This invention relates to a dispenser. In particular, the dispenser is used to dispense drinking straws and therefore will be described in this context. However, it should be appreciated that the dispenser may be used to dispense a variety of other items such as toothpicks, pencils, tampons, chopsticks, coffee stirrers or the like items.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Drinking straws are a very popular item used in the consumption of beverages. Not surprisingly, dispensers have therefore been developed to both store and dispense drinking straws. Preferably, dispensers have to be simple to use and maintain hygiene levels.

A common type of dispenser for dispensing drinking straws includes a hopper located with a housing for the storage of drinking straws. A dispensing slot is formed within the housing and is located adjacent an end of the hopper. The hopper is formed from a metal sheet which is connected to a side of the housing opposite to the side of the housing in which the slot is formed. The metal sheet extends through the slot to form a gap and has a depressible portion which is able to be depressed. In order to dispense a drinking straw from the dispenser, the depressible portion is depressed bending the metal sheet. This causes the gap formed with the slot to become wider than the diameter of a straw. A straw is thus able to be passed from the hopper and through the dispensing slot for use. An inherent problem with the above dispenser is that the dispenser often unintentionally allows more than one straw through the slot. Hence, drinking straws are wasted.

Hygiene is also an issue with the above dispenser. In order to release a straw from the hopper, a person must touch the depressible portion. Hence, disease can easily be transferred from person to person.

Unfortunately, straws can become stuck in the dispensing slot when passing through the slot. When a straw becomes wedged in the dispensing slot, a person touches many other surfaces, including other straws, to remove the wedged drinking straw. This increases the chances of disease being spread.

In order to address the hygiene issue of dispensers that dispense drinking straws, drinking straws themselves have been covered in paper. This increases the cost of the drinking straw considerably by more than the cost of the drinking straw itself. Further, paper is often discarded carelessly increasing pollution.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to overcome and/or alleviate one or more of the above disadvantages or to provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one form, although not necessarily the only or broadest form, the invention resides in a dispenser for dispensing items, the dispenser comprising: a housing having a dispensing aperture; a hopper formed within the housing for storing items; and a conveyor for transporting items from the hopper to the dispensing aperture.

The housing may be formed from any suitable material and may be of any suitable shape. The housing is typically made from an antimicrobial plastic. Normally, the housing is formed from a plurality of walls.

The dispensing aperture is typically in the form of a dispensing slot. The dispensing aperture is located adjacent a top wall of the housing.

Preferably, the hopper forms a large part of the volume of the housing. More preferably, the hopper forms at least 50% of the volume of the housing.

The hopper may be formed using one or more of the walls of the housing. Preferably, the hopper is also formed using the conveyor. The hopper may be formed from at least one internal wall located within the housing.

The conveyor is typically elongate. The conveyor may include at least one groove for the location of a straw.

The conveyor may be formed from at least two rollers with a belt extending over the rollers. At least one of the rollers may be powered with at least one of the other rollers idling. The powered roller may include a motor located within the roller.

The belt may have a series of grooves located within the belt for location of straws. Further, the belt may include a series of channels to allow the belt to pass around the rollers. A dispensing switch may be used to cause the conveyor to convey straws from the hopper to the dispensing slot. The dispensing switch may be connected to the conveyor to cause operation of the conveyor to convey straws from the hopper to the dispensing slot. Preferably, the dispensing switch includes a proximity sensor.

The housing typically includes a lid to allow the hopper to be filled with drinking straws. Preferably, a safety switch is connected to the conveyor, the switch being activated to disable operation of the conveyor when the lid is in an open position. An ultraviolet light may be located within the housing. The wave length of the ultraviolet light may be between 180 nm to 270 nm. Preferably the wavelength of the ultraviolet light is between 240 nm to 265 nm. More preferably the wavelength of the ultraviolet light is between 250 nm to 260 nm. The housing may be positively pressurised. A fan may be used to positively pressure the housing. A filter may be used to filter air that is delivered into the housing to positively pressurize the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment, by way of example only, will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispenser according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view of the dispenser according to FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a power roller;

FIG. 4 is sectional side view of the dispenser according to FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a further sectional side view of the dispenser according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is another further sectional side view of the dispenser according to FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is yet another sectional side view the dispenser with a lid in an open position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a dispenser 10 for dispensing drinking straws 5. It should be appreciated that with slight modifications, as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art, the dispenser 10 can be used to dispense other articles. The dispenser 10 includes a housing 20, a conveyor 30 and a hopper 40. The housing 20 is hollow and is made from antimicrobial plastic. The housing 20 is formed from a lid 21 and a number of walls 22. It should be appreciated that other suitable materials may used to produce the housing 20, such as metal. The lid 21 is pivotally movable between an open position and a closed position.

A dispensing slot 23 is formed within the housing 20. The dispensing slot 23 is located adjacent the top of the housing 20. However, it should be appreciated that the dispensing slot 23 may be located at any suitable position on the housing 20. The conveyor 30 is located and removably attached to the housing 20. The conveyor 30 is formed from a belt 31 extending around and between the two rollers 32. The belt 31 is made from a flexible material, such as rubber, polyethylene or neoprene. Grooves 33 are formed within the belt 31 and extend the length of the belt 31 for locating straws 5. Similarly, channels 34 are formed within the belt 31 and extend the length of the belt 31 to assist the belt 31 rotating around the rollers 32.

