Dispensers for plastic cups are well-known; these tend to be large metal or plastic tubes attached either to a wall or to a drinks machine. These have the disadvantage that the cups are not kept sterile; firstly because the dispenser is often open at its top end to allow cups to be inserted, and dust may be allowed to fall into the cups. Secondly, the cups need to be removed from the packaging in which they are originally wrapped before they can be put into the dispenser. Thus each will already have been handled before it is taken by a user. Also, in some situations, the cups will not be in a dispenser at all but simply located close to where they are to be used.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved dispensing system.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a dispensing system for stacked items comprising a tubular cover open at one end adapted to receive a stack of items within the cover, and means for engaging about an end item of the stack received within the cover whereby, in use, items may be removed from the stack one by one whilst the remainder of the stack is held within the cover.

The cover keeps the items, in this case

plastic cups, sterile by preventing dust or dirt from falling onto them and further by preventing anyone other than the actual user from touching the cup rim, and avoids the need for the cups to be individually wrapped.

The engaging means may comprise a loop of elas ic material disposed about the open end and arranged, in use, to engage about the end item of a stack. Alternatively, the tubular cover may be made of shrink-wrap plastics material and the engaging means may comprise areas of the cover which are heat shrunk so that, in use, said heat shrunk areas engage about the end item sufficient to retain the stack wrapped but with the inherent resilience of the material of the cover and/or the stacked items allowing the items to be pulled from the cover one by one.

In a further alternative arrangement, the engaging means may comprise a taper in the tubular cover towards the open end so that the tapered open end is slightly smaller than the dimension of the end item of a stack to be received within the cover. In this arrangement the end item will be held by the cover until the end item is pulled whereupon the end item can be pulled from the cover through the open end by the inherent resilience of the material from which the cover and/or the stacked items are made.

Preferably, the cover is made of one or more thicknesses of plastics material and thus is cheap to manufacture and disposable. Where the engaging means comprises a loop of elastic material, the loop may be attached directly to one layer of the plastics material, or held between two layers.

Preferably, the system includes stacked items received within the cover. To enable the cover also to serve as a dispenser, the cover preferably includes suspension means at the end of the cover remote from said open end whereby the cover may be attached to a support so that the stack is suspended vertically.

In use, the stacked items such as plastic cups are arranged in a vertical stack, having their mouths uppermost. A tubular cover is placed over them so that the lowermost item in the stack protrudes from the open end in the cover and then the cover is sealed across the mouth of the uppermost cup. Where the cover includes a loop, the cover is placed over the cups, the elastic loop being radially stretched to enable it to be moved downwards past the rims of all the cups in the stack. Once this has been done, the loop can be released gently. It will fasten around the lowest cup in the stack, sealing the cover over the cup rim and across the mouth of the uppermost cup.

A section of the lowermost cup protrudes downwards from the cover. In this position, if a user grasps the lowermost cup and pulls gently downwards, then the cup is released from the stack as the cover or loop stretches slightly and/or the cup compresses slightly to allow the rim of the cup, which is of greater diameter than the cup body, to pass through the loop/open end of the cover. The loop/cover then tightens again around the body of the cup originally stacked inside the lower one. Thus the cup has been removed without the cover having to be opened in such a way as to allow any dirt or dust to enter.

Alternatively the stack may be arranged horizontally or even vertically with their bases uppermost. In that case, a spring may be provided to bias the cups against the open end of the cover. A user can grasp the outermost cup and pull outwards, releasing the cup from the stack and allowing the loop to tighten around the body of the next cup. The spring biassed system allows installation of the device in existing facilities which do not have vertical stacking with the cup mouth uppermost. The open end of the cover grips the cup being removed until it has been fully removed by the user and immediately transfers its hold to the next cup in the stack. This means that at all

times, the lowermost or outermost cup in the stack is firmly gripped by the open end of the cover and thus that only one cup may be removed at once. The cover can also be made so that it is transparent or opaque and it may bear advertising or other material depending on its contents.

The invention also includes a sterile pack of items such as cups comprising a tubular cover having an open end, the stack of items being located within the cover with an end item of the stack protruding through the open end and with the open end of the cover engaging about the end item of the stack whereby, in use, items may be removed from the stack one by one, whilst the remainder of the stack is held substantially sterile within the cover by engagement of the open end of the cover with the end item of the stack.

A further aspect of the invention comprises a dispenser for receiving a pack of items as aforesaid and including a tubular body having an opening and with the end item protruding through the opening in which the pack of items may be received, means for securing the pack of items within the tubular body, and means for biassing the items towards said opening.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail by way of example with reference to the drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a side view of a cover in accordance with the invention with the cover over a stack of cups;

Figure 2 is a side view of a second embodiment of the invention with the cover over a stack of cups;

Figure 3 is a side view of a third embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 is a side sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the invention in which a stack of cups is mounted in a spring biassed tube;

Figure 5 is a side sectional view of part of the embodiment of Figure 4 shown to a larger scale; and, Figure 6 is a side sectional view of a fifth embodiment of the invention in which the cover is doubled back on itself.

