Patent Issued for Product Dispensing Apparatus and System

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Journal of Engineering -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by VerticalNews journalists, a patent by the inventors Gelardi, John (Midlothian, VA); Bates, Aaron L. (Moseley, VA); Thomas, Laurel (Richmond, VA), filed on September 25, 2010, was cleared and issued on December 4, 2012.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 8322543, is MeadWestvaco Corporation (Richmond, VA).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: "Products are typically shipped to retailers in bulk by enclosing multiple individual product units in a container, such as a carton or box. For example, canned foods may be shipped to a retailer in a box containing twenty-four individual cans. Then, it is typically the retailer's obligation to remove the individual product units from the container and present them (e.g., on a shelf) to consumers.

"Alternatives to the traditional package-ship-unpack-display model are being developed in an effort to improve operating efficiency. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/777,444 filed on May 11, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, discloses a new system for dispensing and displaying products packaged in a container. Specifically, the system includes a frame having a support structure, a product display area and an opening tool. The frame may be positioned on a retailer's shelf and loaded with product simply by placing a container comprising multiple units of product onto the support structure of the frame. As the container is being placed onto the support structure, the opening tool of the frame opens the container in such a manner that product rolls from the container and down to the product display area of the frame under the force of gravity.

"Many products are not symmetrical along their rolling axis and, therefore, do not roll in a straight line. For example, the canned food product 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a circumferential side wall 12 having a first end 14 and a second end 16, wherein the second end 16 is sealed with a chime 18. Therefore, the second end 16 of the canned food product 10 extends further outward from the rolling axis A (by a distance D) than the first end 14 (i.e., the second end 16 has a greater radius than the first end 14), resulting in the canned food product 10 rolling in a nonlinear path B.

"Unfortunately, the dispensing systems mentioned above have been known to jam when a dispensed product fails to travel in a straight line. Such jams may occur within the container or as the product transitions from the container to the frame, thereby inhibiting the consumer's ability to retrieve the product.

"Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research and development efforts directed to apparatus and systems for dispensing products from packaging containers."

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, VerticalNews editors also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent: "In one aspect, the disclosed product dispenser may include a frame having a first side wall, a second side wall laterally opposed from the first side wall, a lower support surface positioned between the first and second side walls and having a front end longitudinally spaced from a rear end, the rear end being elevated relative to the front, and an upper support surface positioned between the first and second side walls and spaced apart from the lower support surface, the upper support surface having a front end longitudinally spaced from a rear end, the front end being elevated relative to the rear, and a rib connected to the upper support surface and protruding outward from a plane defined by the upper support surface in a direction away from the lower support surface.

"In another aspect, the disclosed product dispensing system may include a dispenser having a first side wall, a second side wall opposed from the first side wall, a lower support surface positioned between the first and second side walls and having a front end and a rear end, the rear end of the lower support surface being elevated relative to the front end of the lower support surface, an upper support surface positioned between the first and second side walls and spaced apart from the lower support surface, the upper support surface having a front end and a rear end, the front end of the upper support surface being elevated relative to the rear end of the upper support surface, and a rib connected to the upper support surface and protruding outward from a plane defined by the upper support surface, and a container supported on the upper support surface, the container including walls that define an internal volume and a multiple products positioned in the internal volume, wherein at least one wall of the container is engaged with, and deflected by, the rib.

"In another aspect, the disclosed product dispensing system may include a dispenser including a first side wall, a second side wall opposed from the first side wall; a lower support surface positioned between the first and second side walls and having a front end and a rear end, the rear end being elevated relative to the front end, an upper support surface positioned between the first and second side walls and spaced apart from the lower support surface, the upper support surface having a front end and a rear end, the front end being elevated relative to the rear end, and an elongated rib connected to the upper support surface and protruding outward from a plane defined by the upper support surface in a direction away from the lower support surface, and a container supported on the upper support surface and including a plurality of walls that define an internal volume and a plurality of products positioned in the internal volume, at least one the walls including a plurality of pre-formed fold lines, wherein that wall is engaged with the rib and deflected into the internal volume along the pre-formed fold lines.

"In yet another aspect, disclosed is a method for loading a container onto a dispenser such that the dispenser beneficially interacts with the container to urge the products in the container to roll in a substantially straight line.

"Other aspects of the disclosed product dispensing apparatus and system will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims."

For more information, see this patent: Gelardi, John; Bates, Aaron L.; Thomas, Laurel. Product Dispensing Apparatus and System. U.S. Patent Number 8322543, filed September 25, 2010, and issued December 4, 2012. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=107&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=5323&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=20121204.PD.&OS=ISD/20121204&RS=ISD/20121204

Keywords for this news article include: MeadWestvaco Corporation.

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