The two rollers 32 include a powered roller 32A and an idling roller 32B. The powered roller 32A, shown in more detail in FIG. 3, includes an electric motor 50, a protective casing 51 , rotating sleeve 52and a rotated sleeve 53.

The electric motor 50 is connected to an electric power supply

(not shown). The power supply can be varied by a transformer or the like device depending on the requirement of the electric motor 50. The power supply may be provided from an electric socket or battery. A rotatable shaft

54 forms part of the electric motor 50.

The protective casing 51 is formed from a protective sleeve 55 and a thread cap 56 which encase the electric motor 50. The protective sleeve 55 is connected to the electric motor 50 via screws 57. The thread cap 56 is connected to the housing 20 to mount the powered roller 32A.

The rotating sleeve 52 is used to house the protective casing 51 and the electric motor 50. The rotating sleeve 52 is connected to the shaft 54 of the motor 50 via a grub screw 58. The rotating sleeve 52 is also connected to a bearing 59 which fits over the threaded cap 56. This allows the rotating sleeve 52 to rotate freely.

Further, the rotating sleeve 52 is connected to the rotated sleeve 53 with adhesive. An end cap 60 is located at the end of the rotated sleeve 53 and is used to mount the powered roller 32A. The hopper 40 is located within the housing 20 for storing drinking straws 5. The hopper 40 is formed from an internal wall 41, the conveyor 30 and two opposing walls 22 of the housing 20. It should be appreciated that the hopper 40 may be formed without the use of the conveyor 30 and/or the inclusion of additional internal walls. A dispensing switch 70 is located adjacent the front of the housing 20. A proximity sensor 71 forms part of the dispensing switch 70 to switch the dispensing switch 70 between an on and an off position. The dispensing switch 70 is electrically connected to the electric motor 50 of the conveyor 30. A safety switch 80, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, is located adjacent the lid 21 and is activated by moving the lid 21 from the closed position to the open position. The safety switch 80 is electrically connected to the electric motor 50 of the conveyor 30.

An ultraviolet light 90 is position above the straws to assist in killing any microbial agents such as fungus and bacterial. The ultraviolet light is switched off by moving the lid 21 from the closed position to the open position and switched on by moving the lid 21 from the open position to the closed position. The wavelength produced by ultraviolet light is around 250 nm to 260 nm. A fan 100 is used to positively pressurize the housing 20 via a fan inlet 101. The fan inlet 101 is covered by a hepa filter 110 to filter any air which is passed into the housing 20. The fan 100 can be run continuously or may be stopped by moving the lid 21 from the closed position to the open position.

In use, the dispenser 10 dispenses drinking straws 5 once the proximity sensor 71 of the dispensing switch 70 is activated. The proximity sensor 71 is typically activated by placing a hand adjacent the proximity sensor 71. The dispensing switch 70 allows electricity to flow to the electric motor 50 of the powered roller 32A. The powered roller 32A thus rotates causing rotation of the belt 31 of the conveyor 30 as shown in FIG. 4.

As the belt 31 rotates, the drinking straws are also rotated. The drinking straws 5 located within the hopper 40 fall into the grooves 33 located within the belt 31. The drinking straws 5 located within the belt 31 of the conveyor 30 travel along the conveyor 30, as shown in FIG. 5. Ultimately, a drinking straw 5 reaches the dispensing slot 23 where it falls from the groove

33, through the dispensing slot 23 and into the waiting hand of a user as shown in FIG. 6. Typically, once the drinking straw 5 has been dispensed, the hand is removed from adjacent the proximity sensor 71 causing the deactivation of the dispensing switch 70 and the subsequent stoppage of the conveyor 30.

When the dispenser 10 is to be filled with drinking straws 5, the lid 21 is rotated from the closed position to the open position as shown in FIG. 7. In the open position, the safety switch 80 is activated which prevents electricity being supplied to the electric motor 50 even if the dispensing switch 70 has been activated. This prevents a person's finger from being caught in the conveyor 20 when filling the dispenser 10 with drinking straws 5. Once the hopper 40 of the dispenser 10 is filled with drinking straws 5, the lid 21 is moved to a closed position allowing electricity to be supplied to the electric motor 50.

The dispenser 10 ensures that only a single drinking straw 5 is dispensed through the dispensing slot 23 at any one time. Further, the grooves 33 are filled with drinking straws 5 efficiently as the conveyor 30 forms part of the hopper 40. The dispenser 10 is also very hygienic as the dispenser 10 need not be touched in order to dispense a drinking straw 5. Hence, paper is no longer required to cover the drinking straw making the overall cost of the drinking straw considerably cheaper.

The dispenser 10 also provides protection against food poisoning. The housing 20 is made from antimicrobial plastic prevent growth of bacterial and fungus. The ultraviolet light 90 also kills micro-organisms located on the straws. The positively pressurized housing 20 also assists in micro-organisms from passing into the container.

It will also be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.