In Figure 1 a dispensing system in accordance with the invention comprises a cover (1) and an elastic loop (2). The cover (1) has an attachment point at (3) and is in the form of a tube in which is received a stack of plastic cups (4). Each cup (4) has a strengthening rim (5) about its mouth and the elastic loop (2) circles the lowest cup (6) below the rim (5) and thus securing it and the remainder of the stack within the cover (1). The lowermost cup (6) may only be removed if some force is applied to it in the direction indicated

by the arrow (7) so that the rim of the lowermost cup is pulled through the loop (2) to allow the cup to be removed from the stack.

Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of dispensing system in accordance with the invention which is similar in many respects to that of Figure 1, and various parts corresponding with their equivalents in Figure 1 carry the same reference numerals. A cover (1) of shrink-wrap plastics material has an open end (2a). The cover (1) has an attachment point at (3) and is in the form of a tube in which is received a stack of plastic cups (4). Each cup (4) has a strengthening rim (5) about its mouth and the open end (2a) circles the lowest cup (6) below the rim (5). In order to secure the lowest cup and the remainder of the stack within the cover (1), the cover (1) is heat- shrunk at selected areas (2b) about the open end (2a). The lowermost cup (6) may only be removed if some force is applied to it in the direction indicated by the arrow (7) so that the rim of the lowermost cup is pulled through the restraint of the shrunk regions (2b) to allow the cup to be removed from the stack.

Figure 3 shows a second embodiment which is similar in many respects, and various parts carry the same reference numerals as Figure 2. However,

in this embodiment, the cover (1) is of plastics material which tapers towards the open end (2a) so that the open end is of smaller dimension than the rim of the lowermost cup (6) and therefore the lowermost cup (6) is simply gripped by the resilience of the cover (1) itself.

Figure 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention in which parts corresponding to parts in Figure 1 carry the same reference numerals. In the dispensing system of Figure 4, a stack of cups (4) is arranged in a dispensing tube (9) which comprises a base (10) and a wall (11). A spring (12) is located in the tube (9) between the base (10) and the stack of cups (4). The spring (12) is arranged to bias the stack of cups (4) away from the base (10).

The dispensing tube (9) extends through an aperture (13) in a body (14) and is attached thereto by attachment means, eg. screws. A cover (1) fits over the stack of cups (4) extending over the mouth of the cup (15) closest the base (10) of the dispensing tube (9) and is secured by an elastic loop (2) underneath the rim of the cup (16) in the stack furthest from the base (10) of the tube (9) .

The cover (1) is secured to the body (14) by a rigid ring (17) which is held firmly against the body (14) by means of a retaining clip (8).

Figure 5 better illustrates the arrangement of the cover (1) against the body (14). The wall (11) of the tube (9) has a flange which extends along the surface of the body (14) and the cover (1) covers the wall (11). The ring (17) is located on the cover (1) and the retaining clip (18) holds the ring (17) firmly against the cover

(1).

In use, the spring (12) biasses the stack against the elastic loop (2). The outermost cup (16) can then be pulled past the loop (2) in the same way as in the previous embodiments, the loop snapping back after cup (16) has been removed. The spring (12) then forces the stack towards the loop (2) until the rim (15) of the next cup abuts the loop (2) .

This embodiment enables the stack to be arranged horizontally or even vertically with the stack inverted so that the spring (12) pushes the stack upwards.

Figure 6 shows a fifth embodiment of dispensing system and parts corresponding to parts in Figure 1 carry the same reference numerals.

The cover (1) comprises two layers (1a, 1b) of plastics material having the elastic loop (2) lying between the layers. In this arrangement, the cover (1) is first formed from a closed bag of plastics material and then one end is turned in

upon itself with the elastic loop (2) between so as to define the open end of the cover.

In order to fit the cover (1) of this embodiment over the stack of cups, the mouth of the uppermost cup (8) is placed within the open end now formed and the loop (2) passed over the stack of cups (4) as before. The main difference between this arrangement and the other embodiments of the invention is that the additional layer of plastics is stretched across the mouth of the uppermost cup (8) providing further protection against contamination.

In use, as a dispenser, only the outermost layer is used to suspend the cover and cup stack. The two layers (1a, 1b) and the elastic loop (2) remain free to move relative to each other and tend to do so when a cup is removed from the stack.

The dispenser of the present invention may either be used as provided or may be fitted inside an existing dispenser providing a sterile environment.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to the dispensing of stacked cups, it will be appreciated that this invention is applicable to any stacked items and may be suitable for use in connection with plastic, paper and EPS cups, chip cones, ice-cream

containers, ice-cream cones and other items similar to cups and ice-cream containers.

The present invention has the advantage that the stacked containers cannot be contaminated other than through damage to the cover and the mouth contact area of the container is covered until dispensed from the stack.

The invention is particularly useful in connection with vending machines and in public places where cups or the like may be required, eg. hotel rooms, rest rooms, hospitals, schools, laboratories. In its simplest form the dispensing system is extremely cheap to produce comprising no more than a plastics sleeve. The containers may include "ingredients" if desired, for example, a measure of coffee granules.