GOODS DISPENSER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing goods which are packaged in sachets which are joined together in elongated strips from which individual sachets may transversely be torn from the strips.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The goods dispenser according to the invention comprises an elongated housing in which a stack of superimposed sachet strips may be located, a dispensing aperture at or adjacent an end of a wall of the housing through which a single sachet strip may be drawn and means in the housing biasing at least a portion of the length of the stack of sachet strips towards each other in the housing and towards the housing wall portion which includes the dispensing aperture.

[0003] The biasing means may be a length of adequately rigid sheet material which overlies at least a portion of the length of the sachet strip stack in the housing.

[0004] In a preferred form of the invention the dispenser housing may be a six-sided rectangular carton and the sachet stack biasing means may be largely made from cardboard.

[0005] The biasing means may consist of a first strip of flat suitably stiff cardboard, a plurality of shorter lengths of cardboard strip which are spaced from each other over a portion of the length of the first strip with each attached along a common transverse

edge to the first strip and along their free transverse edges to the wall of the carton opposite that which includes the dispensing aperture and means biasing the first cardboard strip in a direction of its length which will cause the strip to be moved away from the carton wall to which it is attached by rotation of the shorter strip lengths about their edges which are fixed to the carton wall to bias the stack of sachet strips towards the carton wall which includes the dispensing aperture.

[0006] The free transverse edges of the shorter cardboard strips may be attached to a second strip of cardboard which is in turn attached to or rests against the carton wall.

[0007] The first cardboard strip biasing means may be an elastic band which is connected to act between the appropriate end of the first cardboard strip and a formation on the carton wall from which the first strip is biased or on the second cardboard strip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of a non-limiting example only with reference to the drawings in which :

Figure 1 is a sectioned side elevation of the goods dispenser of the invention,

Figure 2 is a sectioned side elevation of the Figure 1 dispenser in use,

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectioned side elevation of the upper right hand corner or the goods dispenser of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a developed plan view of the biasing arrangement of the dispenser,

Figure 5 is a plan view of the folded and flattened biasing arrangement of Figure 4, and

Figure 6 is a side and end elevation of a strip hanger for use in the dispenser of Figures 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0009] The goods dispenser of the invention is shown in Figures 1 and 2 to include a cardboard carton 12, a stack of sachet strips 14, a sachet hanger pin 16 and a biasing arrangement 18.

[0010] The dispenser carton 12 is a substantially conventional six-sided elongated carton and includes a lid wall 20, a base wall 21 and end walls 22 which each carry an inwardly directed end flap 23. The side walls are omitted from the drawings. The base wall 21 includes a dispensing aperture 24 which is situated in the base wall 21 of the carton adjacent its bottom end wall 22 in Figures 1 and 2.

[0011] In this example of the invention, the goods to be dispensed are cigarettes 26 but could of course be any suitable goods or liquid such as whiskey, gin and so on which are enclosed in sachets 28 which are connected to one another by tear-off connector strips 30. The sachet strips are separate from each other with alternate strips being vertically staggered relatively to each other, as is apparent from the upper edges of the strips in Figures 1 and 2, so that the sachets of adjacent strips are nested between each other, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 to reduce the width of the stack of sachets 14 and to provide a resistance against which the sachet strips are drawn singly from the dispenser. The material of the cigarette sachet strips, in this example, is an air impervious plastic or foil.

[0012] The biasing arrangement 18, in this embodiment of the invention, includes, as is seen in Figure 2, and Figures 4 and 5, which are of a size reduced from the size shown in Figures 1 and 2, to consist of a strip 32 of suitably stiff cardboard which includes two transverse preformed fold lines 34 and 36, three U-shaped cut-outs for providing flaps 38 which are hingedly attached to the strip 32 on fold lines 40 and carry, at their opposite ends fold lines 42 which are spaced from their free ends, as shown in Figure 4, a hanger lug 44 which projects from one end of the strip and an actuator lug 46 which projects from the opposite end of the strip.

[0013] The sachet hanger pin 16 of Figure 6 is made from spring steel wire which has a diameter of 1mm or a little less and is shown to carry on its lower end a short foot 48 and on its upper end an anchor formation 50.

[0014] In the assembly of the dispenser components the biasing arrangement 18 is first assembled by folding its actuator lug portion upwardly on the fold line 36 to be at approximately right angles to the remainder of the strip 32. Hot melt adhesive 52 is painted onto the flaps 38 between their free ends and their fold lines 32, as shown in

Figure 4, and the already upwardly folded portion of the strip 32 is then again folded on the line 34 for the actuator lug portion of the strip to overlie the remainder of the strip. The flaps 38 are then pressed upwardly and folded on their fold lines 40 to enable the hot melt adhesive 52 to come into contact with and adhere to the inner surface of the folded portion of the strip, as shown in Figure 2.

[0015] To assemble the components of the dispenser the biasing arrangement 18 is attached by a suitable adhesive to the inner surface of the lid wall 20 of the dispenser with its hanger lug 44 positioned to protrude from the upper end wall of the carton 12

through the gap between the upper end wall and the lid 20, as shown in Figure 3. The end wall 22 flaps 23 are inwardly directed as best seen at the lower end of the carton 12 in Figures 1 and 2.

[0016] The anchor formation 50 of the sachet hanger pin 16 is attached, again by means of a suitable adhesive, to the inner surface of the upper end wall flap 51 , as shown in Figure 3, with the hanger pin 16 extending horizontally across the carton with its foot 48 downwardly directed and pressing up against the inner surface of the base wall 21. An elastic band 54 is now placed over the hanger lug 44, passed through a slot between the right hand edge of the upper end wall and its flap 23 and engaged under tension with the actuator lug 46 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

[0017] With the lid of the carton opened the upper ends of the sachets are impaled on the hanger pin 16 as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The stack 14 of sachets is now pressed downwardly onto the biasing arrangement 18 to cause the actuator portion of the strip 32 to be pressed downwardly onto the hanger lug portion of the strip with this being accomplished by rotation of the flaps 38 and the portion of the strip between the fold lines 34 and 36 to be rotated about their fold lines 40 to bring the two strip portions almost into contact with each other against the bias of the now stretched elastic band 54, as shown in Figure 1. The lid of the carton is now tacked closed with adhesive to locate the stack of sachet strips 14 in the carton as shown in Figure 1. The carton is now, in the conventional manner, plastic wrapped to prevent the ingress of moisture into the carton.

[0018] In use, the carton is hung vertically, by means of its holed hanger lug 44, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, against a vertical surface on a hanger pin. The carton

wrapping is now removed in the area of and to expose the dispensing aperture 24. The sachet strip closest to the dispensing aperture is gripped and pulled downwardly towards the dispensing aperture 24 to cause the tension on the strip to bend the hanger pin 16 downwardly until the free end of the strip slips over the hanger pin foot 48 to enable the lowermost sachet 28 of the now freed strip to be pulled from the dispensing aperture, as shown in Figure 2. As required the sachets are torn from the strip along transverse lines of weakness which extend across the sachet connecting strips 30. As this process is repeated the elastic band 54 of the biasing arrangement maintains a firm bias on the stack of strips, as shown in Figure 2 until the last of the strips is dispensed from the carton.