be.